Last week, I went to several stores looking for a nice long picture shelf/ledge to hang in our hallway. I love the idea of using a shelf in the hallway to create a gallery wall, because I don’t have to make a bunch of holes in the wall. And when I want to change up the pictures on the wall, it’s easy-peasy! I can simply remove a few frames from the shelf and replace them with other ones! No new holes in the wall and no need to do any patching either!

Well, out of the 5 stores I visited, none of them had a shelf that I liked that was long enough. The longest one I found at the store was about 4 feet, but my hallway is long. I wanted one that was really long- like 6 feet long! And the store-bought shelf was actually a lot more expensive than the one I was able to make myself! All I needed was a few supplies from the home improvement store! I can’t wait to show you how nice & easy this project is!

DIY Picture Ledge

Supplies:

2 1″x2″ boards, 6 feet long

1 1″x3″ board, 6 feet long

white latex paint

screws

electric drill

level



Directions:

1. Start by painting your boards white.















2. Position your boards as depicted in the following pictures. Pre-drill holes and then drive screws to attach the boards together, according to the following pictures.3. Be sure to countersink the screws (drive them down below the surface of the board). Then use some spackle compound to hide the little hole. Only bother with this step for the screws facing forward- the ones facing the floor will not be seen!4. I wanted the shelf to look a bit more antique or aged, so I dry-brushed a very translucent gold randomly over the front of the shelf.I filled the shelf with some stuff I had around the house already. That “You are so loved” canvas you see in the pictures was a really fun DIY project. The “Home Sweet Home” lighted sign was picked up from Hobby Lobby a few years ago. And the nautical-themed canvases were another DIY project I did a few years ago!I hope this post gives you some inspiration on making your own DIY Picture Ledge. It was a lot of fun and I love that my final shelf is perfectly long enough to fill up my hallway wall! And if I get tired of the antique finish, I can always repaint it another color!Disclosure: Engineer Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services, LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. For additional details, please see our full Disclosure Policy . Any link may be an affiliate link. All opinions are exclusively my own.