How to make a triangle display shelf

It was recently our daughter’s birthday, and she’s really into rocks and jewels right now. I decided for her birthday to make her a triangle display shelf for all her special things. This is a pretty simple project that you can complete within a weekend.

Tools and materials

1. Cut the wood piece in half

I started with some poplar wood for this display shelf. Poplar is great if you want to paint your final shelf. Poplar doesn’t have the nicest color, but it’s an inexpensive wood that paints up really well. If you want to stain your shelf rather than paint it, you could choose maple or oak. I had a piece of 5 inch wide wood that Tony ripped in half with the table saw.

2. Sand the wood

I used a palm sander and lightly sanded all the sides with 150 grit. Sand all the edges to lightly break the corners.

3. Cut the outside pieces for the triangle shelf

Next cut three pieces of your wood at equal lengths with a mitre saw, with both ends cut at a 30 degree angle. The angled cuts ends should not be parallel. I cut my pieces 17 inches long, but you can adjust depending on how big you want your shelf to be.

4. Glue and nail the shelf together

Add a dab of wood glue to the edge of your wood piece, and then use a brad nailer to nail the outside shelf pieces together.

5. Add inside shelves

Next you can add more shelves depending on what you would like to display on your triangle shelf. I made the shelves about two inches apart, and varied the length and height of each shelf. Cut the ends of all the shelf pieces at a 30 degree angle with the mitre saw.

Glue and nail the smaller shelves at varying heights and lengths, depending on what you would like to put on your triangle display shelf.

6. Fill nail holes

Use spackling, fill the nails holes and the cracks between the wood pieces. Let it dry, and then sand it smooth

7. Paint your shelf

I used a flat white spray paint for my triangle display shelf. It’s best to prime it first before you start painting. Do several light coats of paint, and let it dry in between coats

8. Hang your Triangle display shelf

I added a claw shelf hook to the back of this shelf, and hung it up on a hook on the wall. Now you’re all ready to display your items on this triangle display shelf!