Only 3 more days until Christmas!!!! Admittedly I am equally counting down to spending time with family as I am to having a real break from my day job. I haven't taken more than 2 days off for over a year so I am really really looking forward to a bit of an extended stay-cation. As we count down to the holidays, I am also wrapping up some overdue flip debuts before getting ready to start rolling out new pieces in the new year.

Remember my industrial sawhorse desk? Well when the buyer came to pick it up last fall, it turns out she didn't need the 3-drawer hutch since she planned to float the desk in her office. So she bought the desk, chair and lamp, and left the orphaned hutch drawers behind so I took the opportunity to play around with a new take on industrial-inspired storage.

Industrial Pipe Bookshelf

I re-re-used the drawers to make a 3-tiered bookshelf with loads of storage.

I drilled two holes through the front and back of each drawer and threaded a section of galvanized pipe through. Each dovetailed drawer hangs level and secure by resting on pipe coupling at one end and a heavy-duty wall bracket at the other.

The staggered heights provide visual interest while allowing space for art or plants.

I tested the weight limits of the unit myself by literally loading up every flat surface with all of our hardcover books.

At the top, a small section of pipe also secures to the wall for more stability.

And another flange at the base can be secured to the floor too.

The entire length of pipe disassembles easily into 4 sections for transporting.

You could even swing out the middle drawer and mount the whole unit into a corner for even more versatility.

I would love to see this baby go to a cool loft or some other city space! If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, please email cate@stylemutthome.com.

Industrial Pipe Bookshelf
Now Available for Sale
63"W x 7.5"D x 78"H
$395

As we gather together this Christmas, Chelsea and I pray that your holiday is filled to the brim with treasured family time. We hope that the hustle and bustle will fade away and we'll all be able to truly savor the real reason for the season. Merry Christmas to you all!

Hi, All! I'm thrilled to finally be sharing this crazy fun and super big project with you today! If you're an Instagram friend then this post might be a little anti-climatic since I've been sharing pictures of these shelves for the past couple months. I decided to wait until after the holidays to post about our new industrial build, so we've had a bit of time to grow into it. You may have seen pipe shelves before - I've seen folks build small ones in bathrooms, as well as over entire walls as more of a 'built-in' look. Here is our version of these fabulously industrial shelves:

Aren't they rad?! We previously had a china cabinet on this wall which I enjoyed refinishing in a beautiful Duck Egg blue. But, as the kids got a little older it wasn't a practical piece for us and I needed way more open storage. I shared a few inspiring pictures of industrial shelves with Matt, he loved the idea, and we got to work almost right away! Building this was WAY easier than I had expected, and I'm going to show you how right now!

Let's have some fun, shall we?

First, we measured our wall and created this digital design of what we wanted to build. I wanted room at the bottom shelf to slide a stool or two under to use as a make-shift desk for our kids.

Then it was time to gather the supplies! I kid you not, gathering all the pipes and pieces for this project took longer than the actual build. I highly recommend calling your designated hardware store ahead of time and asking them to check their stock of each piece! Here's what we came home with:

Supplies pictured above:
3 x 24" 1/2" pipes
3 x 18" 1/2" pipes
3 x 14" 1/2" pipes
24 x 12" 1/2" pipes
3 x 10" 1/2" pipes
18 x 1/2" elbows
16 x 1/2" tees
6 x 1/2" flanges
Supplies not pictured above:
5 x 60"x16"x1" Pine Panel Boards
7/8" hole saw bit
Wood Stain for the boards, (we used Kona by Minwax)
Metallic spray paint for the pipes, (we used Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze)
Lysol wipes to clean the pipes

TOTAL COST FOR ALL SUPPLIES: Just under $450

Once you have all of your supplies home, you'll want to clean the grease and oil off of the pipes before you spray paint them. Just give them a good wipe down with Lysol wipes, let dry, then spray them. Once the pipes are dry, it's time to build! Work from the floor up:

Following our digital design, we just started threading everything together like a good old fashioned erector set! At this point we have not screwed anything into the wall or floor. The pipes and fittings were screwing together so tight and were so incredibly sturdy, there was no need to anchor anything until we got up to the very top.

The panel boards, which we pre-drilled the holes on, just slid right over the vertical pipes, and rested on the horizontal 12" pipes with the elbow supporting the side closest to the wall.

Once we got to the top, (and again, at this point nothing is anchored to the floor or wall, but the sheer weight and tightness of it all kept it so sturdy), we used 3 x 14" pipes threaded into the top three elbows, (seen in the picture below without the pipes), and then threaded the other end of the 14" pipes into the flanges. We then screwed the flanges directly into the wall for additional security. The bottom flanges are just sitting on the floor, not screwed in. It's really not necessary once you see how sturdy the structure is.

A view of the finished product from the middle. It really was a quick build! The prep work took a bit of time, (gathering the supplies, cleaning and spraying the pipes, staining both sides of the boards and drilling the holes), but the actual structure went up pretty quick!

These shelves have been so much more functional for us. The bottom shelf is completely stocked with kids' activities and supplies and now that they're out in the open, we are doing way more activities together. That is such a gift in and of itself!

I hope if you ever want to give these shelves a go that this tutorial is helpful for you! Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have! One discovered bonus to these shelves versus actual built in shelves is that these are transportable! If we ever move from this home, we'll be able to bring these with us, (and we can always add on if need be).

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!