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DIY Hanging Rope Shelf

July 14, 2020 by Denise - 38 Comments

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CREATE YOUR OWN DIY HANGING ROPE SHELVES WITH SCRAP BOARD AND LEFTOVER SUPPLIES!

Side View of DIY Hanging Rope Shelf txt

Hi sweet SI family, thanks for joining me. It’s one of my favorite days of the month! I’m joining my Trash To Treasure Crew for some creative makeovers!!  I’ll be sharing links to their before and after tutorials at the bottom of today’s post.

For today’s T2T project, I thought it would be fun to do something with the other half of last month’s magazine table.

This was one of those projects I wasn’t so sure about. You know the ones. You work on something. Look at it halfway through and think… hmmm… it’s okay… I guess.

But once I hung these shelves and styled them,  I think they’re adorable!

If you’re in the market for a super inexpensive shelving solution, this could be it! The size and materials are all customizable and it’s a great way to use up salvaged products so it hardly costs a thing!

Here’s what I started with.

Wooden Magazine Rack Table Before

Here’s the tabletop now…

Side View of DIY Hanging Rope Shelf

DIY Hanging Rope Shelf

DIY Hanging Rope Shelf - How To Tutorial

THIS POST IS SPONSORED/CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I USE.  YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

SOURCE LIST

DIY HANGING ROPE SHELF

STEP 1 – STRIP EXISTING TOPCOAT

I started by stripping the existing finish off the tabletop with CitriStrip. I wanted a raw wood look rather than the existing old poly finish.

TIP~ When using stripper (it doesn’t matter what brand) on your first pass if it doesn’t strip off all the original finish, take the used goop and place it on top of the area that needs more stripping. Let it sit and do its thing for an appropriate time. Then scrape off.  The goop will take off any remaining finish. Looks gross, but it works… and saves time and product.

STEP 2 – SAND

I sanded with a 220 grit sandpaper to even out the finish.

STEP 3 – MEASURE AND CUT SHELVES

I measured the tabletop and cut two pieces from each end. Each piece measures 15″ x 6.5″. The size is totally customizable to you. The shelves can be as small or large as you like so long as the rope and hanging mechanism are strong enough to hold it.

Once I had my shelf measurements marked off, I cut the two shelves.

STEP 4 – MEASURE AND DRILL HOLES

For the rope holes, I measured 1″ in from either side on each corner. A speed square or measuring tape work nicely.

I clamped the two shelves together and was sure to use a drill bit large enough to allow my rope to fit through.

TIP~ A little larger hole is fine but don’t make it too large. A knot will be holding the shelf up so you don’t want it too large otherwise the knot will slip through. (see next step)

STEP 5 – CUT ROPE, THREAD AND TIE KNOTS

On a trip to Rochester NY, we stopped at a garage sale and I picked up the massive role of twine rope for $5!

I measured and cut two lengths of 60 inches. I’ve included a diagram below to share how I came up with the 60″ however

  • depending on the size of your shelves
  • how much space you’d like in between each shelf
  • how many shelves you add

will depend on the size of the rope length required. I would suggest cutting a little extra for the knots and any oopsies that may take place.

To start, I tied a knot (for the bottom front shelf )and threaded the unknotted side up through the drilled hole. Once the bottom shelf was resting on the knot, I measured 10″ using green painters tape to mark the ‘spot’ and tied another knot. Then threaded the rope through the second shelf so it was sitting on the knot.

Think of a ladder. The rope is the side rails and the knots are whats holding the steps in place.

I then measured 16″, folded the rope over (this is where it attaches to the wall hook) and brought it down 16″ threading it through the top of the second shelf. I tied a knot for the second shelf to rest on and then threaded the unknotted end through the top of the bottom shelf and tied the last knot. The entire first side was complete and I repeated these steps on the second side.

STEP 6 – FINISHED TOUCHES

For the finishing touch, I used this Tobacco Road Gel Stain to slightly darken and even out the existing stain.

I also frayed the ends of the twin rope by pulling the pieces apart and combing them out with my fingers.

STEP 7 – HANG AND LEVEL

The last step is to hang and level. I used a simple screw hook and crisscrossed the two loops to create this look.

DIY Hanging Rope Shelf SI blog

DIY Hanging Rope Shelf IG

This magazine rack table made two totally unique looks from one old piece of furniture.

Last month’s planter restyle…

Painted Wood Magazine Rack

And this month’s DIY Hanging Rope Shelf…

DIY Hanging Rope Shelf Before and After

And now for some TRASH TO TREASURE FUN!

I know you’re going to LOVE what this talented team of ladies share. They never cease to surprise me with their creativity! Below are their BEFORE photos. Visit the links underneath to see the amazing AFTERS and to learn how they did it!

I’m heading over to take a peek right now myself! x

Trash 2 Treasure BEFORE COLLAGE 20200714

 

1. Confessions Of A Serial DIYer

2. Girl In The Garage

3. Artsy Chicks Rule

4. Prodigal Pieces

5. Salvaged Inspirations (I’m so happy you’re here!!)

 

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THESE HANGING SHELVES…I ALWAYS LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!

Thanks for reading. 🙂
Wishing you a beautiful day filled with inspiration and Happy Painting friends!

Denise XO

RELATED POSTS::

Repurposed Wooden Magazine Rack (Part 1)

EASY DIY Wood Signs w Free Printable

DIY Pallet Board Sign with SI Logo

DIY Resin Furniture Appliques & Onlays

DIY Furniture Appliques | Iron Orchid Molds

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Comments (38)

  1. Oh My Goodness! I love it! Didn’t realize you used an old magazine rack for the shelves until I was right into the directions. Now I really love it as I have the perfect piece for the shelves, something I thought I would get rid of cuz I didn’t know what to do with it! Thank you for your inspiration!!!

    Reply

  3. Denise, this is so unique! It’s so cool that you don’t have to put a bunch of holes in the wall to hang a shelf and your tutorial is so thorough that anyone could follow and make one of these. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  4. You don’t call yourself Salvaged Inspirations for nothing. Very clever idea for salvaging the top of that magazine rack, Denise! It’s so pretty with the serpentine style edge and the way you styled the shelvves is gorgeous as always.

    Reply

    • Aw, thanks, Marie! Now I’m deciding whether to make large chunky ones for my office. These were the perfect “practice/prototype” project. 😉

      Reply

  6. Hi Denise. I meant to ask this in my first comment. You said that when using CitriStrip to remove the existing finish it can actually be reapplied and used a second time if the paint/finish doesn’t come off the first time. My question is: Does this work for all stripping liquids? I’ve never heard of this before and I think it’s absolutely brilliant!!! A wonderful way to save time/money/environment. Thanks:)

    Reply

    • Yes! It’s worked for all the strippers I’ve ever used! There are some tough finishes that will require applying the full strength stripper on two or more times, but if there are just a few areas that need extra attention, I just spread the goop and let it do its thing. 🙂

      Reply

  8. Fab! I’m a beach collector (i.e. free) and have quite a bit of flat driftwood. Making shelves soon!
    I do ❤️ your creations. I think I’ve saved almost all of them.
    Thanks as always for sharing!
    xxoo

    Reply

  9. A+ for cleverness and bonus points for execution. I love using up leftover bits of things, too. This is so cute!

    Reply

  10. Love it! Always inspired by your projects. Newbie DIY question here, but do you ever get squiggly marks using your sander? I don’t know how to remedy this. Any advice??

    Reply

    • Thanks! And yes, when I first started using an orbital sander I did get squiggly marks. I was frustrated and left it sitting on the shelf for about a year while I used a palm sander. But now the palm sander sits on the shelf…lol. The orbital is more powerful and gets the job done WAAAAY faster with less effort, I find. It was taking the time to change out the grits of sandpaper appropriate to the wood I was sanding. I’m still not an expert on the varieties of wood, but I use a higher grit on pine (softwood) and get away with using a lower grit on maple, walnut (hardwood). A trick I used to use was to test the grit on my orbital sander on the BACK of my piece. If you get the squigglies you can switch to a higher grit. Hope this helps. 🙂

      Reply

  15. How clever, Denise! Love the transformation. I don’t think I could have thought of making shelves, much less hanging shelves from a piece of the furniture top! So creative and amazinging. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

    • It is right?! 🙂 I found a video of a girl making a 3 foot one with chunky boards and chunky rope… looks amazing. (If I can find it again I’ll add link) I was thinking a large one might look great in my office. 🙂

      Reply

  17. Hi Denise. What a brilliant idea. I love these rope shelves! So very cute. I’m truly in awe of your creativity. I NEVER would have thought to repurpose that dated magazine table into two updated and adorable projects. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing and always inspiring me to take a look at what’s around my house with different eyes:)

    Reply

    • I wish I could take credit for it being my idea but I’ve seen rope shelf concept on Pinterest and Etsy. The fun part is that they are customizable. For instance, I haven’t seen any with the rounded edges like this one. And they can be cut and customized to any width or length using different materials. Fun project and i NEVER would have thought I’d get 2 cute projects out of that dated magazine table either..LOL

      Reply

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