Help with shelf for nursery!

[Dominic Greco]

Hi everyone,

I've been tasked by my wife to build a shelf for a nursery. I figured I would make the shelf (about 2 foot long x 6" wide) from a slab of figured cherry, bull nose the front, and add some corbels as supports under either edge.

However, my wife stated that cherry would be nice. As long as she can paint it white(!). So guess who is going to buy some poplar real soon? Anyway my wife also stated that she wanted to see a picture of the shelf before I started building it (as if I had actual plans to build it from!)

So my request to those of you out there who are inclined to help (rather than poke fun at my predicament) is for pictures of similar shelves in children's rooms. I've taken a look around the Internet and haven't come across any plans that describe what I had in mind. However, I'm open to suggestions if you have any. The big thing is to have a picture of the completed design. For some reason, my wife can't visualize it unless she has a picture right in front of her. :>)

Thanks in advance.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Dominic,

Poplar isn't too expensive, any posibility of making a smaller prototype and then make the full thing for her? Then the nursery gets two shelves!

A great place for kids furniture is potterybarnkids.com. They are often copied/improved.

[Don Baer]

I've made several like this one. I used OAK. The buttons cover the mounting screws and are on 16" centers so I can catch the studs.

[Don Baer]

If I can get the picture to upload........Arrrrrg

[Don Baer]

One more time...........

[Von Bickley]

Dominic,
A dowel under the shelf works and looks good to display baby blankets / quilts.
The shelf would need to be longer than 2 ft. for this to work.
Hope this helps... :)

[Dominic Greco]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on the direction I take with this project.