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DIY Industrial Pipe Shelving for the Bathroom

What do you think our grandparents would say if they knew we went shopping for bathroom shelves in the plumbing section of a hardware store?  I can see my grandfather shaking his head in confusion now.  Isn’t it funny to think that we can create something functional like shelves from materials that are supposed to be used for plumbing….And make it look good?  And so here we go, my simple and quick tutorial on DIY INDUSTRIAL PIPE SHELVING.

DIY Industrial Pipe shelving

As I was scrolling through images on Pinterest of open bathroom shelving, I immediately stopped on this one;

Yep, I found my inspiration: INDUSTRIAL PIPE SHELVING.

So I headed to Lowe’s with nothing but a picture for inspiration and a desire to create!

I know I’ve mentioned before, but I’ll tell y’all again. My best inspiration comes from walking the isles of a hardware store. Isn’t that crazy? Maybe I am crazy, but either way I see so much potential with all sorts of building materials.

This little project, as I said earlier,  was inspired from a walk down the plumbing isle.

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DIY industrial pipe shelving Materials

  1. 1 by 12 by 4 ft pine board that I had Lowe’s cut into two 20″ long pieces. So my final board measurements were 20″ long, by 11.25″ wide (I wanted wider shelves to set more things on) by 1″ thick.
  2. 4 black steel flanges 1/2″
  3. 4 black steel caps 1/2″
  4. 4 black steel pipes 12″ by 1/2″
  5. 16 black screws to secure flanges to the wall. Make sure you buy wood screws and drywall screws.

How to create INDUSTRIAL SHELVES with PLUMBING MATERIAL

NOTE: I used Annie Sloan dark wax to cover the pine board to give them a darker look. I really like the way dark wax looks on pine boards and it “seals” it so they look more finished.

adding the steel flanges to the wall

First step is to measure where you want the shelves, make sure they are level, and screw the flanges into the wall. Note: it’s best to screw into a stud, but if you can’t make sure to anchor the screws so they are secure.

applying the pipes to the flanges for the DIY shelves

Then thread the pipe into the flanges and then thread the caps on the pipe. So EASY!

After you have applied the wax or stain to the pine board, lay the board on top of the pipe making sure it sits behind the “caps” so they won’t slide forward.

That’s all it takes to create these DIY Industrial pipe shelves.

You can also see a full run down of other DIY open shelving I’ve created. I seem to be a little obsessed with open shelving. I even shared a whole post on how to style shelves with a few tips.

Now style those pretty shelves and you’re ready to go!

DIY Industrial Pipe Shelving
DIY Industrial Pipe Open shelves

DIY Open Shelves with Plumbing Materials

Industrial pipe open shelves

This is an easy DIY INDUSTRIAL PIPE SHELVING tutorial. Learn how to create your own open pipe shelves from plumbing materials.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Active Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium

Materials

  • 1 by 12 by 4 ft pine board- 2 boards
  • 4 black steel flanges 1/2"
  • 4 black steel caps 1/2"
  • 4 black steel pipes 12" by 1/2"
  • 16 black screws to secure flanges to the wall. 

Tools

  • Drill

Instructions

  1. First step is to measure where you want the shelves, make sure they are level, and drill the flanges into the wall.
  2. Thread the pipe into the flanges and then thread the caps on the pipe.
  3. After you've applied the wax or stain to the pine board, lay the board on top of the pipe making sure it sits behind the "caps" so they won't slide forward.

Notes

To reinforce the shelves and secure them to the plumbing brackets, you can choose to add two holes straps beneath the shelves.

NOTE: I used Annie Sloan dark wax to cover the pine board to give them a darker look. I really like the way dark wax looks on pine boards and it "seals" it so they look more finished.

I still marvel that we can create shelves by shopping in the plumbing section at a hardware store.

If you like this post I would love for you to pin it to Pinterest HERE.

Thanks for stopping by friends! I’ll see you again when I get another wild hair to repurpose or up cycle something from the hardware store. 🙂

Lindsey***

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  4. […] found these simple shelves from Walmart. I thought about making my own like I did HERE, but for a little over $20, I couldn’t make them cheaper than […]

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  7. […] Speaking of Industrial Open Shelves, you can see a quick tutorial I created for another set of open shelves HERE. […]

  8. erin says:

    thank you! i needed this inspiration! i’ve had the materials for this project for MONTHS and for some reason have been putting it off. tomorrow i will head back to lowes for the long black screws i don’t have yet. did you use anchors with the screws? or did you hit the studs? that is always the detail that keeps me from hanging heavy things!

    i’ve been meaning to check out your blog for awhile now and am so glad i took the time this evening! hope you enjoy your weekend!

    :: erin ::

  9. firebirdwife says:

    I love the way these look! Thanks for sharing at the Friday at the Fire Station link-up!

  10. Diana says:

    Love the look, Lindsey! Great tutorial, too. Thanks for sharing your project with us all at Vintage Charm 🙂

  11. This is really beautiful Lindsey. Rustic and industrial goodness all the way!

  12. […] DIY Industrial Pipe Shelving from Repurpose And Upcycle. […]

  13. just shared, thank you!

  14. Jan says:

    What a creative way to make shelves!! Did you just use regular screws to screw into the drywall, or did you have to use drywall screws (the type where you screw in a plastic piece first before screwing in the metal screw) to make these shelves more stable?

  15. I love your creative idea, your shelves turned out great and look fantastic!!!
    Thank you for sharing on Friday Features this week, stop by next week to see your post featured!!
    Pinned and Tweeted today!
    Have a great weekend! 🙂

  16. Love your shelves! Simple projects like that are the best! Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!

  17. Very clever! Thank you for sharing with us on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth! 🙂

  18. I really like this style. We are working on our master bathroom and have a narrow space for shelving. This might be perfect & look pretty.
    Pinned & sharing Thanks for joining the Inspiration Spotlight party.

  19. You smart lady, the shelves look so good. Who would have thought piping could look so good.
    Kathleen
    Blogger’s Pit Stop

  20. Michelle says:

    I lovw the farmhouse industrial look, and really digging these shelves!

    Thanks so much for sharing this on the Farmhouse Friday link party! 🙂

  21. Sandra Garth says:

    I’m determined to get rid of my nervous Nellie tendencies and give this a try. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, and I hope your week is going great.

  22. I’ve always loved that look and would love to have the room in my kitchen to make these. Maybe in my craft room…once my son leaves for college. 😉

  23. Virginia says:

    These shelves are great! Pinned it.

  24. I am in love with these shelves. So fun!

  25. sizzlesue15 says:

    Thanks for sharing your DIY skills and ideas with us at #overthemoon link party. I’ve pinned and shared 🙂

  26. thecapeonthecorner says:

    looks great!
    b

  27. I love the look of these shelves, Lindsey! Thanks for the great tutorial.
    I’m visiting from Happy Now Link Party.
    ~ Megin of VMG206

  28. karyld2016 says:

    I really like this! Very nice, and unique look for the bathroom.

  29. Well done 🙂 We did this same design in my husbands office 🙂

  30. Those shelves are so cool!! I love how they turned out!

  31. JESS44903 says:

    Wow…what a neat idea!

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

  32. Fun idea… this would be great for a garage sink area.

  33. This looks so pretty and it’s made of something so industrial! Very clever

  34. tarahlynn says:

    I love the way these look! Thank you for sharing with us at the To grandma’s house we go link party! Pinned!

  35. diy180 says:

    This is great and looks lovely in the bathroom. I do have to admit bathrooms do need shelves so we can display our decor. I love this and I would love it if you would share this lovely project at a link party I am co-hosting. I hope to see you there. Have a great week. https://diy180site.blogspot.com/2016/09/dishing-it-and-digging-it-link-party-113.html?showComment=1473646372423#c7805219286453814444

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