DIY Open Shelving in Kitchen | Modern Scandinavian Peg Shelves

If you’ve seen my kitchen coffee bar, you’ve probably noticed my natural wood-toned peg shelves that hold our coffee accessories. In creating our coffee bar, I wanted some type of open-shelving to complete the space. I found some beautiful peg shelves from Etsy that I fell in love with right away; however, they totaled around $80 per shelf. Yikes! Instead, I headed over to Lowes and picked up some inexpensive supplies to create my own DIY kitchen open shelving!

To create a modern Scandinavian look, I decided to leave the pine shelves their natural wood tone. Because of this, I purchased a slightly better quality pine (well, better than the lowest quality that I usually purchase!), so it would look better as-is. Originally, I planned to paint the pegs, but I left them natural since the wood tone perfectly matched the shelves. I’m so glad I did. This DIY open shelving totaled about $30 for all the supplies and produced two 24″ shelves.

Hope you enjoy this easy DIY peg shelf, and be sure to comment if you tried it out!

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the supplies

• Unfinished Pine Board | 1x6x4 Square Unfinished Pine Board (Lowe’s will cut in half to make two 24″ shelves)
• Dowel Rod | Madison Mill 1.5-in dia x 48-in L Round Poplar Dowel (You will have to cut at home. They tried cutting for me, and it kept splintering off. Make sure you have a round saw or handsaw at home.)
• Dowel Screws – 1/4-in x 2 1/2-in | The larger dowel screw, the sturdier your shelf. If you decide to size up or down, just be aware of this.
• Anchors | Needed if you don’t have studs to drill into.
• Pipe Strap | Optional if you want to secure brackets to the shelf.

the tools

• Round Saw, Table Saw, or Hand Saw
• Sandpaper
• Drill
• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Stud finder
• Level

DIY Kitchen Open Shelving

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Step 1 | cut + sand wood

First, double-check your boards to confirm they are of equal lengths. I found that one board was slightly longer so, I trimmed a bit off the edge to make them equal.

Next, measure and mark 5.5-inch increments on the dowel rod. You want them to be 5.5″ in length, so they match the width of the shelf. If you selected a wider board for your shelf, make sure you adjust your cuts accordingly.

NOTE: Be aware that boards are usually slightly smaller/larger than they are sold as. For example, the board I purchased was 1x6x4, so the width should be 6″. However, it actually measures slightly less at around 5.5″. This makes a big difference in your peg length, especially because you don’t want the peg hanging out past the shelf. Luckily, this would be a case where the cut was too long instead of too short, so no harm is done. 🙂 Just make sure you measure everything!

Finally, sand down all the rough edges. The board I chose was a premium pine, created for hobbies and crafts, requiring minimal sanding. After sanding, if you plan to stain or paint your shelves, be sure to wipe everything down thoroughly with Tack Cloth or a wet rag to get rid of all the dust.

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step 2 | drill holes for dowel screws

With your pencil, mark a dot in the center of each of your freshly cut and sanded dowel pieces. I made sure to mark the dowel pieces’ rougher/uglier side because this will face the wall.

Next, using your pencil mark as a guide, drill a hole in each dowel rod, about 1.25-1.5 inches deep. Be sure to match the drill bit to whatever sized dowel screw you purchased.

Screw the dowel screw into the dowel rod. I guess there is a special tool for doing this, but I just had Jordan do it by hand. 😉 If you have a good pair of gloves lying around or a man who doesn’t care about how his hands look, doing it manually works too!

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Step 3 | find studs + hang pegs

Mark your wall and predrill holes for the pegs. For each shelf, we spaced the pegs about 15 inches apart. You can use a stud finder, but if you don’t have studs where you need them, make sure your use anchors. After you have the hole drilled (and anchors placed if indicated), screw the pegs into the wall. Be sure that the pegs are level, so you don’t end up with a crooked shelf.

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Step 4 | mount shelves

FINALLY, place the boards across the pegs to complete your shelf!

Use the level to make adjustments. We found it very easy to level them out by turning the dowel rods to make adjustments. If you want them to be more secure, you could use a pipe strap like this to secure the peg to the shelf. Since these shelves are tucked into this coffee nook and are not easily bumped, we didn’t secure anything.

Note: these shelves are not intended to have super heavy items on them; they probably hold around 5-10lbs.

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Flower Print | Cappuccino Mugs | Hex Tiles

Step 5 | style your new shelves

My favorite part, of course, is styling and accessorizing!

I like having my everyday items easy to grab, like my cappuccino mugs, coffee beans, and sweeteners. Then, I sprinkle in some nonessential items like my framed-flower print, a natural element like my pothos, and some other unique vintage items.

There you go! An easy DIY open shelving look perfect for your kitchen, bathroom, nursery, or pretty much anywhere you want a touch of modern-Scandinavian style.

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Hope you enjoyed this post and were inspired to create your DIY open shelving. If you try this DIY project, I would love to see what you come up with.

As always, if you have any questions, just drop a comment below!