These shelves are the product of my insomnia.  I put my babies to bed one night and couldn’t fall asleep.  So I got up, went into the garage, put some scrap wood 2x4s that I had left over to work!  4 days (nights) of insomnia later, these babies were born!  I originally built just the small hexagon.  My plan was to make a planter /tray/centerpiece with handles for our kitchen table and to “plant” my faux succulents in it.  However, the longer I stared at it the more I wanted it as wall decor.  But, it was small, lonely and needed friends, so I built two more. 

I kept the outsides raw wood; no stain, no paint, just sanded.  I painted the inside of each with black chalk paint. I’ve included some pictures of the process and steps on how I built the small hexagon.  The other two were done in a similar way.  The only differences between them are the number of pieces cut (only 3 for the triangle, of course) and/or length of the wood.   I love how they turned out!! (Note: If you plan to make these, please read through all steps before you begin.)

For the small hexagon: I cut six pieces of 2×4 at 6 inches each  (Big hexagon: 6 pieces at 10 inches each, Triangle: 3 pieces at 8 inches each).

And mitered each end at a 30 degree angle.

Then, I put 2 pockets holes in each one. (Spoiler alert: You won’t even need pocket holes, so don’t fret if you don’t have a pocket hole jig. Keep reading and you’ll see why). I had to play with the pocket hole setting on a scrap piece of wood.  Since the ends were mitered, I found (the hard way) that the “normal” pocket hole setting I would use for a 2×4 and 1 ¼ pocket hole screws didn’t work.  And I’m so sorry I don’t remember the setting I used 😩.  (But don’t worry!! I got you covered! Just keep reading!) 

Good news!! You won’t need pocketholes (see, covered! Like I promised.). I didn’t even think about that until I started assembling the hexagon and found that my drill wouldn’t fit for me to put the last piece on (I blame my insomnia state of mind 😉). 

So, I was forced to use my brad nailer to attach it. Bam! 

With some wood glue and a few brad nails, the last piece was attached! You can do this for all sides, no pocket holes needed. 

After I assembled them all, I filled all of the pocket holes with wood filler (no need to do this step if you skipped the pocket holes (like I should have) and used a nail gun). I sanded them down really smooth inside and outside of the shapes with my sander using 150 grit sand paper. For the smaller shapes, my sander wouldn’t fit to sand the inside, so I manually sanded those with the 150 grit sand paper. Tip: when filling pocket holes with wood filler, be sure to over fill just a tad so that when you sand it down, the filler is flush with the wood. 

Then I painted the inside with black chalk paint.  I used Valspar’s brand of chalk paint tinted in “Boot Black”. I was going for a monochrome look (and if you don’t know by now, I’m obsessed with black and white/neutral accessories). 

I added these large sawtooth picture hangers to the back of each one.I got these from Lowes as well.  You can find them in the aisle that has all things you can use to hang objects on the wall.I used two for the triangle so that I can have the option of hanging it either right side up, or upside down. 

Then I hung them on the wall, shopped around the house and adorned them with some decor.  Nice addition to my once empty stair landing!  And the best part about this space, I didn’t have to spend a dime! *pats myself on the back* #Nailedit ☺️

Oh, and if you decide to make these for yourself, I wanna see! So be sure to share, show me and let me know! 😉