woodworking 3/15/2024

Living Room Built-In Shelves

Floor-to-ceiling built-ins around the fireplace for books, plants, and the TV—no more floating shelves.

The living room had a blank wall and a TV on a stand. We wanted storage and a focal point, so we built floor-to-ceiling shelves around the fireplace and integrated the TV into the unit.

Built-in shelves

The structure is 3/4” ply boxes with 1x2 cleats and face frames. Shelves are 1x10 pine, supported every 32” and finished with oil-based poly. We left one bay open for the TV and ran power and HDMI through the wall into a small cabinet below.

Shelf detail

Paint matched the existing trim; the mantel stayed as-is. We use the lower shelves for media and baskets, the upper ones for books and plants. It took about three weekends and completely changed how the room feels.