Living Room Floating Shelves

These were my first attempt at floating shelves.

I wanted something clean and minimal for the living room — shelves that looked simple on the wall, with no visible brackets or hardware, and made from a wood species that would hold up over time.

The shelves are built from 8/4 white oak, milled flat and squared before being ripped and crosscut to final size. I kept the profiles fairly chunky, leaning into the natural weight and presence of the material rather than trying to make them feel thin or delicate.

Instead of buying a metal floating shelf system, I built my own hidden brackets using hardwood dowels and scrap lumber. Each bracket mounts to the wall and slides into corresponding holes in the back of the shelf.

A Forstner bit did most of the heavy lifting for removing material, followed by a router and a simple template to clean everything up and create consistent pockets. The goal was to keep the cavities tight and repeatable so the shelves would slide on with a snug, confident fit.

Once installed, the shelves appear to float, with no visible fasteners or support.

This project was a good introduction to thinking about tolerance, alignment, and how small inaccuracies compound when parts need to fit together cleanly. It’s also one of those builds where the behind-the-scenes work is far more involved than the finished piece lets on.

Simple, functional, and quietly doing their job — exactly what I was after.