Mid-Century Modern Bookshelf - FREE Building Plans! {Reality Daydream}

Mornin’ friends! Nick and I just got back from snowboarding in Colorado, and are trying to get back into the routine of life. But truthfully? Our heads are still in the clouds, and our hearts are in the mountains. <3

We had SO MUCH FUN hitting the slopes! The wind in our faces and fresh powder under our boards. It just doesn’t get better. This was a first vacation since the girls were born (they stayed with my parents), and we missed them soooo much! We need to teach the twins how to snowboard so they can come with us next time! Here’s Paisley practicing on the snowboard we got them for Christmas.

Anywho!

Last week, Nick and I built a little bookshelf for our bedroom, and it turned out so amazing… we just had to share!

Mid-Century Modern Bookshelf

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*This project is sponsored by Rockler. Thanks for supporting the amazing brands that make Reality Daydream possible! This post contains affiliate links*

After searching online for inspiration, Nick and I agreed that we wanted a small bookshelf with clean lines and a Mid-Century Modern feel to it. We put our heads together and dreamed up this little beauty.

I staged and photographed it in our dining room, because our bedroom isn’t quite ready for it. Let’s just say ‘Operation Paint-the-trim’ is underway. I can’t wait to share more! But for now, we’re going to throw down the tutorial for this MCM bookshelf. The best part is that you can modify the dimensions any way you need to fit your space!

We started out with a trip to the home improvement store to snag some lumber. In this case, pine will do the trick! Inexpensive, yet has an awesome woodgrain!

Materials List for Mid-Century Modern Bookshelf

5/4 x 4 – 8’ (Qty 2) Pine or White wood

1 x 8 – 8’ (Qty 1) Pine or White wood
1 x 12 – 8’ (Qty 1) Pine or White wood
3/8” Beadlock Tenon Stock (Qty 1) 20 pieces
Titebond Original glue
Paint (Your Choice)

Tools For Mid-Century Modern Bookshelf

After our daily lumberyard rendezvous we planed the 5/4 boards down to 1” thick. Then we measured, and cut the different lengths required for the frame of the shelf with a Kreg Precision Miter Gauge, (Qty 4) 28” lengths and (Qty 6) 6 1/2” lengths.

We then ripped down the 5/4 x 4 – 8’ boards down to 1 3/4” per plans. If you want to save a 5/4 x 4 – 8’ board you can by cutting the boards in half. It will be a little less than 1 3/4”, but could save you a couple bucks.

Next we laid out the frames and marked each location with an A and a B. The tenon stock comes in 1 3/8” widths, we felt like this was a little wide for this project so we cut off one of the five rounded lobes, cutting it down to 1” in width. Then we used the tenon stock and marked their locations on the frame. Last we marked the Center of the board thickness. All of this is well documented in the instructions of how to use Rockler’s Beadlock Pro Joinery Kit.

We will walk you through this, but we would recommend that you read and follow Rockler’s instructions and watch their video that outlines how it works and why it’s so handy! Meet Rockler’s Beadlock Pro Joinery Kit.

Using a scrap piece of wood, insert the drill guide block slide it to the left and tighten the corresponding knobs.

Next, remove the scrap piece of wood and grab your ‘Part A’ boards. Clamp them into place and slide the entire black carriage to align the center mark of the board thickness with the center-mark on the end of the black carriage.

We placed a shim under the board so that it rested on both the jig and the board you are drilling into.

Set the depth collar on the drill bit provided to 2 5/8” Slide the board to align the left edge of the mark you made for the tenon with the far left white mark on the drill guide block and clamp the board back into place.

Because we cut the tenon stock down from 5 rounded to 4 rounded, we will drill the first two holes (instead of the first three holes). Slide the drill guide block to the right, clamp it down and drill the first two holes again.

We did this for all the ‘Part A’ joints and then repeated the process for the ‘Part B’ joints. Once difference to note is the you will start with the jig in the right position, aligning the right lines first.

Here is how ours turned out.

Reassemble your parts, Glue the tenon joints, assemble and clamp. Let dry.

We used a Glue-Bot and a silicone glue applicator to get the glue down into the mortise.

While you are waiting for the frames to dry, cut the shelf backs and bottoms.

Mark 8” in from each edge on the shelf backs and bottoms, this is where the shelves will be brad nailed to the frames.

Glue, clamp, and nail the shelf backs to the frames. Then repeat for the shelf bottoms.

Repeat for the shelf bottoms.

Lastly! Sand, sand, sand and paint shelves. I am not going to lie, we tried to get this done before we went on vacation. In hindsight, we would have sanded and painted prior to assembly. Just saying… you might save yourself some time. eeekkk.

We LOVE how it turned out, and how simple the design is! How can something have such clean lines but have so much personality!

I had maybe WAY too much fun staging this little guy with plants, books and knick-knacks. I love my job!

I can’t wait to get this baby in place in the Master Bedroom as soon as we finish a few thing. Let’s just say all our furniture is in the middle of the room, soooo…

What are you building lately? Or what’s inspiring you? Do you ever feel like it’s hard to get back in the ‘Creative Groove’ after the holidays?

~Bethany

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If you love Mid-Century Modern style, you might also love this IKEA Rast Hack I did last summer! Still one of my FAVE furniture makeovers!