apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

West Elm shelves come with GREAT templates for drilling... you tape the template to the wall, check level, then drill. Super easy. And these bracketed shelves are SUPER sturdy.

I used one low next to a sofa in a guest room as a side table by day, nightstand by night.

It would be great if they sold the shelves and brackets separately...

Such an improvement over the "floating" (ahem...falling) shelves they sell.

Glad it's not just us. We had the WE floating shelf up for 1/2 an hour before our cat ripped it out of the wall.

I also really wish they sold the brackets alone so you could use your own choice of shelves. West Elm won't tell where they get their brackets and won't sell them alone (I asked). No one else seems to sell any modern looking brackets at all. I could not bring myself to buy the shevles and brackets just to throw the shelves away so I finally went to IKEA for some very clean looking floating shelves that cost a fraction of these but have an even more modern look. But I still wish West Elm sold just the brackets!

Torgny--

What's so wrong with the West Elm shelves themselves?

And also, these are WAY sturdier than the Ikea floating shelves, rated for only a few pounds of support each...

"What's so wrong with the West Elm shelves themselves?"

Maybe we'd like to repurpose some pre-existing slabs of wood or install longer shelves using 3 brackets instead of just two?

Maybe the person to whom I asked the question should respond.

I'd look around to see what was available, as there are many shelf brackets out there.

Here are a few links (none identical to the ones at West Elm):

http://www.jwright.com/index.cfm?CategoryID=44&do=list

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&cat=3,50659,55167&p=55167

http://www.umbra.com/ustore/product/330606/c040/trillis_shelf_bracket.html

http://www.vandykes.com/product/02007138/

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=179676-1469-LW-0091-8BRZ&lpage=none

http://www.paxtonhardware.com/products.asp?dept=32

http://houseofantiquehardware.com/s.nl/sc.13/category.60/.f

All of which are considerably less expensive and available individually or in pairs without the shelf.

@ patrick (the other one) -- I don't think that person needs to respond with their particular reason for you to consider many plausible answers to your question, for which mine would be, they just should be sold separately; brackets are brackets and shelves are shelves.

Thanks bepsf for your comment. Please continue to speak up, freely and often. In a small space, it is important to customize and maximize shelving. Besides, the prices for these are outrageous. They're cute, but not *that* nice.

I have these shelves/brackets, The circle ones. I love them. They're very sturdy and add another element of wall art, but with a purpose.

Cute brackets!

we purchased a "floating shelf" at west elm. it's sort of drooping--not exactly floating.

we'd love to just place brackets under it like the top ones shown above. simple & modern.

besides the links that "true blue" offered, does anyone have any other suggestions?

i tried the internet & home depot and i swear, these are the only really simple, modern brackets.

thanks.

And if they just sold brackets you'd be bitching about where to find great clean modern shelves.

http://www.diy.com/sl/home-improvement/761323392-bq-modern-cast-shelf-brackets-aluminium-finish-pack-of-2.html

i found these nice looking brackets. does anyone know if they're available in the us?

thanks.

patrick (the other one)....you are so snarky. it's ridiculous. are you nice in real life and just vent your life's frustration through your comments?

brackets anyone? anyone?

Marlene--

I'm not always snarky, but I am frequently, lately, annoyed by the constant negative feedback to every little thing posted here. The editors work very hard to provide AT readers with stuff to look at, and constant content generation is not easy, yet it seems EVERY new post is greeted by "meh" "So expensive" "I could DIY it" or "my cat would eat it." And I particularly get annoyed when the retailers like West Elm get an almost automatic negative response, regardless of product.

It gets old.

But apologies for adding to the negativity if that's how you have interpreted my comments of late.

And btw, my original comment to torgny was sincere, not snarky.

And my first comment on this post was positive.

ok, now that we're past that...i'm still looking for good looking brackets.

any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks.

'Wants to buy shelves and brackets separately' is not an unreasonable request. They could still sell shelves and not make anyone buy them, so I don't get the bitter and demanding tone re: what's everyone got against West Elm. It's just that one teeny tiny little thing.

I appreciate the contributors to the site finding all this new stuff to share, but I also appreciate the real life experiences of my fellow consumers, and alternate suggestions from the community. Nothing to send anyone into a rage about, it's only decorative furnishings.

I just placed this ad in the classifieds if anyone is interested or knows anyone they might pass it along to.
I'd appreciate it.

http://classifieds.apartmenttherapy.com/phpclass/ad.php?adid=6288

It's the Westelm Modular Bookcase. It's great looking but, doesn't fit in our space and we'd like to sell it. It's brand new.

I'm also wondering if anyone has any suggestion about how to hang the floating shelf properly since it's drooping slightly with the screws that come with it. That's why I was requesting suggestions for brackets.

Thanks.

K T G--

My "bitter and demanding tone" was not based solely on the response to his post. It is in reaction to a continued tide against pretty much any branded retailer, and I just simply don't get why people aren't happy to have the new(ish) choices of places like West Elm.

Sometimes there seems to be no winning, and it gets frustrating to read, day after day, how WE is cheap or expensive or doesn't sell their products in the ideal configuration or whatever the complaint du jour is.

Again, apologies for adding to the negativity which has frustrated me here of late.

robbin--

I'd suggest getting angle brackets from a hardware store and painting the "wall part" your wall color.

It's understandable that some people get put off by what seems like continuous negativity against this product or that product or everything. It also seems like people are willing to leap out in protest of an innocent comment as if it were extreme and highly insulting.

I am super glad people can say, to some degree, how these things online actually work in their home, and their dealings with customer service. I don't get that they are being negative, just honest, and sometimes maybe super-particular or snobby in nature, but those things kind of wash, and let people like what they want to like and not be pushed around by self-proclaimed experts.

I don't like blogs where everyone loves everything the blogger loves and loves everything they do, make, find, sell, and/or show. It's to be expected that bloggers (contributors, in this case) who are doing the legwork, exhibiting their work, their tastes, and along with their thoughts, things some will find interesting, and others will have drawn another conclusion, and invited to comment.

It's neither wise nor necessary for the contributors to ignore large and available retailers, but it is helpful to me as a consumer when someone is allowed to say something like
"they wouldn't let me order brackets separately, so I am looking for another resource with similar designs" without being hassled for a motive as if they aren't capable to justify this minor decision.

I take most articles in this blog as style suggestions and not product/designer endorsements, so I and other readers might be interested in resources for similar brackets, and in not wasting time heading to West Elm if we're not intent on taking the set, and read the follow-up comments accordingly.

K T G--

You read waaay too much ire and insult in my comment(s).

"Mere annoyance" is as bad as it got for me.

And btw, my first snipe here was directed at a commenter I find to be *continually* negative, with extremely little constructive criticism ever offered... but thanks for at least addressing me in a civilized and thoughtful manner.

>>I'd suggest getting angle brackets from a hardware store and painting the "wall part" your wall color.<<

Thanks, that's a good idea.

Yeah, when I'm not being a bitter snark, I do make a valid contribution here and there. ;)