I'm totally doing this! It would solve my broken bookcase problem and is just stylish!

That is surprisingly attractive.

oooooh this is nice!

Ooooh, I remember when I first saw these and loved them. Thanks for reminding me!

Great! One question. When you stated that you drilled holes in the wood so the pipe would fit through, are you talking specifically the 90 deg pieces nearest the sheetrock?

i really like this. sort of looks like a spider climbing up the wall. somehow it plays really well with the rug, too...

has anyone else tried this?

kelly
http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com

This blog ROCKS!

I really like this. maybe is the painted plumbing that makes this DIY awesome. Well done, very well done. bravo.
joel

I think I finally see what they mean by "intelligent design" ! Brilliant job. Somehow it manages to be stylish and unobtrusive at the same time. And simultaneously modest and impressive. You've performed a bit of magic. Bravo.

I've been in love with this since I saw Todd Oldham create desks for his office out of flange pipes and wood planks on "House of Style" way back in the day.

It's inexpensive, looks expensive and very, very industrial modern!!!!! LOVES!

Genius - and so much better than a group of crappy Billy bookcases!

I loooove this. Unfortunately I don't have the wherewithal to do it myself!

Can't believe I missed this yesterday. AWESOME.

My husband made a desk that looks just like this! It was more difficult than we thought because you have to consider which direction the threading will go on the pipe pieces.

We opted for a butcher block top from ikea.

My husband had this exact idea for shelves for his home office! He just has yet to execute it.

(I showed him this post, and he said "They stole my idea!" LOL)

Great. Nothing transforms a room like floor to ceiling custom shelving.

I'm handy, but I have a minimal selection of power tools and wonder how easy the holes are to cut-- they used a drill to cut 'em?

As I understand the instructions, it's anchored only to the wall from the topmost pipes. Or, is it necessary to use screws on the floor, as well? I never hesitate to mount things on the wall-- if I want to change it down the line, repairing the wall is easy. I'd think twice before screwing into my wood floor, though.

Having attractive shelves cut at the lumber yard is easier said than done-- pine is generally the only solid wood available, and it's a rather loathsome, knotty wood. Finished birch plywood, a la the Eames? Never quite works for me-- the plywood striping on the edges is never dense enough to leave visible (there are inevitably "gaps" in the striping, leaving it looking crude and rough). Where does one buy high-grade plywood?

@shirley: If you have a powered screwdriver or drill, then its fairly easy to find a circle cutter set at any hardware store. They are the set that are generally used to cut the openings for doorknobs.

As for wood to use, maybe getting shelves from another place would do the trick. Places like ikea and the container store sell finished shelves that could easily be re-purposed for this.

Circle cutter set, eh? Guess my power drill has wondrous hidden abilities I've never explored. Thanks.

Ikea & Container store shelves are "meh"/ okay, but one is then obliged to design around their standard sizes.

Regarding plywood, and its unsatisfactory striping: I wonder if one could successfully fill the raggedy stripes with a wood filler, then sand well & finish? (Note to self: experiment with this technique!)

use wood "Tape" veneers for edging that usually has adhesive on the back that you iron on to the wood's edge. (also comes in glue it yourself) Many types of wood veneers available for contrast to the shelf color if you want.

You will need a specialized edge trimmer (a straight knife or box cutter is asking for trouble.) (trying to fix one edge perfect is asking for design trouble and not worth the sweat) Invest in the basic special cutter and save your sanity and/or a trip to the emergency room. You also might find one for rent at a hardware/tool rental place. Maybe a woodworkers co-op or something....

link on wood edge tape...

Ron Hazelton DIY
http://www.ronhazelton.com/archives/tips/Wood_Edge_Tape.shtm

I'm familiar with and have used veneer tape (to "hide" those unsightly edges).

While it's the best solution I've found so far, something about it rubs me the wrong way-- the veneer tape is ersatz trickery to hide a bad aspect of my shelf design.

It seems as dishonest as a toupee over a bald spot, if you get my drift.

Dense well-made plywood, showing the cut edges, would be preferable.

This goes on the list of things that I love but just won't work in my house. Sigh.

I'm constantly amazed at the wonderful things people do with plumbing materials (remember that awesome bed in Bangalore? and the bedside shelving system in Chicago recently?). I love this and would love to try my hand at it. Maybe at our next place!

I keep wanting to do this bookshelf but I can never decide where to put it. One day...

totally gonna use this in the basement. Maybe take a page out of the Leaning selves/ desks and add a 4-way to bring a section out and then hang another shelf with u-bolts for keyboard tray?

I remember a post (maybe it was a house tour?) where the owner had done his entire office (desk shelves) with plumbing pipes and wood planks like here. Does anyone remember that post? I'm hoping someone can point me towards the page here on apartment therapy. Thanks.

The link to the DYI instructions doesn't seem to be working for me. Is anyone else having this problem? I really love the look of these shelves, and my husband is on board to build them with me, so I would really appreciate any help getting the instructions!

My husband and I made one of these based off of Morgan's tutorial with the help of my handy father-in-law. It's huge and I designed it to incorporate our wall mounted TV which I know might sound a bit sacrilege but we have a tiny space so whatevs-- its functional. I love it and it was so much cheaper than what we priced out with shelving from Ikea! We get tons of compliments on it even though it is nowhere near as stylish as Morgan's because we use it for most of our storage.

shirley-temple-of-doom: what you want then is baltic birch plywood. They use solid plys so there are no gaps along the edge. More $$ than regular, but stronger and nicer looking. also, veneer edgebanding is a perfectly acceptable way of finishing plywood (it is already a veneer as it is). If you don't want to see the edge, just use solid wood.

jose A & shirley: they make lots of different sizes than the set used for cylindrical door hardware sets. Just ask for hole saws (you could use a spade bit too, but the hole saw is cleaner) and make sure you use a powerful enough drill otherwise it will bind. also, make sure your drill is exactly perpendicular to the wood otherwise your hole will be angled. it sometimes helps to 'rock' the drill a bit to get through the wood.

Q: Is the pipe galvanized or black iron?

This is a great place and the information is absolutely brilliant!

housecalls