Hello buildy friends! Things are getting serious now that we’re past Thanksgiving and the countdown is really on. Ana White and I have teamed up to bring you gift plans every Friday until Christmas as part of our Handbuilt Holiday series and today we have a fabulous bucket shelving system.
So far for this year’s series we’ve shared 8 awesome gift builds with free plans and today is another gift idea that’s sure to please.
Ana has the plans for this bucket shelving system here. I choose to fill my buckets with toys but this would also be great in a mudroom space for hats, gloves, scarves, shoes, etc.
The buckets are removable for easy toy transport. If you don’t like the shiny galvanized metal of the buckets another option would be baskets.
Ana designed the shelving support system so the bottom of the bucket rests on the back support and the top front edge rests on the front support. Genius I tell you!
To build this bucket shelving system follow Ana’s plans here.
I suggest using a scrap piece of 1×3 cut at a 45 degree angle to mark the legs where the cross supports will attach:
I choose to finish this piece using The Real Milk Paint Co. milk paint in flag red:
It’s got great coverage, I only used one coat then sanded to distress and sealed with clear wax.
Hope you enjoyed this fun bucket shelving project. It’s definitely a quick build you could have ready in time for Christmas!
Be sure to click here to see all the previous gift build ideas if you’re looking to make a handbuilt holiday gift. See you next Friday for another project.
I am not going to build anything, not anytime soon, although I am trying to learn in my older age. But your shelf gave me a wonderful idea on how to use the top shelf of something I already had, so thank you very much. Mine was meant to hold books and buckets will fit there nicely.
This project is so versatile! It would be great for drinks at a party, for the garage for tools, or the bedroom for toys. Thanks for sharing!
Love this idea! Could you re-link to the plans? The page isn’t showing up for me. Thank you!
Thank you Lora. And thank you for letting me know about the broken link, I have updated and the plans are here as well: https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/diy-bucket-or-basket-shelf-display-stand