These Container Store Shelves are a Renter’s Dream

How These Container Store Shelves Are a Renter’s Dream

Lydia Geisel

When Liz Mundle, moved into her boyfriend’s 500-square-foot apartment, the pair was prepared to make some serious storage compromises. The one thing they weren’t willing to budge on? Their books, which had to be easily accessible at all times.

The problems: uneven floors, bulky raditors, and windows blocking the perfect space for displaying books. The duo were not ready to spend dozens on custom built-in bookcases or drilling dozens of holes in the wall to hold up a bunch of separate brackets. The fix: The Container Store’s Elfa Easy Hang shelves.

Mundle had used different variations of the shelving system in her past two apartments, so she knew they were rental-friendly and affordable. “When I did research on custom cabinetry, $3,000 was the bare minimum,” she says. Cue the perfect weekend project! Mundle walks through the installation.

THE SUPPLIES

- White Elfa Easy Hang Standards 102” x 6 - White Elfa Solid Shelf Brackets 10½” x 36 - White Elfa Solid Shelf Brackets 14 ½” x 6 - White Elfa Clip Bookends x 5 = $35 - White Elfa Easy Hang Top Tracks 56” x 2 - Toggle anchors - 12” x 1” boards, cut to fit - 3/8” drill bit

STEP 1: MAP IT OUT

In order to calculate how many brackets she would need, Mundle measured all of the different distances on the wall (ceiling to floor, top of windows to top of ceiling, bottom of windows to floor, and the space in between the windows), jotting each down on a rough sketch of the space. At this point, she also calculated how far apart she wanted the shelves to be from one another: 10 inches between the two top planks, 12 for the middle slabs, and 14 for the lowest shelves. “I wanted to create the illusion that the ceilings are taller than they actually are,” she says. Mission completed.

STEP 2: CUT THE SHELVES

To achieve a streamlined look, the couple decided to splurge on 1-inch-thick clean pine versus 1/2-inch knotty pine, which was almost half the cost. “My eyes popped out of my head when I saw the quote,” says Mundle, laughing. The investment, though, was worth it: They handed their measurements to the carpenter and took their freshly cut planks back that day.

STEP 3: DRILL THE HOLES

The biggest pro of the easy-hang shelves is that there’s minimal wall damage involved. To do this, you’ll need a 3/8-inch drill bit to ensure the openings will be large enough for the toggle bolts, which anchor for the shelf screws and can support more than 200 pounds of weight. The trick is making sure all the holes are level with one another and spaced out about 6 inches apart. To do this the pair held up the shelves next to the wall, as flush and straight as possible, and marked the spots with a pencil. Next, they drilled the holes and screwed in the toggle bolts—very carefully.

STEP 4: INSTALLATION

Once the bolts were in, she installed the top track and screwed it in. The vertical attachments that support the brackets are even easier to attach. These pieces hook onto the track at the very end and slide across it. Finally, the brackets that support the wood shelves hook into the attachments.

STEP 5: STYLE AWAY

Rainbow bookshelves are cute but Mundle organized her books with function top of mind: Titles that get the least use now live at the very top, while prized cookbooks enjoy a spot front and center by the stairs. “I never have to pull up a chair or stool to get them,” she says. After sitting in boxes for months, her favorite reads can now breathe a little easier—and thanks to the shelves, so can the couple.