Floating shelves:
depth, length and weight.

Long enough for its cleat to reach two studs, where you can (more on that below). Our standard lengths, each with shipping to the lower 48 states included (prices are on the pages for our Rustic Floating Shelves and Black or White Floating Shelves):

Need another length or depth? We’ll cut one to fit your wall and quote it with its shipping: ask for a custom quote.

Wood-framed walls typically have studs 16″ apart on center, sometimes 24″, so find yours before you choose a length.

The cleat inside is 1¾″ shorter than the shelf, and its screws have to land in the studs. On studs 16″ apart:

• —The 18″ shelf (a 16¼″ cleat) generally reaches one stud.
• —The 22″, 28″ and 32″ shelves (20¼–30¼″ cleats) reach two, if you place the shelf over them.
• —The 36″ shelf (a 34¼″ cleat) reaches two wherever it goes.

On studs 24″ apart, the 28″, 32″ and 36″ shelves reach two if you place them over both; the shorter ones reach one.

Fig. 1Wall · studs 16″ on center

Thick enough to hide its cleat: every size of ours is 4″ thick, a hollow box of ¾″ knotty pine with room inside for the wall cleat. The front runs the full height, with the top and bottom behind it and the ends between; the back is open to take the cleat.

The cleat sets the thickness. Its rail and arms are cut from a pine 2x4 (1½″ thick), sawn lengthwise to just under 2½″, and the box is 2½″ tall inside, so it slides over the cleat with a little room to spare and hides it completely.

Fig. 2Section · box on its cleat

For ours, we suggest keeping it to about 25 lb at 7″ deep or 20 lb at 10″ deep, with the cleat screwed into two studs. That’s a cautious figure, not a lab rating, and on drywall anchors alone, keep it lighter.

The farther the load sits from the wall, the harder it levers on the screws. That’s why a deeper shelf holds less, why heavy things belong toward the back, and why the cleat should go into two studs where it can.

Don’t count on drywall anchors alone. A loaded shelf pries at its top screws instead of pulling straight down, and that can pull anchors out of the drywall, which is why bracket makers advise anchors alone only for light loads.

Our build guide’s method, in four steps:

1. 01Find the studs first, before you choose where the shelf goes.
2. 02Draw the level line for the cleat, not the shelf: the cleat sits ¾″ (one board’s thickness) above the shelf’s bottom.
3. 03Screw the cleat to the wall, level, into studs where you can. Ours comes with the cleat and its fasteners.
4. 04Slide the shelf over the cleat until it meets the wall, then drive a screw up through the bottom into each of the cleat’s arms.

Building your own? Our free guide shows how to build rustic floating shelves on the same hidden cleat, step by step.

How high to hang them:

• —Above a toilet: high enough to lift the tank lid off, at least about 12″ above the tank; many people hang it 24–36″ above.
• —Above a counter: at least 15″ clear, the least the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), the designers’ trade group, recommends over a kitchen counter; 18″ is typical, and anywhere up to 24″ is common.
• —In a stack: about 12–15″ apart, closer for small things and farther for tall ones.