Are Floating Shelves Smaller on Top or Bottom?

Floating Shelf Basics

• Floating shelves may appear to have no braces, but they actually hide the braces within the structure of the shelf itself. The shelf is hollow -- picture a cereal box with one edge cut out. When you install the shelf, you mount a bracket to the wall that slips inside the hollow shelf and holds it up.

Floating Shelf Components

• Although different brands and models will have different particulars, most floating shelves consists of three different kinds of component. The shelf is the hollow frame that holds up whatever you store on the shelf. The bracket, called a "cleat," is a metal, wooden or rubber stub you screw to a wall stud. The shelves will also include some kind of hardware that attaches the frame shelf to the cleat -- such as a set of screws or bolts. Whether the top or bottom of the shelf is larger will depend on the general measurements of these components.

Standard Construction

• The majority of floating shelves tend to have a square-built or rectangular shelf. This means that neither the top nor the bottom is larger than the other face. With no definite top or bottom, you will mount it in order to obscure any mounting hardware. If you mount the shelf above eye level, you want the holes for mounting hardware to be on the top face. If below eye level, install the shelf so the hardware is on the bottom face.

Custom Construction

• It's possible to buy -- or custom make -- odd-shaped floating shelves. Such models may have a narrower top or bottom face, limited only by the imagination or budget of the person building the shelf. In such cases, the instructions that come with the shelves -- or the directions of the person who builds them -- will help you know which face should be oriented in which direction.