How to Build Plant Shelves & Attach Them to Windowsills

Plant shelves are an ideal way to provide your house plants with natural sunlight. While you could purchase a plant shelf, you can make your own and attach it to a windowsill that receives long hours of sunlight, such as in a south- or west-facing window. One advantage to building your own is that you can make it customized to your woodwork. Use a quality hardwood for the shelf that can be stained or painted to match the existing finish of the window trim. The result will be a built-in plant shelf for your window.

2 shelf brackets, with screws
Tape measure
Level
Screw gun
1- by 8-inch hardwood board, cut to length of windowsill
Sanding pad, fine-grit
Tack cloth
Wood finish
Paintbrush

Instructions

- 1
  Use a tape measure to position one shelf bracket 6 inches in from each end of the windowsill. The brackets should be placed so that the top surface of the hardwood board will sit flush with the windowsill when placed onto the brackets.
- 2
  Hold the brackets in place and set a level on top of them. Adjust the position of the brackets slightly if needed to make them level. Ask someone to help you hold the brackets in place while you level them if necessary.
- 3
  Mark the location of the bracket mounting holes onto the wood trim below the windowsill using a pencil.
- 4
  Fasten one bracket to the windowsill trim at a time, making sure that the mounting holes are lined up with the pencil marks. Use a screw gun to drive the provided screws into the trim to fasten the brackets in place.
- 5
  Sand the hardwood board with a fine-grit sanding pad in the direction of the grain until it is smooth.
- 6
  Clean off the dust left from sanding by wiping the board off with a tack cloth.
- 7
  Apply a wood finish to the board with a paintbrush. Allow the board to dry for 24 hours before handling it.
- 8
  Center the board over the brackets. Drive the provided screws through the mounting holes in the brackets into the bottom of the board.

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