How to Hang a Shelf in Front of Windows

Well, I guess I should start this post by saying I made my seasonal move from Florida to Utah last week! And since I’m in Fairview Cottage, I thought I’d work on my She Shed! It has a BIG window, but I’ve always wanted a shelf in front of it to hold cut flowers. But first I had to figure out how to hang a shelf in front of windows. Here’s my inspiration image-

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how to hang a shelf in front of windows

she shed before

My before pictures for this post are a little crummy- sorry! I’m still getting back into the groove of things. But here’s screen shots from my Instagram stories that show the big window I have and where I started from.

Side note, the windows are nice and big, but the seal on them has broken. So condensation gets between the two panes of glass and leaves them dirty. I don’t know it it’s possible to clean. Sob!

It’s a small shed, but by adding a shelf I knew I’d get beautiful open shelving and storage without taking up any more space.

SUPPLIES

step 1

Start by cutting the wood to size. I used a 2×4 since it is thick and would support the plants in the middle too. That was cut to 77″ wide (the width of my window).

A second 2×4 was cut to 35″ tall (where the window mullion is). I needed this piece for support on the right side. On the left side, there was a frame to the window to secure the bracket into, but the right side only had ship lap and the shelf needed a stud so we built our own.

I painted all the boards with two coats of paint- Beloved Pink by Behr. I’m going for a tone on tone look in the she shed so I painted these to match the ship lap. Since some parts would touch the window, I wanted to paint them before installing them.

The support 2×4 got screwed in first.

Then, the shelf got screwed into it. We already had a pretty sturdy shelf!

p.s. look at the picture above and see the rough foundation board? We decided to clean that up too, but I wanted to show you the before.

step 2

Next, cheap $2 shelf brackets were screwed into both sides to support the shelf. These are rated to hold 200 lbs! That’s plenty for some flowers in vases!

I painted the shelf brackets the exact same pink color so they faded away.

Then, I painted a decorative corbel and used nails to attach it to the front of the shelf. I had these on hand, but LOVE how they look! The brackets add a nice scalloped edge, but since they don’t support any weight they’re just there for looks.

One step I didn’t photograph was filling all the nail holes and screw holes with wood glue. Next, I also used caulk on all the seams. I love a well finished project and these steps gives such a polished look! Plus, there’s spiders galore in here so I want to do my part in keeping it pest free.

step 3

And now, the fun part! Gather plants from the garden and put them in pretty containers. I’ve thrifted some pitchers for this. Can you also see the customized mason jar? It says “Ashley’s she shed.” That’s from Shutterfly! Each jar says something different and it’s a fun detail!

after

Here’s the whole shelf in all of her glory! Isn’t she a beaut?! Shout out to my sister for some birthday flowers that really completed this shelf.

All the tulips and daffodils are from my garden and I love them so!!! This fall I’ll definitely plant more so I can have a variety of pinks. I also dream of doing a rainbow tulip garden. Wouldn’t that be so fun?!

Now that you’ve seen my inspiration image and the after- do you think I should add more shelves above or below this one? I’m not itching to add a scalloped trim to the header on the window.

Another fun detail that I added a few days ago are the painted butterflies on the back wall. They’re all thrifted and then I painted them to match the walls. I love how they look to be flying off!

If you’re wondering about any of the items used in the she shed or past tutorials, this page will have all that information and more.

How do you like the shelf? It makes me so happy! I’ve been wanting to build this for years so it was so happy to fill it up as I envisioned it.

Last,. I wanted to show you how the shelf looks from the outside. It’s hard to see because of that dang broken seal on the window, but it definitely adds some cheer!

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