With a thousand uses, you'll wonder how you lived without it!

You'll need
Item Material Measurement

shelf (1) 140 x 19mm timber cut and planed to measure 700 x 125mm
shelf back (1) 190 x 19mm timber cut and planed to measure 700 x 175mm
shelf ends (2) 165 x 19mm timber (or 2 offcuts measuring 200 x 150mm)

You'll also need: 5 x 30mm countersunk screws; 4 x pieces 18mm dowel, each 75mm long; waterproof epoxy resin (if using in bathroom) or PVA glue; 120 grit sandpaper; polyurethane gloss varnish; fasteners to fit shelf to wall.

Tools
Pencil, Graph paper, Handsaw or circular saw, Smoothing plane, Jigsaw, Spoke shave (optional), Electric drill

Here's how
1. Click on the illustration at the top of this page to get a larger diagram. Transfer pattern for shelf end to graph paper. Cut out all the components as shown in the diagram. Plane to correct width. Use a jigsaw to cut the two shaped ends. Give the edges a rustic irregularity with a spoke shave or plane.

2. Drill and insert 30mm-long countersunk screws in three places through the back into the rear edge of the shelf and twice through each of the sides into the shelf ends.

3. Drill four 18mm peg holes 40mm up from the bottom (see diagram for spacing). Allow the drill to rest against the bottom of the shelf as you proceed. This will give your pegs an even upwards tilt. Glue and insert pegs.

4. Sand and triple-varnish the shelf before fixing it to the wall through the upper back using appropriate fasteners for the wall type.

Source: The Complete Home Improvement Book (Murdoch Books)