Adding A Floating Shelf To A Window

When sharing some videos of our bathroom on Instagram recently, many of you noticed an easy update we added: a wooden, floating shelf in the window. It was such a simple DIY project that we did on a whim a while ago (and it was extremely affordable too!) so we wanted to show you the easy steps to make one yourself.

For reference, this is what the window looked like when we first showed you the before and afters of this space back in 2020. We’ve always used the deep windowsill for some decor and greenery, but adding the extra shelf gave us room for more things, and just generally adds some nice interest to a formerly non-descript window.

The steps for this depend somewhat on your specific window, but here’s what we used for ours:

Tools & Materials

  • Cove molding or quarter round
  • A wooden board or, in our case, scrap butcher block
  • Saw (we used a circular saw, but a miter saw or table saw could work also)*
  • Hammer & nails (or nail gun)
  • Measuring tape
  • Level
  • Pencil
  • Paintable caulk
  • Paint (to match your existing trim)

*You could also get the board cut to size at Lowe’s or Home Depot, in which case you wouldn’t need a saw & could likely use a small hand saw or hack saw for the thin quarter round supports.

Continue reading Adding A Floating Shelf To A Window at Young House Love.