DIY Rain Gutter Bookshelves

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One of my favorite things that I did in the boys room EVER was this project.  In the Florida house the boys shared the room initially and eventually parted ways to their own rooms.  This design idea spanned ages from 2 to 15!  I don’t have pictures of the early days but we used RAIN GUTTERS to display books that we would read before bed.  At another stage my little guy filled them with beanie babies and smaller stuffed animals.  Another stage was for art to text books! The last phase was a simple strand of Christmas lights for a fun vibe at night.  All in all they never outgrew a use for the gutters!

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I used beadboard on the lower portion of the wall then used vinyl rain gutters just above where you would install a chair rail.  The beadboard was decorative and not necessary (or related) to the project. LOL.   You could just measure up from the floor to the desired height and mount them.  They aren’t sharp or hazardous for small children and have a plethora of fun uses.

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I bought my gutters at Lowes and a 10 foot section of plastic rain gutter is only $6.37!!! See https://www.lowes.com/pd/Amerimax-5-5-in-x-120-in-K-Style-Gutter/1005159.

They sell end caps which are decorative and add a nice finishing touch if you want to add them or if it will be visible to the room.  Note that the end caps are specific for the left or right and are only $1.68 each.  See  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Amerimax-Aluminum-K-Style-Left-Gutter-End-Cap/3009328

If you need to trim the length of the gutter you can use a hack saw or jig saw.  You may even be able to use a sharp box cutter!  Nothing real fancy needed.

You will want to add hangers to support the gutters which are hidden from view.  I used them roughly every 36 inches but that’s up to you! Use a good wall anchor and you are golden.  The hangers look like this https://www.lowes.com/pd/Amerimax-Traditional-Vinyl-Gutter-Hidden-Hanger/1000208071

All in all this is a really inexpensive project that looks cute and is so functional!!!! Even when we prepared to sell, stripped down, went as neutral and vanilla as possible I kept these in place and used them to stage the bedroom.

Loved them to the end!

About Laurel Dane Designs, LLC

Making our final house into a home one room at a time. This is our 11th and final home so it is unique. Every detail in this home is aimed at creating our FOREVER home. I've worked on many of my homes and clients homes so theres plenty of inspirational for all home styles here!

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