a kandell pilaster shelf look-a-like for $39.99

richard from vancouver, canada, gets inspired by john kandell's pilaster shelf, a classic designed in 1989.

"i was recently thumbing through the april 2007 issue of metropolitan home when i came across a bathroom hi�low feature showing a book shelf by john kandell for a swedish company kallemo. it was being used to house towels in the high end example. i found the book shelf and it's application intriguing and thought it would be an excellent solution in my bathroom. the example was 920.00 to the trade and more for full retail. this was definitely not in my budget so off to ikea to see what i might hack.

john kandell's pilaster shelf (left) and
ikea's varde free standing kitchen shelf (right)

i found the varde wall shelf for $59.00 (US $39.99). it is pre-drilled with all the necessary hardware. cut down the shelves to equal the distance on both sides from the center mount (8 3/8" width in total ) and cut the shelf depth to 7�". use the two back spines cut to the length you need and dowel together to form one long spine while being mindful that the pre-drilled shelf mounting holes remain equally distanced from top to bottom after making the joint. paint with 2 coats of melamine paint or your preferred finish and mount to the wall using inserts and the pre-drilled mounting holes.

i was quite pleased with result and the price as i already had the black melamine paint left over from another project."