This Creative DIY Turns An Awkward Corner Space Into A Chic Storage Solution
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Empty spaces in your home are like blank canvases just waiting to be filled with something functional and beautiful. But let's be honest — nearly every home has tricky spots like cramped hallways or lifeless corners that resist any decorating attempts and don't seem to serve any purpose. Take TikToker @thatplacewelive's hallway corner, for instance: It's an L-shaped nook formed by a doorway on one side and a short wall leading to another doorway on the other side, which provides quite a decorating challenge. To make the most of this tiny space, she transformed it into a chic, decorative floating corner shelf that spans the entire middle of the wall.
She crafted a slender shelf using ¼-inch plywood strategically placed in the corner near the short wall. Since her wall featured a mid-wall trim, she used this to support her shelf. She also extended the shelf to the edges of the wall using 1-inch strips. Since the shelf and strips rest on top of the trim, it serves as a perfect transition between the upper and lower parts of the wall.
How to DIY a decorative shelf for an awkward corner space
The key to infusing life into awkward spaces is to effectively utilize the floor and vertical areas without obstructing the home's traffic patterns or walkways. Adding elements like slim shelves that fit within the available space is a great option. To make your own chic shelf, measure and plan its dimensions. Use cardboard or scrap wood to mock up the perfect size, and test fit it on the wall with painter's tape. Once you're happy with it, use this template to cut your shelf to size. You can opt for a thin shelf or use a thicker board. While @thatplacewelive initially cut the triangular shelf and then added the 1-inch strips to the sides, a more streamlined approach would be to cut these as a single piece. If you don't have a mid-wall trim on your wall, you'll need to drill shelf supports under the shelf before nailing the shelf unit in place.
Of course, you're not limited to installing a single shelf. There are savvy ways to transform your corner space with floating shelves. For instance, Leslie Davis' budget-friendly floating shelf DIY also uses scrap wood and thin shelving to make a more functional corner space. If you have at least an inch of allowance from the wall to create a shelf, you can create horizontal floating shelves that can carry tiny decor and picture frames, like this picture ledge DIY created by The Craft Patch.
Alternative ways to design an awkward corner space
Don't just think about shelves, though. There are also small furniture pieces that could perfectly fit into the limited floor space. You can place furniture like a slender side table or a narrow storage piece. If you need additional storage, the IKEA TRONES is the perfect piece for narrow corner spaces with its depth of just over 7 inches. If you have the room and are feeling handy, why not do a recessed shelving DIY to add more storage to this space?
You can also beautify the space with decorative pieces like a vase or a small plant on a petite plant stand. Aside from utilizing the floor space, you can also use the vertical space. In addition to maximizing floor space, think about leveraging vertical space. Consider installing wall hooks with shelves (like this one on Amazon) or wall-mounted coat hangers. These elements can double as stylish displays for hanging plants, transforming practical storage solutions into attractive decorative accents.