The right shelf can change how a whole wall works. It can turn an empty alcove into useful storage, give a kitchen somewhere to display your favourite pieces, make use of a narrow hallway, or add warmth to a living room.
Finding the right floating shelf isn't always as simple as picking something that looks good in a photo. How deep should it be? How long? Chunky timber or something slimline? And what happens if the size you need isn't a standard one?
At Riverside Timber Craft, we make our wooden shelves in our workshop in Corr na Móna, County Galway, so we put together this guide to help you pick the right shelf for your space, and what to do if a standard size doesn't fit.
Start With the Room: What Do You Want Your Shelf to Do?
Before choosing the timber, length or style, think about what the shelf actually needs to do. A shelf holding books and kitchenware has a different job to a narrow shelf displaying a few photographs in a hallway.
Floating Shelves for Kitchens
Open timber shelving adds warmth to a kitchen and gives you practical storage for everyday items. Chunkier wooden shelves work well here because they have enough visual presence to sit alongside kitchen cabinetry.
Use them for mugs and glassware, cookbooks, plants, jars and containers, decorative pieces, and everyday kitchen essentials.
Our Chunky Floating Shelf with DOWN Brackets is made from solid timber with a depth of approximately 22 cm, giving you a substantial shelf with useful surface space.
Looking for kitchen shelving? Browse our Chunky Floating Shelves →
Floating Shelves for Living Rooms
In a living room, shelves aren't just about storage, they're part of the room. Real timber brings warmth and texture to a plain wall and gives you somewhere to display photographs, books, plants, candles and the pieces you've collected over the years.
For a stronger rustic or farmhouse look, our Rustic Floating Farmhouse Shelf with UP Brackets combines solid Douglas Fir with visible metal brackets. The timber is finished to bring out the natural grain, knots and character of the wood, so no two shelves look exactly the same.
Love the rustic look? Shop our Rustic Farmhouse Shelves →
Floating Shelves for Hallways & Small Spaces
This is where shelf depth matters most. A shelf that looks great in a large room can project too far into a narrow hallway, entrance or small bedroom.
That's why we created our Slimline Floating Shelves. At just 10 cm deep, they create useful display space without dominating the wall. Each order contains a set of three shelves in varying lengths, so you can group them together for a feature wall or space them separately around your home.
They suit hallways, entrance areas, bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices, small kitchens, narrow walls, and displaying photographs, candles and small plants.
Short on space? Shop our Set of 3 Slimline Floating Shelves →
Chunky or Slimline Floating Shelves?
Choose a chunkier, deeper shelf if you want the timber itself to be a feature or need more usable shelf space. Choose a slimline shelf if space is limited or you're mainly displaying smaller decorative items. Pick the shelf that works with the room, not the other way around.
UP Brackets or DOWN Brackets?
Our rustic shelving comes with visible metal brackets in two styles. With the UP bracket design, the brackets rise up behind the timber, giving a farmhouse, industrial look. With the DOWN bracket design, the brackets sit underneath the shelf. Both combine real timber with visible metalwork, but the finished look is noticeably different. If you're unsure which suits your room, look at the other metal finishes already in the space, your handles, lighting and furniture, for a guide.
What Size Floating Shelf Should I Buy?
Get the tape measure out and measure the wall rather than judging by eye. Think about:
- Length — how much of the wall you want the shelf to occupy
- Depth — what you're planning to put on it, and how far it can project into the room
- Position — clearance from doors, cupboards, windows and furniture
- Scale — a tiny shelf can disappear on a large wall, while an oversized one can overwhelm a small space
Measure twice. It's a lot quicker to double check than to discover after ordering that you needed another 10 cm.
What If I Can't Find the Size I Need?
Many of our products can be made to measure. If the standard sizes on our website don't fit your wall, send us the length and depth you need along with a little detail about the space, and we'll let you know what we can make.
Need a different size? Ask us about a Made-to-Measure Floating Shelf →
Why Choose Real Timber Shelves?
Real timber isn't perfectly uniform, and we don't try to make it look that way. Our solid timber has its own grain, knots and colour variation, so two pieces cut from different sections of the same board won't be exact copies of each other. Rather than forcing the material to look artificially even, we let the natural character come through in the finished piece, so the shelf feels made for your home rather than pulled off a warehouse shelf.
Handmade Floating Shelves in Ireland
Riverside Timber Craft is a small family business. Our floating shelves, fireplace mantels and timber furniture are handcrafted in our workshop in Corr na Móna, County Galway, made to order rather than kept in stock in a warehouse.
Current production time for our standard products is approximately 3–5 working days before dispatch, with nationwide delivery across Ireland. Workshop collection from Corr na Móna is also available.
Find the Right Shelf for Your Home
Whether you're filling an empty alcove, adding open shelving to a kitchen, creating a feature wall or making better use of a narrow hallway, start by choosing a shelf that fits your home.
Looking for a substantial timber shelf?
Shop Chunky Floating Shelves →
Prefer a rustic farmhouse look?
Shop Rustic Farmhouse Shelves →
Working with a narrow or smaller space?
Shop our Set of 3 Slimline Floating Shelves →
Can't find your size?
Contact us about a Made-to-Measure Shelf →
Every Riverside Timber Craft shelf is handmade from real timber, made to order in our Galway workshop.