10 Dollar Ledges

I am trying to create in our bedroom a little reading/reflection corner--a peaceful, quiet place to sit and talk and pray - a place where no clothes are allowed to stack up.



To that end, I purchased these chairs several months ago at an estate sale, and I set them up in the corner with a side table that used to be in the living room.



I was trying to decide what to put on the walls of the corner -- enter the 10 dollar ledges.



Ana White posted a plan for these simple ledges, inspired by Pottery Barn. 

I decided to make them, because they seemed super simple and cheap, which they were.

I think they were a bit more than 10 dollars, but that's okay.  They were still much cheaper than Pottery Barn's option.

Here was my process.



Pretty simple.



Cut the boards.



Glue 'em and screw 'em together.  I filled my screw holes with wood plugs (5/16") and sanded them down flat. 



Sand, stain, varnish, and sand.  I sanded with 120 grit, then stained with a mixture of "ebony" and "walnut" stain, varnished x 2, and then finished sanding lightly with 600 grit.



And hang.



I need to do some fine-tuning of the things on the ledges...

 

I'm not completely satisfied with the look right now, but I need some input from some of my design-oriented friends (that's you, Sarah).

 

They look black in these photos, but they're actually espresso colored.  I'm pretty happy with them.  They're not perfect, but I made them and I like them.  Thanks, Ana White, for posting these plans!