Well, after thinking about it a while, I decided it would be unique in the use of the wood. I have many scrap pieces laying around in the shop from other projects. Cut off ends, left overs, that kind of thing. They are often of a unique, smaller size which does not lend to use as a "primary" wood for a project unless it is a really small project. Here, I thought, I could make the back of the shelf a montage of those wood scraps.

Various wood scraps used to make the shelf

Pieces of walnut, pine, oak, etc. All different but in combination, unique and beautiful. Than, for the sides and actual shelfs, I had a bit of Kimberly Pine left over from a Buffet I had made years ago. It's very nice wood which I felt would combine with the multiple wood background nicely.

The shelf design is somewhat a standard item we've all seen. A knick knack concept where there are various dividers to display items on. The design I made, I made. Just looked at our bathroom and figured out how tall, wide and deep I'd like it and made the concept up as I went along. To make it a little more unique, rather than flush mounting it on the wall, I made it float 3/4" off the wall with hidden spacer pieces behind the back of the shelf.

The cut off ends from the back became a sculpture, click here.

First I made the back. It's basically a cutting board so to speak. Various pieces were picked out, arranged in a fashion I liked. Glued together to make on large pieces of wood for the back of the shelf.

The shelf sides and dividers: that was accomplished by rabbits to allow the various shelf dividers to slide into place. Initially I was going to then put a front decorative border to hide those grooves and provide another design element out of walnut (as seen in my starting shelf pieces). After getting into the project, I liked it as it was upon making the shelf sides, tops and dividers and felt it did not need the walnut border. So that was left out.

For the final finish, I choose to use wipe on satin poly urethane. The clear, natural finish shows the natural beauty of all the different woods involved in the project. I first applied the finish to the interior pieces of the shelf frame. Then the frame was glued up and the outside finished. The back and the shelf dividers: simply finished and put into place, order of finish not being important on those pieces.

This "boxed" shelf concept is quite adaptable. One could make it out of any wood one likes. The size and shape, totally up to the person and place where the shelf would reside. My wife (and kids) like the shelf and I like it also.

Knick Knack Shelf Photos
Shelf Pieces		Shelf Back Pieces Arranged
Back, Sides and Dividers Prepared		Shelf Top, Bottom, and Sides Glued
Shelf Frame Interior Pieces Being Finished		Shelf Frame Exterior Being Finished
Divider Pieces Being Finished		Divider Pieces Inserted
Back, Spacers and Mounting Pieces Added		Shelf Completed In Shop
Shelf Completed In Shop Angle View		Shelf Completed In Shop Close Up Detail