Main Project Plans and Inspirations: Mountain Shelf

Personal Aesthetic

For my main project, I’m re-creating a mountain shelf I made a few years ago—with added details I’ll discuss later. I love this piece because it perfectly aligns with my personal aesthetic. I’m particularly drawn to wood-based creations, which add a rustic charm and warmth to any space. As a Colorado native, I wanted to design a mountain shelf that echoes the spirit of my home by incorporating the natural wood elements I adore.

Figure 1 shows one of my college bedrooms and how I decorated it. I enjoy blending different natural colors like tans, browns, greys, and greens. My personal aesthetic can best be described as a mix of earthy neutrals with rustic modern. The earthy neutrals appear in my color choices. The rustic modern aspect emerges through the various decor and furniture I choose. This style incorporates the use of natural materials while keeping clean lines and visually appearing patterns.

For a closer look at my original mountain shelf, see Figure 2. For this project, I used 1″x4″ boards that I will use again. I made the mistake of cutting at very difficult angles, and have since learned the lesson and will not have to repeat it. I really like how I incorporated varying sized peaks and I will be doing this again. I am debating if I will stick with the three peak or not yet. I really like the stain color and still have it, so I will be keeping it the same color.

Inspiration

In order to improve my mountain shelf design, I want to create a shelf with a hinged door to keep keys and other miscellaneous items in. I am debating on whether I do this idea or create small drawers. Either idea will satisfy the dynamic requirement of this project. I also think it would be more functional to add coat hangers to the shelf. I looked up ideas for this and there are various ideas on Etsy, one of them shown in Figure 3. I am not completely set on if I will be incorporating both the usable shelf and coat hangers, but I think I have a good starting point of what I want for the finished product. Next steps are to sketch out of the design of my mountain shelf.