How to build a Magazine Rack, or Piano Book Rack

The sun is shining in Colorado, oh happy day!  After a week under the rain and snow (yes snow on mother's day) I was needing some bright sunshine in my life, it does wonders to lift the spirits!

Today I am SO excited to share with you how to build a magazine rack, or a Piano book rack, which ever you prefer/need.   I wrote up some plans, my first ever, on sketch up!  Even if they are super simple, it is a start.  :)
Free Plans for How to build a Magazine rack, I need several of these!!

This is the kind of project you can do in a few hours.  I love how easy it is, but especially how useful it can be.  Not only that, it is super inexpensive!  With a 1x2 furring strip (which is approx $1.23 at Home depot), and free 5 gallon paint sticks (ask for them at the paint counter at any hardware store) you are spending less than $2, and you could make up to 5 magazine racks out of 1 furring strip!  If paint sticks are not available you can use lathe boards which are also super cheap.

You may remember my DIY Magazine Rack that I made for my Master bathroom.  It has been awesome.  I was looking at it the other day and realized that it would be perfect for piano books, so I promptly got to work with the scraps that I had in my shed and made another one, with a slightly different design.

cutting wood for magazine rack
I had some scrap 1x2's and 3 five gallon paint sticks, and one piece of lathe (far left).  I bundled the paint stick and lathe with painter's tape and cut them to 16 inches.  My long 1x2 was also cut to 16" and the two smaller 1x2's were cut at 8''.  The little scrap board was cut from 1/4'' thick scrap chipboard and it was cut to 5 1/2'' x 2 1/2".
step 1 in building magazine rack
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I started by attaching my 1x2's together from the bottom with Gorilla wood glue and 1 1/2'' finish nails.
Step two in building magazine rack, attaching font slats
Then I simply glued my slats on top and nailed them in with 5/8'' finish nails.  Simple!
an alternate way to attach the front slats on a DIY Magazine rack
I also wanted to include another fun way to attach your slats...like I did on my other DIY Magazine Rack.
using a square to build magazine rack, attaching slats, and filing nail holes
I like to use a square when I am nailing my 1x2's to help keep things...well, square!  I also filled the nail holes with spackle.

step three in how to build a magazine rack, painting and adding chalkboard label
Spray painting magazine rack with rustoleum's satin aqua
I had a little bit of spray paint left over from my Pallet Top Table, so I used it up on this project.

step four in building a magazine rack, pre drill holes for attaching to wall
Don't forget to pre drill holes for attaching the magazine rack to the wall.  Although this may not be necessary if you are using self tapping screws, but very necessary for regular wood screws, you don't want to split your wood!
threading twine into chalkboard label to attach to magazine rack
After I painted my scrap piece of chip board with three coats of chalkboard paint I drilled holes in the corners for threading the twine.  To make it thread easier I added a small amount of painter's tape to the end.  Then I wrapped the twine around the middle slats and tied it in the back.   I did secure the twine in the back with painters tape to keep it from sliding.  You could simple glue the chalkboard onto the magazine rack if you prefer, wood glue or hot glue would work great.
putting magazine rack onto wall with 3 inch self tapping drywall screws
Using my stud finder I marked where the studs were on the wall.  I purposely made my magazine rack 16 inches apart to line up with the studs, you could make it any size you want, if you don't have studs to nail into, use wall anchors.  Then, I started my 3 inch self tapping drywall screws into to my rack to make it easier when I got it on the wall.  Once lined up on the wall I screwed them all the way into the studs, making sure to keep it level.
How to Build a Magazine Rack, MyLove2Create
Here is a shot before I attached it to the wall, to show how great it is for magazines.  It can hold quite a bit.
How to Build a Piano Book Rack, MyLove2Create
And here it is sporting piano books!!  Ahh!  I love it!  Easy to reach and nice and tidy, why didn't I do this sooner?  You could modify the plans to make the rack longer or shorter.  I think a long one with a divider in the middle would be cute. :)
Easy to follow Free plans on How to build a piano book rack!  Perfect for all those kids piano books!

So what would you use these plans for...magazines or piano books...or something else entirely?  Thanks so much for reading!

Click here for Magazine Rack Free Plans!

Hugs!
Mindi

I will be linking to these parties and Savvy Southern Style

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16 comments

  1. Mindi, I really need to make one of these some day. They are so easy to make and very useful. I love that aqua blue color and that is totally amazing that you drew up the plans! :) I use index cards to draw on. lol

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  2. This looks really easy! Since my daughter plays the piano and we have piano books and music stacked on the piano, this would make an excellent way to easily access the books, and look cute as well! I am saving your tutorial, and appreciate the inspiration! :)

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  3. Nice job....and you made it look so easy. THanks for sharing.

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  4. Wow! I love this idea! I'm always looking for somewhere to put our magazines. I'll have to make one of these!

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  5. great tute for a magazine rack Mindi! woohoo for using the program to design. You amaze me with that spray paint.... it's like it never ends. LOL

    love your project!
    gail

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  6. Hi Mindi, I'm new to your blog and you have a lot of amazing ideas. What a wonderful idea for piano books. Have a wonderful weekend. Jo

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  7. Oh Mindi!!! This is just too clever and fantastic! We will be inheriting my parents piano and we could so use something like this...not to mention the overflowing books in my son's room! And your photos up there are so fantastic!!! What a cool tutorial you created! You never cease to amaze me friend! Have a wonderful weekend and beautiful job! Nicole xoxo

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  8. Beautiful! That ultra cover spray paint works really well huh?! I've got some and it just goes on so nicely.

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    Replies
    1. Oh just fyi, if you desire to do so, you can change your favicon (the little icon that shows up on the top of the web tab) to your blog logo. :) You go to layout in Blogger and there should be a "favicon" box on the top left... you can click it and upload your favicon. Otherwise it shows the Blogger logo... which is fine if that's what you want up there, but I figured I'd mention this because it took me a while to figure out I could change that!

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing this with Awesome Things Tuesday last week! Come party with us again, we'd love to have you!

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  10. Great tutorial! Really a handy idea!! Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  11. Hi Mindi, I'm just popping by to let you know that your Magazine rack will be Featured tomorrow night at our What to do Weekends Party! Thanks so much for sharing this great idea with us!
    Theresa

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  12. Mindi, this is so cute and I live that spray paint color! It would be perfect for my guest room.
    Thanks so much for sharing this great tutorial with me for Something to Talk About!
    Pinning!
    Karen

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  13. This is darling Mindi.. and can I say how in AWE I am of your sketchup skills! <3 Thanks for linking up!

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  14. Great post and its give us wonderful information how to maintain my magazine rack and how maintain my book step by step in the rack thanks for sharing paraphrase tool .

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  15. It has been awesome. I was looking at it the other day and realized that it would be perfect for piano books, so I promptly got to work with the scraps that I had in my shed and made another one, with a slightly different design.
    Financial modeling&Investment banking

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