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Home & Garden Articles
Decorative Shelf Brackets - It's Time to Give Your Shelves a Whole New Look
Fri 23 Feb 2007 - 11:05
Decorative Shelf Brackets - It's Time to Give Your Shelves a Whole New Look
By Joel Benstein
Decorative shelf brackets are an often underrated element in eye-catching shelves. It's all too easy to overlook them while concentrating on the shelf itself, or the shelf edging, but it would be a mistake to do so.
Sometimes, instead of replacing old shelves all you need to breathe new life into them is to invest in decorative shelf brackets.
Brackets complement and highlight a shelf, defining its look and feel, and adding to the character of the room. You can find them in materials as diverse as classic wrought iron, modern sleek chrome, warm and inviting wood and more.
Shelf brackets should reflect their surroundings. Modern chrome brackets fit better holding up glass shelves in a bathroom, but cast iron Victorian brackets will work better in a foyer or formal dining room.
You can find an endless variety of decorative shelf brackets online. They range from 99 cents apiece up to hundreds of dollars for just one of a pair. In order to choose what's best for you, decide how many brackets you'll need, what style you are interested in, and your budget. Don't forget to take into account the weight load rating for the brackets. While most brackets will hold up most shelves, make sure you double check that the decorative shelf brackets you've set your heart on are suitable for your shelves before you purchase them.
Size is important too. It's important for the bracket to properly support the shelf that it's holding up. A common mistake is to buy brackets that are either to big or too small for the shelves. If they're too big then they'll stick out, and if they're too small then the shelf could be unstable and dangerous. The projection of the bracket (the part that sticks out from the wall and holds the shelf) should extend to within an inch of the outer edge of the shelf.
You don't have to buy decorative shelf brackets - you can make them instead. With a little imagination and some common sense, you could take many household or flea market objects and turn them into creative and unique shelf brackets. Bicycle handlebars, old baseball bats, hockey sticks and children's toys could all be usable as brackets. Just remember that first and foremost they need to provide stable and uniform support for the shelves that they are meant to hold up.
You can even go to another level and create brackets that match the theme of the room. For example, try glued-together kitchen utensils for an eye-grabbing set of brackets in the kitchen. Or how about gluing old video cassettes to a thin metal bracket for a shelf next to the TV? You can also take cheap brackets and decorate them. Try attaching CDs onto brackets for a striking stereo shelf or sticking ribbons and bows on a plain shelf bracket in a little girl's room? The sky's the limit. Go wild with some decorative shelf brackets.
Joel Benstein is a Do-It-Yourself enthusiast. Over the years he has taught himself basic plumbing, electrical repair, window screen construction, gardening and landscaping. He is also an avid woodworker. You can see examples of some of his projects and get ideas and information for all kinds of shelving in your home at http://www.home-shelving-guide.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joel_Benstein
http://EzineArticles.com/?Decorative-Shelf-Brackets---Its-Time-to-Give-Your-Shelves-a-Whole-New-Look&id=462773
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