The Shelves Are Going Up

After a few minor disasters and my dog nearly being crushed by a falling pile of magazines, the cabinet is now two shelves high and the dog is starting to trust that he can safely enjoy his beanbag again!  My creation looks like a two level shelf and stands about 24″ high.  I used 18 more magazines adding the second shelf and it really could be used just like this as a small shelf, if I didn’t want to see how far I could take this.  It is fairly stable, with the exception of one leg that insists on sitting at an angle, no matter what I do.  Since that leg isn’t falling off or keeping the cabinet/shelf structure from being as level as it can be (in a house with absolutely no level floors) I’m letting it stay put and live in peace.  In the pictures, it looks slightly more crooked than it actually is, but the shelves do sit about as level as uneven paper rolls can.

The two shelves of the base unit for the cabinet.

I definitely had a different picture in my head when I started this than what my end result is going to be, but I am pretty happy with how this crazy project is turning out.

I was a little concerned that the tape might not stick as well as I hoped, so after letting the first shelf of the cabinet sit overnight to see how it held, I gave it a good shake to see how well it stayed together.  I was pretty impressed!  I worried about the weight of the shelf causing it to sag, so I reinforced it underneath the shelf with chopsticks and a little more tape.  Just a little something to keep the magazine rolls from starting to buckle.

Chopstick reinforcement on the underside of the shelf

After I added the second set of side supports, I positioned an extra support row in the middle of the shelf to help balance the small pieces of wood that form the second shelf.  I taped it all together and it forms a fairly stable unit.  Even the dog is comfortable laying next to it!

The side supports for the second shelf.

I started thinking about the weight that two more shelves would add if I built them in this same way and started considering alternatives.  I remembered another project I had seen and pinned on Pinterest that fanned the magazines out into six sections and used them as structural supports.  While I am fairly confident in the strength and stability of what I have built, I have to be realistic about what it can hold.  I’m probably not going to be putting anything glass on it, but I think it will hold some of the random, lightweight, plastic kitchen stuff that so desperately needs a home.

Magazines fanned out into six sections.

Now I have to figure out how I want to place these fanned magazines under the next shelf.  They could go around the edges with one serving as a cabinet door or as two pillars that support the next level, or…

The lower two shelves with the fanned magazines on top as pillar supports for the next shelf.

No matter what I decide to do with the next level, it is going to be fun playing around and making the choice!  I think the cabinet is looking pretty good for a pile of old magazines and a couple rolls of tape that were just taking up space before!