AMN Construction · Finish carpentry · Custom shelving

Custom shelving, sized so it does not sag.

Custom shelving is built to the exact width, depth and load of the spot it goes in. We make floating, pantry, alcove, closet and garage shelves in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria and fasten them to the framing of your wall.

Email photographs and measurements 805 886 0988

In short

A shelf sags when it is too thin for its span. Thickness, material and support are worked out first.
Floating shelves hang on hidden brackets that must be anchored to solid wood inside the wall.
Tell us what will sit on the shelf. Books, dishes and paint cans ask for different shelves.

ShelfThick enough, and supported often enough, not to sag under what it holds.
Scribed fillerA strip cut to the exact shape of the wall, so no gap shows where cabinet meets plaster.
DoorsHung with even gaps. Inset doors sit inside the frame and show every error.

A kitchen wall in elevation: open shelves beside closed cabinets.

Step by step

How a cabinet is built, frame by frame.

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How a cabinet is built

Cut the partsSides, bottom, top and back are cut from one sheet of cabinet-grade plywood, so the grain and color match.
Assemble the boxThe parts are glued and screwed into a box, then checked corner to corner so it is square.
Face frame or edgeSolid wood is fixed to the front edges. It is what the eye reads, and where the doors will hang.
Doors and drawersDoors and drawer fronts are made and hung with an even gap all round, the same width everywhere.
Finish in the shopPaint or stain goes on in the shop, sanded between coats, and cures before the piece leaves.
Level, fasten, scribeOn site the cabinet is leveled from the floor’s high point, fastened to the wall, and a filler is cut to the wall’s real shape.

Built by Tom. Fifty years of custom cabinets and finish carpentry, from Oregon and Hawaii to Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Westlake Village, and now from Goleta to Carpinteria. Meet the carpenter

What we do

What is included.

Floating shelves on concealed brackets, with no visible supports.
Pantry shelving sized to what you store, fixed or adjustable.
Alcove shelves scribed to fit between walls that are not parallel.
Closet and garage shelving built for heavier loads.
Edge banding or solid wood edges, so the layers of the plywood do not show.
Blocking, which is solid wood added inside the wall where a bracket needs something to hold.

How it goes

Step 1
You email photographs of the wall or alcove, rough measurements, and a note of what the shelves will hold.
Step 2
We measure on site, find the studs, and check the walls for square and for wiring or pipes behind them.
Step 3
Shelves are built and finished in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria.
Step 4
Brackets or supports are fastened to the framing, with blocking added where a stud is not in the right place.
Step 5
Shelves are scribed to the walls, set level and fixed in place.

Yours to decide

Decide these first.

Floating or supported. Floating shelves look clean and carry less. Shelves resting on side supports or brackets carry more for the same thickness.
Material. Plywood with a hardwood edge is strong and stable. Solid wood looks best and moves with the seasons. MDF paints well and sags soonest.
Thickness and span. A long shelf has to be thicker or supported in the middle. A thick front edge can stiffen it and make it look heavier than it is.
Fixed or adjustable. Fixed shelves are stronger and tidier. Adjustable shelves suit a pantry or closet where what you store will change.
Paint, stain or clear finish. Kitchen and bath shelves need a finish that tolerates wiping and steam.

How to tell good work

Shelves that stay flat under load, with no dip in the middle when you sight along the front edge.
A floating shelf that does not tip or bounce when you press down on its front edge.
Ends that meet the wall with no gap, even where the wall bows.
Shelves that are level, and evenly spaced where there are several.
Edges that are smooth and solid, with no banding lifting at the corners.

What moves the price

The number of shelves, and their length and depth.
Material and finish: painted plywood costs least, stained or clear-finished hardwood the most.
Floating shelves. Hidden brackets and blocking inside the wall take more work than visible supports.
The walls. An alcove that is out of square means each shelf is cut to its own shape.

Prices vary with the materials and the hours a job takes. Each job is custom and unique, so we price it once we have seen the room.

Our work

Custom shelving, built and fitted.

Santa Barbara South Coast

Oak cabinetry through a new Spanish-style house

Cabinetry for a whole new house: a pale oak kitchen with a paneled hood, floor-to-ceiling storage in the hall and laundry, a dark wood bar with glass doors, a painted console cabinet, painted cubbies, and paneled wood doors.

Custom cabinetry · Built-ins · Door installation

A kitchen with pale oak frame-and-panel cabinets, a paneled hood, glass-fronted wall cabinets and a white stone island — The kitchen

A floor-to-ceiling pale oak cabinet with four tall doors and four upper doors, fitted into a hall alcove — Hall storage, floor to ceiling

Tall pale oak cabinet doors with long pulls, built to the ceiling — Tall cabinets in the laundry

Pale oak laundry cabinets around a stacked washer and dryer — The laundry

A dark wood bar cabinet with glass-fronted upper doors and drawers below, beside a stone fireplace — The bar: dark wood and glass doors

A low dark green painted cabinet with four paneled doors fitted into an alcove — A painted console cabinet

Santa Barbara South Coast

Painted cabinetry and closets through a remodeled house

Finish work through a whole remodel: a kitchen with sage-green base cabinets and white uppers, a pantry nook with open shelves over a wood counter, a painted bath vanity, closets fitted with shelves and hanging rods, and a stair with new wood treads.

Custom cabinetry · Custom closets · Custom shelving

A long kitchen run of sage-green Shaker base cabinets with brass pulls under a white counter, and white wall cabinets — The kitchen: sage base cabinets, white uppers

A nook with white open shelves above a wood counter and sage-green open base cabinets — The pantry nook

A cream painted Shaker vanity with brass pulls under a green stone top — The bath vanity

A painted white closet with shelves and hanging rods on three walls — A closet: shelves and hanging rods

A narrow walk-in closet fitted with white shelves and double hanging rods on both sides — A walk-in closet

A stair with new light wood treads, white risers and a wall-mounted handrail — New wood treads on the stair

Santa Barbara

A painted Shaker kitchen

Blue-gray Shaker cabinets on three walls and an island, with a full-height pantry wall built around the refrigerator. Behind the pantry doors: plywood boxes, pull-out trays and adjustable shelves.

Custom cabinetry · Custom shelving · Hardware installation

A kitchen with blue-gray Shaker cabinets, black stone counters, black pulls and an oak floor — The sink run and island

A full-height wall of blue-gray Shaker cabinets surrounding a stainless refrigerator — The pantry wall, built around the refrigerator

Blue-gray Shaker base and wall cabinets on either side of a stainless range and hood — The range wall

An open pantry cabinet showing five plywood pull-out trays on the left and adjustable shelves on the right — Inside the pantry: pull-out trays and shelves

Santa Barbara South Coast

A flat-panel oak kitchen

Pale oak flat-panel cabinets with a dark island, panels made to cover the refrigerator, and one long floating shelf over the bar. On flat doors the grain and the gaps are the whole design, so both have to line up.

Custom cabinetry · Custom shelving · Hardware installation

A kitchen with pale oak flat-panel cabinets, marble counters, a dark wood island and a long floating oak shelf — The island and bar wall

Pale oak flat-panel cabinets around a range and hood, with a refrigerator hidden behind matching oak panels — The range wall, with the refrigerator behind oak panels

All finish carpentry projects

Questions

Custom shelving: what owners ask.

How much weight can a floating shelf hold?

It depends on the bracket and what it is fastened to, more than on the shelf. A floating shelf anchored to solid framing can carry dishes or books. One held only by drywall anchors cannot be relied on for more than light objects. Depth matters too: a deeper shelf puts more leverage on the bracket.

How do you keep long shelves from sagging?

By matching thickness and material to the span, and adding support where needed. Plywood and solid wood resist sagging better than MDF or particleboard. A solid wood strip glued along the front edge stiffens a shelf a great deal. Past a certain length, a center support is the honest answer.

What is the best material for pantry shelves?

Plywood with a solid wood or banded front edge suits most pantries. It is strong, stays flat, and takes paint or a clear finish. Solid wood works well too. MDF and particleboard are smooth and cheaper, but they bend under canned goods over time unless the spans are kept short.

Can shelves be fitted into an alcove with uneven walls?

Yes. Few alcoves are square, and the back is seldom the same width as the front. Each shelf is measured or templated for its own position and scribed, which means trimmed to follow the wall, so it fits tight on all three sides without a caulked gap.

Where we do this

Built in our small boutique shop in Carpinteria where the piece is custom, and fitted on site in:

Carpinteria Summerland Montecito Santa Barbara Hope Ranch Goleta

All finish carpentry · see the projects

Inquiries

Have a room in mind? Send us the photographs.

Email photographs of the room and rough measurements to purchasing@amnbuild.com. Matt reads it himself. No forms.

Email Matt the photographs Or call Matt · 805 886 0988