DIY Brass Ornamental Gallery Rail for Cabinets | Thrifty Decor Chick

DIY “brass” gallery/tipping rail for a shelf (for manner much less!).

I’ve liked the look of those delicate brass gallery rails for years! They’re
normally put in alongside the entrance of shallow cabinets as a fairly ornamental
accent, they usually stop objects from sliding off the shelf. 

You already know I really like something brass, particularly a lovely little element like
these posts and rails. I knew I wished to include them into our basement
kitchenette, however the true brass choices usually are not low cost! 

I ended up creating my very own model that I feel seems fairly nice, and
features simply as properly!

gray cabinets, walls wood counters

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dark gray marble tile Lowe's

Since these have been so cheap (I spent lower than $80 on the tile), I
splurged on the
sticky tile setting mats
I really like a lot  for the set up:

They make the tile set up a lot simpler and faster, with a lot much less mess!
They do price greater than mortar although, so that you pay for the comfort. 

After the tile was up, grouted and caulked alongside the counter tops, I
put in a protracted however shallow shelf proper on high of the tile backsplash:

DIY wood ledge above tile backsplash

I used poplar wooden for this undertaking understanding my plan to drill into it. I
normally use pine, however pine is softer and extra vulnerable to splitting. 

wood picture ledges with frames

They solely take three items of wooden, however for my newest model I solely used
two — the again piece (that I connected to the wall) and the underside
piece. 

I priced out the brass posts and rails for my lengthy shelf (it is practically 9
toes lengthy) and the entire was going to be $200! I am all for splurging, however I
stored hesitating to organize them…figuring I might make one thing related for
manner cheaper. 

Then I noticed
this post by my friend Carli, and the wheels began turning. I went to the craft retailer to see what
wooden items I might discover to make this work. 
I discovered a pack of
these wood peg men
(they seem like the previous Little Individuals toys) which can be about 2.5 inches tall
at Interest Foyer, then grabbed three of
these metal rods
at Lowe’s. 

To make this DIY model work, I wanted to have the ability to drill a gap straight
via the wooden pegs. I attempted it out simply holding one and drilling into it,
however I could not get the opening fairly straight sufficient. 

So as an alternative, I made a bit holder/jig for my little males. 🙂 I nailed a number of
scrap items of wooden tightly round one so it match comfortable in there: 

DIY holder for drilling holes in small pieces

I wrapped them with painter’s tape to keep away from the wooden splitting on the
entry and exit of the drill bit. 

The peak of the opening must be constant on the entire pegs, so the
rail is degree throughout the completed shelf. I marked the identical spot on each
and used a 1/4 inch drill bit to create the holes: 

drilling holes in small wood pieces

As soon as the little males have been all completed, I made positive the holes have been a
constant peak:

wood peg "men" gallery posts

The one on the left was my check piece, and I did not find yourself utilizing that
one. 

metallic champagne brass paint on wood

As a result of these are wooden, I did a light-weight sanding of the pegs earlier than the ultimate
coat so the wooden grain can be much less pronounced. It undoubtedly helped to
make them look extra like stable steel. 

After cleansing the steel rods, I sprayed these as properly:

sprayed brass metal rods

I feel spraying these took longer than putting in the entire dang factor.
Spray a bit, dry, flip. Spray a bit, dry, flip. 😂 I like to recommend simply
holding them and spraying half at a time. 

When all the pieces was dry, I took all the pieces all the way down to the basement to determine
out my spacing. I had seven pegs, and two of these have been positioned on the ends.
So I had 5 to area out equally in between. 

I used a small drill bit to make a gap within the backside of every peg:

drilling into wood pegs

Take some care to not break up the wooden as you go. The important thing to doing that’s
going slooooow as you drill and beginning with smaller bits and dealing as much as
bigger ones if wanted. 

I used that very same small bit to place my preliminary holes into the ledge, after which
adopted up with a barely bigger one: 

drilling into wood with bits

For this undertaking, I might err on making the opening a lot massive in your screw
so it does not crack your wooden as you put in the pegs.

I put in the screws from beneath the ledge, into the underside of every
peg. 

Once more, be affected person and go sluggish as you connect the poles. I did not have any
points in any respect with the shelf or pegs splitting as a result of I took my time and
drilled holes first.

I held up every steel rod to see the place I wanted to trim them down, after which
used the steel blade on my oscillating device to chop them. It solely took a number of
seconds to get about midway via the rod, then I snapped the surplus
off. 

For those who plan to do that undertaking and should make a number of cuts,
this inexpensive hacksaw
is a worthwhile device to have available. 

As soon as they’re all put in, the rails aren’t going wherever! It’s
extremely safe and can maintain up properly to the frames and boards I’ve on
this skinny shelf:

DIY brass tipping rail on shelf

You would additionally use wooden dowel rods for the rails, however they will not be fairly as
sturdy, particularly if in case you have greater than a meals or so between the
posts. 

We LOVE it! We had buddies over this week and I obtained so many compliments on
my cute DIY tipping rail. 🙂

It took a bit work, however I saved greater than $180 doing this by myself. The
three rods have been $12 and the wooden pegs have been $4:

ledge above sink with metal rail

For those who stand up realllll shut, you may inform the “brass” posts are wooden, however
it might take some inspection. Until you are an skilled on brass gallery
rails, I do not suppose anybody would suppose a factor about them being wooden
anyway. 😉 

faux brass gallery rail

Just some extra tasks to complete up and share in right here, after which I am going to do
the total tour of this area:

small ledge above backsplash

It was SO definitely worth the time creating my very own model of this gallery rail
undertaking! Now I am pondering of the place else I can add these round the home. I
simply love the little ornamental element.