Renter Friendly DIY Sunglasses Holder for End of Summer Storage

You know when you have an idea, fall in love with it, then convince yourself someone must have already done it? With all the DIY shelves out there, I thought for sure this one was already taken. After all, once summer ends we all need a place to store our sunglasses right?

I’ve always loved the displays in Urban Outfitters and Madewell but felt like they were too complicated for a renter to make. But if you get your wood cut at the store it only takes a few pilot holes and screws to pull this one together!

You’ll Need
1/2″ Birch plywood
2 wood screws per shelf
low and medium grit sandpaper (~80 & ~220)
wood butter or sealant (optional)
large Command Strips (the 16 lb. max hold ones)

Cut and sand all pieces. For our sunglasses, I made 5 shelves measuring 4×8.5 with the back piece 4×22.5. These sizes give enough room for the sunglasses to stand. Or for a crystal collection ;). Use a rough grit to smooth the edges and clean up with the medium grit.

After sanding you can stain or treat the plywood by buffing on beeswax-based wood butter. I used beeswax to warm up the texture but left the back of the back piece naked so the cheap, apartment wall paint wouldn’t get damaged and the Command Strips would have more grip. If you want to protect your shelf from potential stains, you can always opt for an acrylic spray sealer instead.*

Speaking of Command Strips, weigh all your pieces before assembling! Our scale isn’t the most accurate but I’d conservatively estimate ~1.25 lbs per shelf.

*3 Year Update: The wood butter worked great and I haven’t felt like I needed an acrylic spray, though I don’t keep anything on the shelf that would mark it up. I haven’t reapplied the butter either. Since moving, we noticed that the Command Strips hold best on a low-textured wall and away from humidity. If you are using this in a room with heavily textured walls or a bathroom, I’d recommend adding hanging hardware to the back instead of the Command Strips.

Using a drill bit 1 size smaller than your wood screw (I used #6 1.25″), drill pilot holes 1.5″ from the edges on the back edge of your shelf pieces and in the corresponding spots on the back piece. The plywood will split if you try to screw directly into the sides without pilot holes! Screw the shelves on.

The best method for screwing the shelves on straight is to screw both sides in just enough for the screws to peek through the back then line up the shelves’ pilot holes. Screw one screw halfway then switch to keep the shelves level.

Tada! It actually looks pretty cute as a standing organizer as well. Follow the Command Strip instructions for mounting and wait 1 hr before loading on.

Make sure the lower stips peek out underneath so you can remove when you move.

This might be one of my favorite DIYs on the blog guys. It feels like a culmination of ideas and years of learning new skills came together for this cute & practical holder and it makes me smile every time I walk by. One month in the Command Strips are holding! Well done 3M, well done.