DIY superstar Geneva Vanderzeil shares her open shelving system

Geneva Vanderzeil is the founder of Collective Gen, a lifestyle website sharing DIY guides and hacks for an affordable and creative home.

A former town planner and DIY fashion blogger, Vanderzeil’s interest in home decor began when she was renovating her Brisbane family home. Readers followed along as she evolved from a complete DIY novice to the renovating guru she is today.

“I learnt everything from looking online, doing lots of research, taking classes and asking the people around me,” Vanderzeil says.

She now works full-time with a team to bring her creative projects to life – from a sculptural dining table made using ceramic pots, to a daybed featuring salvaged leather from a second-hand couch – that regularly attract millions of TikTok views.

“I’m hoping to use my platform to motivate people to look a bit differently at the things around them and see opportunities where others might just see rubbish,” Vanderzeil says. “It’s all about being able to identify a diamond in the rough.”

Among her popular DIY projects are her open shelves, which can be constructed at home within three hours and using about $200 in materials.

A split batten system allows shelves to be slipped on and off the wall for easy installation.

Geneva Vanderzeil’s DIY open shelving system

Time: About three hours

Cost: About $200 in materials

Materials & equipment

Line laser

Drill

6 metres of 90mm X 12mm dressed pine

11 metres of 30mm X 150mm dressed pine

6 qty 2400mm x 450mm x 12mm MDF

24 qty 150mm batten screws

10 qty 50mm wood screws

Instructions

Click to open gallery

1. Make split battens by cutting the 90mm-wide pine to 2 x 2700mm lengths. Cut one of these pieces on a 45-degree angle lengthways.
2. Cut one of these split lengths into 3 x 900mm pieces.
3. Screw the 2700mm length to your wall, making sure you locate and anchor to the studs (if a plasterboard wall) or use wall plugs (if a masonry wall). Make sure the split batten is level using a line laser.
4. Cut MDF to suit your height. (I cut mine to 2200mm.)
5. Screw half of the split batten to the back of two sheets of MDF 200mm from the top, making sure to orientate it so that it will grab onto the other half when mounted on the wall.
6. Then screw a length of 90mm pine 200mm from the bottom edge of the MDF to make the spacer.
7. To make the shelves, cut 12 x 900mm lengths of the 150mm dressed timber.
8. Mark out the position of the shelves on the back of the MDF sheets. (I made ours 405mm to suit the 2200mm height.)
9. Use the batten screws to fix the shelves to the MDF, double-checking the dimensions as you go to make sure it’s level. (I used two batten screws for each shelf.)
10. Shelves can be left as is or painted in your chosen colour.
11. With help, lift your completed shelf section up and hang on the batten fixed to the wall, ready to display your favourite items.