This is one of the coolest upcycle projects you can find. If you just so happen to have an old guitar laying around in no condition to be played anymore, you can instead upcycle it into a stylish shelf for decoration!

But what if you don’t have an old guitar? Well, you can look for one during garage sales or even in used sales online – you can get one for very cheap and give it a new home.

“Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you. – Loretta Young

How to make an acoustic guitar shelf

Here’s what you need to make your own guitar shelf! Source: Instructables
Here’s what you need to make your own guitar shelf! Source: Instructables

This incredibly detailed tutorial goes through everything you need to know to create your own acoustic guitar shelf.

You’ll quickly notice this DIY requires a bit more tools than the usual endeavour, but nothing too hard to find or borrow. If you’ve done any kind of wooden DIY before, you should have everything already. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • An old acoustic guitar
  • Jig saw
  • Cordless Drill
  • Impact driver
  • Orbital Sander
  • Pliers
  • Hot glue gun
  • Screws

This is basically what you’ll need for any of the following ideas. What matters after getting the basics down is how to decorate and present your guitar shelf!

The one above has the shelf set up slightly skew, so that the guitar stays horizontally on the wall (as it looks when it’s being played). This also helps it not having to be hung on the wall so low, since the guitar fret would force you to keep it lower so it doesn’t touch the ceiling.

And finally the led lights make for a magical touch!

2. Painted guitar shelf

Painting is one way to make it more personal to you! Source: Tastefully Eclectic
Painting is one way to make it more personal to you! Source: Tastefully Eclectic

The entire “cutting the lid part is essentially the same for all ideas, so from here on out, let’s see some of the different ways you can decorate your guitar to make it more your own.

This one involves a bit of painting to turn the guitar into something truly unique – also, gotta love those guitar picks perfectly glued there for the extra musical touch.

3. Spray painted guitar shelf

Spray painting is fairly easy to pull off! Source: Rachel Ray Show
Spray painting is fairly easy to pull off! Source: Rachel Ray Show

Principles are all the same here, but this time the entire guitar has been spray painted for a nice clean look that makes it perfect for decoration. Put it against a dark background to really stand out, or against a light background to blend it – diverting the focus to whatever you decide to store on it.

But why stop there? Spray painting is fairly easy to do and you can try it with any color you like for a completely different look!

4. Guitar case shelf

Guitar cases can also be used as shelves! Source: Crafty Morning
Guitar cases can also be used as shelves! Source: Crafty Morning

On the subject of guitars being used as shelves, turns out guitar cases can also be used. With that, a number of new possibilities are available.

Guitar cases themselves can be customized in different ways depending on their material, some of them can also be spray painted. And they look rather cool on the wall, since they work like cabinets – you open it up when you need to, and keep it closed otherwise.

It’s worth keeping an eye out for a nice looking guitar case if you’re ever passing through a used store or garage sale!

5. Vintage guitar shelf

Keeping it raw wood makes for a nice vintage look! Source: Funky Junk Interiors
Keeping it raw wood makes for a nice vintage look! Source: Funky Junk Interiors

We’ve been talking about customizing and changing the acoustic guitar in different ways, but what if we just left it as raw as possible for a vintage look?

Instead of painting, simply cut the lid and install the shelf part without changing much of anything else – assuming your acoustic guitar has that natural wooden look, you’re all set! Funnily enough, most guitars tend to have custom colors on the lid itself, and since the lid is being cut out, you’re left with mostly natural looking wood.

Need a handyman to help hang the guitars on the walls? Ask a professional for free quotes in your area today!

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