One of the most frustrating things about living in a round house, or as we call it in South Africa a “Rondavel”, is the round walls :D It’s almost impossible to find a shelf with curved edges, which means there’s always a gap between the wall and whatever shelf you put up. And the longer the shelf the bigger the gap. So we had to take matters into our own hands and make something that would fit anywhere. Something like a Scelf-i, or scarf shelf ;-) It’s the perfect solution for those curved walls.
Don’t you love it!!!! And it’s so easy to make too. It’s got that free-spirit boho vibe that I love, so it fits right in with our wacky decor style. And depending on the type of scarf you use, it’s strong enough to hold a few books or other small decor bits.
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What you need
For this easy shelf that fits on any shaped wall, you’ll need:
- Gum pole or dowel sticks that are between 3 and 6 cm in diameter
- A long scarf or shawl that matches your decor style
I have a HUGE collection of scarves, so I was a little spoilt for choice ;-) The length of the scarf will determine how long your shelf can be. And since the scarf will also be carrying most of the weight of whatever you’ll be putting on the shelves, something with a thicker weave is ideal.
You’ll also need:
- thick card stock,
- paint or stain,
- anchors nails,
- a hacksaw,
- drill, and Gorilla Glue.
How to make a scarf shelf
Before I made the scarf shelf, I did consider adapting this tutorial for a scrapbook shelf, but I was a little stuck on how to get it to curve correctly. With the scarf shelf, I didn’t have to worry about any of that stuff. Decide on how wide you want your shelf to be and then cut the gum pole or thick dowels into 5 pieces depending on the width. We cut ours into 5 x 20 cm pieces.
Stain or paint the cut poles to match your decor. We used our Rusty Nail Muti to give the poles that aged and weathered look.
While you wait for the stain or paint to dry, use a hacksaw to cut the heads off of five long 8 mm nails in anchor nails. If you’re going to be putting your scarf shelf on drywall, you need to use 60mm Drywall Screws.
Drill an 8-mm hole in the center of each gum pole.
Put a dab of gorilla glue in the hole for luck and insert the nails.
Hanging the scarf shelf
Here’s the fun bit. To hang the scarf shelf, just play around with where you want it to go on the wall and then drill the holes, insert the plug (that grey anchor thingy that comes with the screws), and screw the gum poles in.
Drape and wind the scarf between the gum poles until you’re happy with the look, and then insert some thumbtacks to keep the scarf in place.
And that’s it. It’s seriously that easy. To reinforce the shelves, you can insert a piece of card stock or cardboard between the layers of the scarf.
If you like the idea of making a scarf shelf for your home, don’t forget to pin it for later.
The best thing about the scarf shelf is how easy it is to customize. You get to choose the scarf, the size, and shape, and it doesn’t even take an hour to make.
Oh and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry, it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you ;-)
Or if you prefer to buy rather than DIY.
And as always, wishing you a wonderful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Thank you for popping in for a visit.
Last update on 2026-04-15 / Source Amazon Affiliates
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