Whether it’s a single decorative shelf in the living room or a set of rough shelving in the garage, we all love shelves. We display our prized collections and toss our messy paint cans on them. We’ll put them high and low, and just about anywhere space allows.

Shelves offer you a chance to do some practical organizing while at the same time offering opportunities for some fun, elegant, whimsical or eclectic decorating. But above all, the shelves need to stay on the wall and support their intended loads, so today let’s take a look at some different types of shelving and shelving supports, and how they’re installed.

Tools needed

The tools you’ll need for installing shelves are pretty basic — usually just a cordless screwdriver, a tape measure, a level, and possibly a stud finder. To ensure that the shelf is level, you’ll want to use as long a level as possible for the length of the shelf being installed. In other words, don’t use a 7-inch torpedo level on a 5-foot shelf.