French-Style Shelves with Brass Tipping Rails

For my birthday this year, my dad gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts—he built me a set of beautiful French-style shelves with brass tipping rails to display my favorite dishes in the kitchen. Not only are they stunning, but they also make the perfect showcase for the pieces I love most.

The design is timeless—white wood shelves paired with the elegant shine of brass rails and brackets, giving them that charming café look you’d see in a Parisian bakery.

If you’re feeling handy, these shelves are easy to DIY. But if you’d rather skip straight to styling, I’ve also sourced some gorgeous ready-made options that have the same French flair. Either way, they’re the perfect way to add warmth, character, and functionality to your kitchen.

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Before and After

Shelves already made for you

Dishes

Make your Own French Style Shelves

Want to make some too? Here is exactly what we used!

My Exact Supplies

Ready Made Shelf (just add brackets and tipping rail)

The Steps

I used painters tape to mark out the size and distance of the shelves. I also used PicMonkey to visualize how far apart I wanted my shelves to be.
Purchased wood for shelves (we used Bass).
Purchased the brass tipping shelf pieces, brackets and paint (BM Chantilly Lace semi gloss)
Dad cut, sanded and router a plate groove into the shelf.
Spray paint the shelf. Let dry really well.
Attach the tipping rod shelf pieces. You will need to cut the bars to fit the length and width of your shelf.
Use a level and tape measurer to hang the brackets. We secured our’s into a stud and used molly bolts where there wasn’t a stud.
Screw shelf onto the brackets.
Style!