I'd use 3/4' Melamine with support strips front and back.

They are shelves and 90% of it won't be seen. Staining and finishing adds a lot of work for little return.

My 2 Cents...........

 

I'd use 3/4' Melamine with support strips front and back.

They are shelves and 90% of it won't be seen. Staining and finishing adds a lot of work for little return.

My 2 Cents...........

Thanks. Are you thinking to get a sheet with a woodgrain "top/finish" and then use the iron on strips for the sides?

 

You can go to most home centers and buy pre glued pine panels that just need to babe cut to size..

Mastercraft® 1 x 16 x 3' Edge Glued Board

This wood panel consists of smaller pieces that are finger-jointed and edge glued together to create a solid & stable board. It has a variety of uses including shelving, hobby & craft projects and furniture building.

www.menards.com

 

I did look at these but got nervous that it wouldn't hold up over time with weight and heavy usage. Also, the thickness. If I remember it was 2/3 inch at my local HD. The plan, like in the image I attached to my post, was to do a "box support" underneath with 1x2's painted white, so visually, it would be a lot of white in the box with limited wood grain finish from front view. Curious to know if I'm just off base on that thought.

 

I built very similar shelves about 30 years ago using 3/4" plywood covered with plastic laminate and with a 1 1/2" front edge for stiffening. We load them with canned goods and most anything else in the way of home supplies. The plastic laminate is easy to clean and wears much better than paint or clear finish. They continue to work well.

 

If you shop

That is almost exactly what we did and about that long ago. Ours are 24" x 24".

If you are concerned about strength, maybe run a board through the middle of your box support from side to side to support the middle of the shelf.

I'd walk around the big box you shop at and see what they have that would work. I shop Menards. They have shelving in a different area from wood, so you might need to go to a few different areas of the store. You might even find something with a wood-grain look if you want to avoid finishing real wood.

 

I’ve got lacquered PB shelves in the pantry. They have held up 23 years.

 

I'd do 3/4 plywood and solid edging.

 

All of the shelves in my closets are pine. For a 16" I would use a 12" and a 6" wide, Depending upon the exact width you can use. For that short of a span no extra bacing needed. I do no remember the exact dimension of either. Cut with whatever saw is handy.

George

 

I just did a bunch of shelves that deep that were going to be loaded with large, heavy cookbooks: 3/4" CVG fir plywood with a 1-1/2" high reinforcement strip front and back. I didn't bother to make a joint: I just put Titebond on the front and back edges of the shelf and a bit on the back of the strips; laid the shelf face down on wax paper, set the strips in place; and clamped it all up. Then I cleaned up the glue squeeze-out and let it set up. It helps to make the shelves and strips a little longer than you need, because things can shift slightly while you're clamping up, and the little extra length allows you to cut to length and have everything flush on the ends. I've also made 3/4" white melamine shelves with 1-1/2" support strips out of CVG fir. The combination of the white with the fir looks clean and classy. I avoid wood print surfaces because they always look fake and cheap to me.

 

19/32 (5/8) or 23/32 (3/4) B/C pine sheathing is excellent for shelf board. The 19/32 is about 3x as strong as 3/4 melamine board, while the 3/4 is around 5x as strong as Melamine board. If you need to (or might in the future) store gallons of water, 2-Liter bottles, juices, etc on one shelf I'd go with the 23/32 board.

You can find it at Lowe's unsanded (cheaper), or at Home Depot with the B side sanded. Both will cut it to the width you want, sometimes they'll even do multiple project cuts for you. Then just add either an iron-on wood veneer or real wood edging as shown by jar944_2, sand, and finish.

Being pine, staining can be problematic if you don't use a pre-stain conditioner. I suggest conditioner, then gel stain, both combat blotchiness that you can get when staining pine. I have gotten minor blotchiness using just gel stain, or conditioner with regular liquid stain, but haven't seen any when using conditioner then a gel stain.