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Today, there is probably no house that does not have at least one icon or church candle. People, believing in God, buy candles and icons in icon shops, go to holidays, pray, bless willow, etc. But despite this religion, few people know how to properly store all this in the house. For such purposes, there must be a home Orthodox iconostasis.
In this article we will figure out how to make it, where to place it and how to place icons in it correctly. This information will be useful for every believer.
Even in ancient times, when the authorities persecuted Orthodox peasants for their faith, they still set up a revered place in the house for icons. It is also popularly called the “red corner”. As a rule, such a corner was located diagonally from the front door. This was done specifically so that those entering the house could immediately see the holy images, cross themselves in front of them and bow.
This place has always been treated in a special way in the house:
- It was always clean;
- They put flowers there and decorated it as best they could;
- In addition, church candles were placed there and lamps were lit if necessary.
Quite a lot of time has passed since then, but the contents of the red corner in the house have remained virtually unchanged. Holy images are still placed in it. It is also decorated with embroidered towels and both fresh and artificial flowers are placed. As mentioned above, sacred church candles and lamps are also kept next to the icons. It is also customary to store sacred oils here.
But regarding holy water, that is at the discretion of the owner. It can stand either next to the icons or in another place. The main thing is to drink it to strengthen the spirit in the morning on an empty stomach, immediately after prayer.
A very important point is the lamp for the home iconostasis. It should be lit during prayer, as well as on Sundays and major church holidays. Under no circumstances should photographs of famous priests, elders and righteous people be placed next to icons. From the point of view of the clergy, this is wrong. Since photography is an imprint of a person’s earthly life.
Where and how to arrange a home iconostasis
It is worth noting that in the temple the iconostasis is located in the inner central part of the room. It is decorated with gilding, which creates a special atmosphere in the temple. This is done in order to highlight the altar with the rest of the space in the temple.
The church places the altar on the east side. Accordingly, before placing a home iconostasis, it is necessary to select a corner in the house on the eastern side. If for some reason you cannot place the icons in that corner, then you need to find a corner that is close to it.
In practice, it is very difficult to adhere to just such a tradition, so it is not mandatory. As a rule, space for the iconostasis is allocated in the largest room. The most important condition that is very important to observe is a sufficient amount of space in front of the “red corner”. There must be room for at least two praying people.
It is considered unacceptable when a TV or computer is adjacent to such a corner in a room. It is also not recommended to place other electronic benefits of civilization next to it.
How to make a home iconostasis with your own hands
Before making a home iconostasis in an apartment or house, it is recommended to first study the recommendations for its construction, then select the desired corner in the house. And only then consider all sorts of options on how to make an iconostasis with your own hands.
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Of course, it cannot be mentioned that modern furniture stores, taking into account the needs of customers, also offer, albeit a small, but quite good selection of such corners. But most families want to make it individual and unique. By the way, special wall cabinets for icons do not have to be corner. It all depends on the location you choose.
There is also the option of making a special custom cabinet. In this case, all features and wishes will be taken into account. In this version, it can be folded from several colors or have a carving.
- To independently make a special corner for icons, you can use absolutely any materials.
- The main thing is to first make drawings of the cabinet that you want to place in your home for this purpose.
- And don’t forget about sufficient distance between the shelves. Since when candles are burning, they can heat up and ignite.
- As for the height of placement, there is no special technology or recommendations. Just remember that the horses should be at eye level, not higher or lower.
- If you have made shelves for icons, then it would be reasonable to place a table under it. It will be possible to light both candles and lamps on it.
- You can also place holy scriptures, holy water, etc. on it.
Icons for home iconostasis
Many people pay a lot of attention to the shape and appearance of the holy corner. But in fact, much more important than its shape is the correct placement of the icons. In this matter, tradition cannot be ignored. As a rule, the iconostasis traditionally consists of two icons. This is the image of the Savior and the Mother of God. They should definitely be in every home.
Of all types of images of the Savior, icons with a half-length image are chosen. As for the icons of the Mother of God, preference is given to Hodegetria.
If believers want to place more than two icons in their home, then images of the Holy Trinity and other famous shrines are indispensable. Here everything depends on the personal wishes of the owners of the premises.
From ancient times, a special place is occupied by the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, the apostles Peter and Paul, the prophet Elijah, etc. It should be noted that it is very good when there is a presence in the house. She protects the house from fires. It is also recommended to acquire icons with the names of the residents of the house.
How to arrange icons in a home iconostasis
According to ancient traditions, the iconostasis in the house should have five rows. According to this, there is an order of icons. It is quite difficult for an incompetent person to take into account all the nuances and the correct hierarchy of holy images. Therefore, there is a clear diagram of a home iconostasis:
- It is recommended to place an Orthodox cross at the very top above all icons,
- It is customary to place an icon of the Savior in the center of the entire iconostasis. It is customary to place an image of the Holy Trinity above it.
- On the right side of the Savior is an icon of the Mother of God. On the sides of the listed icons or above them, you can place other images of saints.
As a rule, all recommendations for arranging a red corner state that it should be designed in the same style. But theory is one thing, but practice is completely different. As practice shows, sticking to a single style is quite difficult. Since sometimes they give us icons, or when we go to an icon shop, we will choose the image we need, but we don’t need such a design.
In such situations, you should not refuse an intentional purchase. After all, in fact, the framing of the image does not play a big role. The main thing is not to turn your home iconostasis into an interior item. It must be created only with faith in the heart.
The Lord is always with you!
Watch the video from which you will learn about the place of icons in the house:
Home iconostasis made of natural wood with carved patterns
The tradition of arranging a home iconostasis has existed for more than one century. Although in modern homes icons are often placed on bookcase shelves or hung on the wall, it is best to set up a separate special place for them.
Single-tier straight rack - shelf for icons
A good option would be a hanging shelf, which according to the canon should be placed on the eastern wall of the house. Often such a shelf is made corner, two or three tiers high.
Beautiful wooden shelf for icons in the corner of the room in three tiers
Corner shelf for icons with candlestick
Shelf for icons “Home mini-iconostasis corner”
In workshops you can order a stand for home icons of any size and configuration, but this is quite an expensive job.
Corner shelf made of fiberboard, made in three tiers
An easier option is to use a regular corner shelf from a hardware store, but this may cause sizing issues. In addition, you will have to look for a model that will “fit” better into the interior. All these difficulties can be avoided if you make a shelf for icons yourself - this is quite feasible even with little experience in carpentry.
Wall-mounted corner shelf for wooden icons
A do-it-yourself icon shelf can have any convenient design. Corner shelves are made single-level or in several tiers. To connect several levels, supports carved from wood are usually used. The finished shelf is often decorated with carvings, openwork overlays, and covered with special carpentry varnish and wax.
Small corner shelf for icons, two tiers
DIY home iconostasis
Required materials and tools
To make a corner shelf, wood of various decorative species is used - for example, oak or cherry. A less expensive material would be pine board. In addition to wood, you can also use plywood or chipboard. The thickness of the board can vary from 1.5cm to 2.5cm. You will also need boards of small width in order to carve the supports.
To work you will need the following tools:
- tape measure or ruler;
- hacksaw;
- sandpaper for wood;
- electric jigsaw;
- electric drill;
- self-tapping screws;
- wood glue;
- wood varnish.
Required Tools
To attach the finished shelf to the wall, you will also need masonry drills, metal corners or hinges, and self-tapping screws with dowels.
Manufacturing stages
Carved corner shelf for handmade icons with drawing
Before starting work, you should make a drawing of the project. The size and number of shelves depend on the type of icons that will be placed on the finished home iconostasis. To make a simple two-tier shelf, you will need two 1.5 cm thick pine boards, as well as four supports.
- Using a marker or pencil, the drawing is transferred from paper to wood. The sides adjacent to the wall should be at right angles to each other. The outer edge can be straight, semicircular or curly.
- Using a saw and jigsaw, parts of the future product are cut out according to the drawing.
We cut out three parts using a jigsaw according to the template - sidewall, side and bottom
- The edges and surfaces of the parts are sanded with sandpaper.
- The supports can be made as simple as flat planks, or shaped using a jigsaw.
The workpiece is milled using a stencil using special equipment
- If necessary, sides for shelves are cut from thinner boards.
To turn decorative parts you will need a lathe or take them ready-made
- Using self-tapping screws, the shelves are attached to the supports and then connected to each other.
We assemble the shelf - the bottoms are screwed to the turned elements using self-tapping screws
- Wood glue is used to strengthen joints and also to attach beading.
When connecting the sidewalls to the bottoms, the screws should hit the middle of the ends of the bottoms
- Metal hinges are attached to the back of the shelf or to the supports.
The sides are screwed on using cylinders - self-tapping screws are inserted into the holes from the bottom, the cylinders are put on, the hardware is screwed into the side
- Holes are drilled in the wall for the dowels of the mounting bolts on which the product will hang. You need to make sure that the fastenings will support the weight of the shelves with icons.
The final stage is coating the finished product with drying oil and attaching it to brackets in the corner
After completion of the work, the finished shelf is treated with stain and varnish. Both colorless varnishes and those that give the board the color of different types of wood are suitable. When choosing a quick-drying varnish, the product is ready for use in a few hours.
Small shelves for icons of different colors - pine, walnut, mahogany
Decoration
Depending on the complexity of the elements of decorating shelves for icons, you can make them yourself or purchase them ready-made
The most common way to decorate a home icon case is wood carving. You can do it yourself using a jigsaw. If you do not have the necessary experience, carved elements can be bought at a hardware store or ordered in a workshop. The finished carved plates are attached to the shelf with wood glue.
Soft wood is selected for carving: birch, spruce, pine, aspen or juniper
Another way to decorate is to burn out the ornament using a special device - for this, you first apply a drawing of the pattern to the wood with a pencil. The shelf can also be painted - special wood paints are sold in construction departments. An alternative to strict monochromatic painting is to apply a pattern to the enamel with paint of a different color.
You can burn out the ornament and then open individual fragments of the image on the shelf with enamel
To further strengthen and decorate the shelf, its back walls are covered with a wooden panel. It can also be decorated with carvings, painted with varnish and enamel.
Shelf for icons with a beautiful back wall
To decorate the upper part of the shelf for icons, you can choose the outline of an Orthodox church
When using a plywood board, these methods will not work - but painting with acrylic paint with the addition of gilding will look impressive on such a panel.
A small figured shelf for icons with candlesticks and a lamp
Video: Do-it-yourself iconostasis shelf Wood carving Woodcarving DIY
One can only welcome the increasing interest of contemporaries in religion and the church. Parents again bless the newlyweds with icons, grandmothers are presented with images of saints in silver frames, and a baby’s sleep in the children’s room is protected by a hand-made image of a guardian angel. But a purely practical question inevitably arises: where and how to place the holy image without violating age-old traditions? Here we will be helped out by a do-it-yourself shelf for icons (goddess), made taking into account the size of the image.
There are no special instructions for making a shelf. Simple or decorated with carvings, it will be equally pleasing to God. According to the rules, the icon should be located in the eastern corner of the room. If this is not possible, then attach the shelf where there is space, but away from heating radiators and window openings, so that heat and drafts do not damage the material of the icon.
Preparatory work
The size of the images, and therefore the shelves for them, can be very different. Focus on the parameters of your icon. Here we show how to make a shelf for medium-sized icons 300x350x40 mm. To do this, we prepare the following materials and tools:
- Solid pine board 15-20 mm thick, 150 mm wide.
- Glued board for the bottom of the shelf, 15 mm thick, 210 mm wide.
- Scraps of fiberboard and birch plywood for templates.
- Emery cloth.
- Self-tapping screws.
- Electric jigsaw.
- Drill and drill bits.
- Milling table with bypass cutter with bearing.
- Lathe. Of course, not everyone has such a serious item, but how can you make a shelf for icons without machined parts? They give a solemn accent to the entire product. You can turn these balusters in a workshop.
- Metal meter ruler, pencil.
Making templates for shelf parts for icons
If you need to make several shelves, it is better to first draw and cut out templates from fiberboard. This is done like this:
- We draw out the details of the sides, bottom, and sidewalls in full size on a sheet of fiberboard.
- We cut them out with a jigsaw and bring them to the required dimensions with coarse sandpaper.
- We mark holes on the templates for the screws on which we will assemble the product.
- Using the fiberboard blanks, we draw templates on birch plywood 8-12 mm thick. Carefully cut out each stencil with a jigsaw at low speeds. Again we sand down the irregularities, achieving smoothness of the shapes, otherwise the cutter will repeat all the flaws on the main product. If you are confident in the accuracy of your hand, you can do without fiberboard by drawing the templates directly on the plywood. True, in case of an error, correcting a plywood stencil is much more difficult.
- As a result, we get three templates: bottom, side and side.
- Now we mark the holes. There will be 2 of them in the bottom, 3 in the side, 4 in the side. We drill all the holes with a drill D 3 mm. They are needed to attach the template to the main workpiece.
Marking and cutting lumber according to templates
Place the template on the board and outline it with a pencil. We cut out the part along the lines with a jigsaw, leaving a small margin for milling. We screw the template to the resulting workpiece using self-tapping screws, using pre-drilled through holes.
We mill the workpiece according to a stencil on a milling table.
We cut out the sides and sides in the same order. In total, we make 6 elements for one shelf - 2 bottoms (top and bottom), 2 sides and 2 sides.
We turn two decorative parts on a lathe, maintaining the same size so that the shelf for the icons with our own hands is level.
Now we grind out a round beam with a diameter of 15 mm and cut off six wooden cylinders 15 mm long from it. We take a three-millimeter drill and drill the cylinders through the center.
We sand all the parts of the shelf with sandpaper.
Assembling a shelf for icons
The holes in all parts are drilled according to templates. First of all, we screw the bottoms to the turned elements using self-tapping screws 41 mm long.
If all calculations are followed, when connecting the sides and bottoms, the screws will fall exactly into the middle of the ends of the bottoms.
We screw each side to the bottom using 3 wooden cylinders. To do this, insert self-tapping screws into the prepared holes from the bottom, put on the cylinders and screw the hardware into the side.
Cover the assembled product twice with drying oil. The tree will acquire a warm amber color and retain its natural beauty.
We fix the finished shelf in the corner on the brackets. Now you can put the icon there. Turned parts will serve as a frame for the image.
However, the icon remains a window into another world. It would be extremely inappropriate to place paintings or posters with heroes of the vampire saga next to it. The decoration of the shrine can be fresh flowers, birch and willow branches. If we have decided to bring the image of God into our home, then we must treat it with due respect.
A corner shelf for icons is a necessary item in the homes of Orthodox Christians.
You can also adapt an ordinary shelf purchased in a store to arrange images of saints. But a hand-made icon case seems to be the best for a master.
What can you make a stand for icons from?
Traditionally, wood was used to make a corner shelf for icons. It can be a smooth pine board, or valuable wood (bleached oak, cherry, etc.). The appearance of the finished product will depend on the quality of the material.
In the modern world, materials have appeared that imitate valuable types of wood, but their acquisition will not cause difficulties or large financial costs.
Plywood or laminated chipboard are just as easy to process as solid boards; they allow you to make openwork overlays and decorative balusters with virtually no experience or special machines.
In addition to solid wood or sheet materials, you will need:
- jigsaw and hand-held sawing device;
- drill with a screwdriver attachment;
- self-tapping screws, furniture dowel, wood glue;
- sandpaper with coarse and fine grains;
- varnish or paint.
You can develop a sketch of a corner shelf for an icon yourself, using drawings and photos. The dimensions of the product must be chosen arbitrarily, based on the size of the icons and their number.
The simplest stand for an icon
A single-tiered corner white shelf consists of only two parts: a corner element and a figured cornice (barma), which simultaneously serves as decoration and fencing.
The figured outline of the cut must first be drawn on paper, then the sketch must be transferred to a sheet folded in half to obtain halves that are symmetrical relative to the center. Using the pattern, draw the outline of the edge and cut out the pattern using a jigsaw. If desired, the corner shelf for icons can be decorated with burning, painting or carving.
To create a pattern for a corner element, you need to draw a right angle on a sheet. Its sides should correspond to the size of the icon, if there is only one, or be larger to accommodate several small images of saints, a lamp, etc.
Having set aside the required dimensions on the sides of the corner, you should connect the extreme points with a straight line. From the resulting triangle, you need to remove the part in the area of the right angle so that the shelf for icons can be conveniently installed on the wall.
Drill holes for the dowel in the edge of the long side of the corner. Part of it should protrude above the edge at a distance less than the thickness of the board from which the cornice is made. Lubricate the dowel with glue and insert it into the hole. Depending on the size of the corner, there may be 2 or several dowels for fastening.
The reciprocal recesses in the underside of the cornice must be drilled so that the holes do not end up through. The connection is made with glue; after gluing, the parts must be pressed tightly against each other until completely dry.
The simplest corner shelf for icons can be fixed to the wall with metal loops on the edges of the short sides of the triangle. You can nail planks to the wall, on which the corner element will rest. The length of the planks should be slightly less than the sides of the corner so that the cornice does not interfere with the shelf lying flat and horizontal.
A do-it-yourself icon shelf can be painted with acrylic and other paints, coated with clear varnish, or carefully sanded and waxed.
Corner two-tier plywood shelves.
A corner two-tier shelf can be made just as simply. Its difference from the previous version is that the corners are mounted not on the wall, but on shaped supports, which at the same time have an aesthetic function.
The backdrop of such a shelf consists of two identical parts that mirror each other. Their pattern and size are chosen arbitrarily. You can connect them with self-tapping screws or dowels using glue, placing one on the edge of the other and drilling the corresponding holes.
The white shelf for icons can additionally be decorated with cornices. To make other corner shelves for icons, corners with a rounded front part were used. It is most convenient to secure the shelves with self-tapping screws screwed into the edge from the inside of the backdrops. If you need a shelf for icons with three tiers or more, you can increase the length of the backdrops and install another row of corners of any shape and size.
Icon with decor
The two-tier corner shelf for icons looks very complicated only in appearance. Making it is not much more difficult than previous options. The drawings will help the home craftsman make a corner shelf for icons with his own hands in a few days, using only a jigsaw.
Thick plywood (8-10 mm) can be used for backdrops; thinner material (3-4 mm) is suitable for overlays. Transfer the decorative design onto a sheet of thin plywood and carefully cut along the contour using a hand jigsaw. Make the base of the backdrops from thick plywood. There should be 2 side parts.
The wooden corner shelf for icons is assembled like this:
- Sand the backdrop details on saw cuts and paint them dark.
- Cut out 8 mm corners from plywood according to the diagram (2 pcs.).
- Varnish the prepared decorative overlays or paint them with golden acrylic paint. Glue to the base of the backdrops.
- Lubricate the spikes on the edges of the corners with glue and insert them into the corresponding holes on the backdrop parts.
The corner shelf for icons is almost ready. Multi-tiered structures can be made in the same way, increasing the number of corner elements.
A self-made shelf for icons, wooden or made of chipboard, will look neat if, after sawing the parts, you process the front cuts with a grinder, chamfering or rounding the cuts.
If such a tool is not available, this operation can be done using a file and sandpaper. The edges can be highlighted by painting them in a contrasting color or gilded.
The peculiarity of a do-it-yourself icon shelf is that it should not be wall-mounted, but corner-mounted, since icons should be placed in the eastern corner of the brightest and largest room.
You can make a shelf for icons from boards, chipboard, or thick plywood. You can also use old wooden shelves, window sills or table tops for this purpose, for example, the top of a desk where your son or daughter once studied.
Or you can buy a suitable board at a hardware store.
Single-tier shelving made from purchased boards
Tools and materials:
- pine, cherry or walnut board 3 cm thick;
- dowels – 4 pcs.;
- wood hacksaw;
- pencil;
- ruler;
- sandpaper;
- wood paint;
- wood varnish;
- brackets or brackets for fastening;
- 4 album sheets;
- tape or sticky notes.
Determine the size of the corner shelf you need (for example, width - 420 mm, and sides - 300 mm), mark the canvas of the future shelf for icons using a pencil and ruler and cut out a right triangle measuring 420x300x300 mm with a hacksaw. Treat the rough edge of the shelf with sandpaper, paint the triangular wooden blank itself and coat it with wood varnish.
Determine the height at which the rack will be installed. To do this, measure down 50–80 cm from the ceiling.
The shelf should be mounted high enough, since according to the canons of the Orthodox Church, icons should rise above other secular objects in the house.
Having determined the place for fastening, mark with a pencil 4 points for the holes: 2 points in different directions from the corner. From album sheets for drawing, roll 4 balls (as for seeds) and use tape or adhesive sheets to attach them under the marked points for the holes. This is necessary so that when drilling the walls with a drill, construction debris falls into bags and not onto the floor. Using a drill, drill holes and drive dowels into them, hang brackets or brackets on them, and mount a corner shelf.
You can also make a shelf for icons with your own hands from fiberboard (fibreboard), which is produced by a woodworking plant by pressing cellulose fibers.
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Triangular fiberboard shelves
Tools and materials:
- fiberboard sheet;
- jigsaw;
- sandpaper;
- pencil;
- ruler;
- veneer treated with glue;
- veneer thermal tape for edges;
- hot iron;
- 4 metal hinges equipped with self-tapping screws;
- drill;
- 4 dowels.
On a sheet of fiberboard, use a ruler and pencil to draw a right triangle measuring 380x280x280. Cut with a jigsaw. Sand the edges with sandpaper, especially carefully on the edge of the wide side.
Take a sheet of veneer. It is more convenient to buy veneer that has already been treated with glue and covered with film on top. If you purchased un-glued veneer, then you will additionally need to purchase special hot-melt adhesive for it. On a sheet of veneer, draw a right triangle of the same dimensions as the fiberboard triangle, that is, 380x280x280 mm. Cut it out with a sharp knife. Remove the film from the veneer triangle and use a hot iron to glue the veneer onto the fiberboard triangle.
In the same way, use a hot iron to apply veneer thermal tape to the edge of the wide side of the triangle.
Craftsmen who masterfully use a jigsaw can cut a patterned frill from veneer instead of thermal tape and stick it to the edge of the wide side of the shelf.
Using self-tapping screws, attach 2 hinges on each side to the legs of the resulting triangular rack.
On the corner wall, mark the space for the shelf and use a drill to drill 2 holes on each side of the corner. Drive in the dowels and hang your shelf on them.