Decorative element for a shelf

Abstract

A decorative element that can be mounted to an existing shelf is disclosed. The decorative element can also be horizontally leveled to itself. Additionally, the decorative element may also be leveled with adjacent decorative elements so that the ends of adjacent decorative elements can be matched to each other to provide the appearance of one long unit. The exterior aesthetic appearance of the first and second decorative elements may appear to be in line with each other.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for improving aesthetics of a shelf, system comprising:
 a decorative element attachable to the front portion of a planar member of the shelf;   a bracket having top and bottom members and an upper front member connecting the top and bottom members, the top member resting on a top surface of the planar member to support the decorative element, the bottom member having a plurality of holes;   a plurality of fasteners insertable into the plurality of holes in the bottom member to take up a gap between the bottom member and a bottom surface of the planar member.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the decorative element has left and right ends which are mirror configurations of each other so that adjacent decorative elements are capable of being connected end to end to create an appearance of a single decorative element. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a foam adhesive strip insertable between the top member and the top surface of the shelf during installation to level and align the decorative element and to align adjacent decorative elements. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a lower front member attached to the upper front member, the upper and lower front members having a plurality of holes for securing the decorative element to the upper and lower front members. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the bracket is fabricated from a rigid polyvinyl chloride material. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the decorative element is fabricated from a polymeric material. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the polymeric material is polyvinyl chloride material. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of fasteners are expandable after insertion of the fastener into the hole to lock the fastener in place. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the upper front member has a plurality of holes and the lower front member has a plurality of holes, the fasteners being inserted into the plurality of holes in opposing directions. 
     
     
         10 . A method of attaching and leveling a decorative element to a shelf, the method comprising the steps of:
 attaching a first decorative element to a first planar member mounted to a wall, the attaching the first decorative element comprising the steps of:
 securing a first bracket to the first planar member; 
 securing the first decorative element to the first bracket; 
   leveling the first decorative element, the leveling step comprising the step of:
 adjusting vertical positioning of left and right sides of the first bracket. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the adjusting vertical positioning step comprises the step of:
 inserting a compressible foam between the first bracket and the first planar member; 
 compressing the compressible foam to adjust for the vertical position of the bracket. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the steps of:
 attaching a second decorative element to a second planar member mounted to the wall, the attaching the second decorative element comprising the steps of:
 securing a second bracket to the second planar member; 
 securing the second decorative element to the second bracket; 
 
 leveling the first and second decorative elements to each other, the leveling step comprising the step of:
 adjusting vertical positioning of each of the first and second brackets until the first and second decorative elements are leveled to each other.