I am steadily working on cleaning up the stash of wood in my garage. Instead of running to the hardware store, I'm trying to use what I have. And I have a lot. But I am one project closer to using it up! I have been hinting that I had a tutorial for reclaimed wood shelves. I've talked about them here and here. I finally took the time to write it all down.
How to make DIY Wood Shelves from Reclaimed Wood
Gather and Cut pieces of wood
I searched through the piles of wood in my garage until I came up with 4 pieces of the same width. They were already partially painted and had holes and glue from previous projects. That's ok. I laid the pieces together. 2 pieces for the length and 2 pieces for the width. Then I took them to my miter saw and cut the 2 pieces to the exact same length. Repeat with the longer pieces.
- small shelf 7.5" x 21"
- large shelf 11 " x 25.5"
Attach Wood Pieces Together
Place the long piece on a flat surface. Drill pilot holes on the ends. Run a line of wood glue along the edge and place a short piece standing up. Screw the wood pieces together at a 90 degree angle. Repeat on the other side and then on the bottom. It's hard to put into words how to put these together, but you can tell from the photos how simply they are attached.
Paint or Stain the Shelf
As I said above, these pieces of wood were reclaimed from another project, so they already had tons of screw holes and were partially painted.
They had a bunch of dried wood glue on them as well. So I sanded and sanded and sanded to make them smooth. I didn't fill in the holes, because I like the character. I left the wood partially painted and applied stain over the top of everything.
Style the Shelves
These shelves can be hung on the wall or set on top of a surface horizontally or vertically. To hang them on the wall, I would use corner brackets, or if they aren't going to hold anything heavy, you could just put nails in the corners. (My husband would kill me if you actually took this advice, he hates when I hang things this way. So do it at the risk of catching fire from your husband)
They would look cute on the wall in the bathroom holding toiletries, in a kitchen holding small plants or sitting on a vignette holding faux vintage cans.
Supply list for making Wood Shelves
- wood, scrap or purchased from hardware store
- wood screws
- wood glue
- wood stain
- sand paper
- drill
- miter saw
- cute decor for shelves
I think they also look pretty cute with mini houses, made from reclaimed wood as well. DIY Wood Shelves are super easy to make and a great way to use up some reclaimed wood!
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linking up to: Artsy Fartsy Craftastic Monday Inspire Me Monday Happiness is Homemade Make it Pretty Monday Tuesdays at Our Home Inspire Me Tuesday Tutorials and Tips All About Home Tuesday Turn About Wow Me Wednesday Your Whims Wednesday Wonderful Wednesday Party in Your PJ's Waste Not Wednesday Artsy Fartsy Creatively Crafty Thursday Favorite Things