Hey friends! It’s hard to believe that almost 3 weeks have passed since I shared the big reveal for my kids/guest bathroom makeover that I completed for the One Room Challenge! If you have not seen the transformation before I encourage you to and check it out before you delve into this post today. I continue to be thrilled with the finished space, and I wanted to pop in today to show you how I made this simple DIY pallet wood shelf I made for the room. I purchased the top two at Hobby Lobby, and you can find direct links below. My DIY pallet wood shelf is the one on the bottom in the picture below. And can I just say, these mismatched shelves have seemed to steal the show, most people say they are their favorite part of the room, and I have to agree!
Here is another little peek of the rest of the room. I love this little gallery wall too. And of course, the AirStone I installed on the bottom half of the walls is really what changed the entire look and feel of the room. but today I want to talk about this little shelf that I adore.
It all started with this pallet that I picked up from free from someone in my community who was giving it away. I have never before met a free pallet that I didn’t like. so I went and picked it up, knowing I would find something to do with it. And I only used two pieces of wood off of it, so I still have plenty more for another project! I am not going to go into how I removed the wood from the pallet, because honestly, I directed my husband to do it in whatever means needed, as long as the pieces of wood were still intact, ha!This particular pallet was pretty green- meaning the wood was not aged at all. so the first thing I set out to do was to make it look old and rustic, because that is the look I was going for.
That is where this little can of liquid magic comes in. It’s called Better With Age, from Vintage Wood Mercantile by Amy Howard. And it was a dream to work with. It’s an easy way to add a rustic, aged finish to unfinished wood surfaces. I actually received this stuff for free at the Haven Conference last summer and had been dying to put it to good use. And I still have practically the entire can left to work with, so I can use it for another project as well. And I went through a lot to get this can of liquid gold home with me, I have to say. When I was packing all of my swag to try to fit it all in my bags, I put this in my carry on, not thinking about the fact that I wouldn’t be aloud on the flight with that much liquid in a carry on. I got pulled aside and searched because of it, and I had two choices-throw it away, or go back out and pay to check my bag, then get back in line to go through the search all over again. I was not throwing this stuff away, so I went and checked my bag and waited in line again. Whatever it took, this stuff was coming home with me! #callmecrazy #thankgodmyhusbandwasntwithme
How to Make a Shelf Using Pallet Wood
The first thing I did with my two pieces of pallet wood was to cut them to the length I wanted the shelf to be. I determined this by measuring the two shelves that would hang above it. My boards ended up being 27 inches long. It is not very noticeable, but the shelves get slightly longer from the top shelf to the bottom shelf. I chose the top two shelves at the same time, and one was longer than the other, so I decided that I would go a little longer from top to bottom. I used my pad sander to smooth down this wood on all four sides first. Then I wiped the dust off with a slightly damp cloth before painting on two coats of this stuff. Here is the look of the wood after the first coat on the left. I let that dry thoroughly.
I decided to use wooden corbels, and I picked these particular ones out at Home Depot. I liked the curved lines, and the size on them was proportionate to the pallet wood I wanted to use. The first thing I did was to lightly sand the corbels until they were smooth to the touch. I wanted to give these corbels a distressed look using two different colors of chalk paint. I chose to use the green color on the first coat- it is called Refreshing. And the top coat is white- it is called Everlasting.
Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint | Everlasting | Refreshing | Folkart Chalk and Wax Brushes | Creme Wax
This is the corbel after two coats of the first color- Refreshing by Deco Art. This is the same color I used to paint the mason jar caddy that sits on the of the toilet in the same space. You will see it a few pictures below.
After those were thoroughly dry, I painted two more coats of the second paint- Everlasting by Deco Art. This is how it looked at this point after the paint was all dry.
The next thing I did was to use a fine grit sandpaper to distress the shelf. In some spots, I sanded enough that the green color could show through, and in other places I went down to the wood. Next, it was time to put the shelf together, and this part was very easy. I used my nail gun to attach the wood pallets to the corbels, placing two nails in each plank on both sides. After the shelf was put together, I gave the corbels a coat of clear wax, and then when it was dry I buffed it with a clean rag. And the shelf was complete and ready to hang! I love the finish on the pallet wood and the corbels.I am very happy with the way it turned out. What do you think? You can see a few close ups of the finished shelf below.
The blue mirror hanging over the sink is another DIY I did for the room, and I will share that at some point soon as well. The tissue box sitting on the shelf was a creamy color, and I used the same white chalk paint to paint it and give it a little makeover. The Mason Jar, small bottle, and little milk glass pitcher are all items that I found at thrift and antique stores.
The framed watercolor feather is a free printable from Lucy at Craftberry Bush. She has many great free printables available on her blog. Styling the shelves and hanging all of the art on the walls was probably my favorite part of this makeover! That’s always the best part, am I right? This room has quickly become one of my favorite rooms in the house, here are just a few more pictures of the finished room for you.
Today is the last day of November, and I wanted to share this quick little DIY project with you because, very soon it is going to be all Christmas all the time here on the blog! I have a very special Christmas Home Tour and blog hop to share with you on Friday, and I am so excited for that! My bloggy friends and myself all have our first Christmas home tours to share with you, and it’s gonna be good. I hope you will pop by to see it!
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