How To Build A Chunky Salvage Style Shelf

Or how NOT to build one.

You know how over in my sidebar it says

I like to make stuff up as I go along? →

Yeah...well, sometimes that doesn't work out so well for me.

However, in this case it all turned out okay in the end.

Thank heaven.

When I started making changes to the living room I knew

I was going to want something different on the wall by the front door.

Something a little more substantial than the little shelf I already had there.

Something I created with MY OWN HANDS!!! Bwahahaha.

Sorry...I got a little Frankenstein-y there for a minute. :)

Anyway...I began searching for inspiration.

I found a great one here at AKA Design.

So I set off to make my own, slightly smaller version.

And I didn't want to follow their directions.

Because I didn't that's why.

This...is my story.

First I decided how wide and tall I wanted the piece to be.

Then we set about cutting some wood.

I knew I wanted the corners mitered so they'd all be neat,

so I had the hubby help me cut some boards

before he headed out of town for business.

Some of them were too wide for the miter saw and I

DO NOT like to use the table saw alone.

Since I didn't plan to use many nails...I cut some little

pieces to glue into the inner corners for support.

This section on the left...its inner support piece is shorter because the

smaller piece was *supposed* to fit inside the larger piece.

But *someone* didn't measure correctly and thus the

"making things up as I go along" thing really had to come into play.

You'll see later just how I "fixed" this problem.

Which I knew that I knew wouldn't really be a problem

once I put the molding on the front anyway.

Meh.

I glued everything with Gorilla wood glue...because it's awesome.

Truly.

The back of my shelf is open...there is a small 1X3 piece at the top for stability,

but I didn't make the "boxes" you see in the inspiration post.

Here's a back view so you can see the support piece and bottom.

You can see here where I added a couple of those little

support pieces to hold the bottom part to the top part.

Like I said...then it has a piece of small molding on the front...

it's really sturdy, it's not going to fall apart any time soon.

Unless I throw it down the basement stairs,

but really, why would I do that?

Here's what we've got folks:

1 - 1X8 for the top shelf {actually measures 7"}

1 - 1X6 for the top section front and sides

1 - 1X4 for the bottom section front and sides

 1 - 1X3 for the back support

1 - 1X4 for the bottom bottom, you know.

Some upside down baseboard molding, some cove molding,

and some stray pieces of what I believe are

furring strips I found in the corner of the garage. :) 

I only bought 4 foot boards because they were

easier for me to haul around by myself.

Of course, the molding doesn't come in short pieces,

so that's another story.

I filled all the seams with DryDex spackle.

I thought it might help with my impatience.

Nope.

But it sands soooo smooth. :)

One thing I did do the same...used a sample pot of chocolate

brown paint I had hanging around for my base coat.

My other furniture is black, but I didn't want that harsh of a contrast.

Then I wasted some time adding a little grey here and there.

I say wasted because, in the end...I don't think you can even tell it's there.

The whole thing got some Annie Sloan Old White and distressed.

Here's a lesson learned: chalk paint and

old crackle medium do NOT like each other.

Just so you know.

Oh well.

Ignore my unmanicured pinkish hand...and gaze

upon the hooks I had planned on using.

But Jon, in his infinite wisdom, said to me:

You're not gonna like that.

But why? I picked them and I want to use them so there!

Fine, but they're gonna stick out from the wall and you're not gonna like it.

Fine.

SO, since he IS awesome...

he suggested doing keyhole hangers.

He even routered them for me. :)

  

See how he just made a nice little cutout in the wood?

We decided the vertical piece would be stronger for supporting the shelf.

We actually made the whole a little deeper in the middle since

the screws we used were slightly domed and needed a little more space.

Here you see the finished keyhole hanger.

And yes, now it hangs flush against the wall.

Sweet.

{If you look closely, you can see how the cove molding helps

hold the bottom and top pieces together.  See? I wasn't worried.}

  

We used a laser level to make sure we hung it straight...

at this point it's already hung...he's just using the level now so he can gloat. :)

And thar she be!

Oh, it's missing something you say?

Okay...how's this?

   

Oh, I forgot...I used some Minwax paste wax over the paint.

Love it.

While at first I was mad at myself for messing up the paint with the

crackle goop, it actually kinda added to the salvage look I was going for.

Like something that had been repainted several times on top of old chipped paint.

Perfect.

Now it's home to some fun things, like my number 3 sign, a rooster,

a canvas of one of Sara's senior pics, a plaster mold of her hand when she

was 5, and one of many stars you find sprinkled throughout the house.

Like my number 3?

I got that from Antique Farm House.

Jon says: why 3?

I said: because we're 3.

No, we're 2 now.

NO...we will ALWAYS be 3.

:)

The finished shelf is 30 1/2 inches wide,

about 7 inches deep and 10 1/2 inches tall.

Chunky.

Chunky's good, right?

That's what I tell myself anyway.

Does it speak architectural salvage to you, too?

 

Sharing piles of sawdust here:

Serenity You

Cheerios and Lattes

 I Heart Naptime

I Should Be Mopping The Floor

The Dedicated House

PJH Designs

Home Stories A to Z

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Love Grows Wild

A Stroll Through Life

 Ivy and Elephants

Clean and Scentsible

Lil' Luna

The 36th Avenue

Redfly Creations

Lolly Jane

Live.Laugh.Rowe

Embracing Change

A Peek Into My Paradise

Thrifty Decor Chick

Cedar Hill Ranch

Hickory Trail

DIY Showoff