Monday, March 4, 2013

Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Shelves


 Snow flurries fell all day Saturday but it gave me the perfect opportunity to finish the last bit of painting in our living room.  After checking that room redo off my mental list that evening (yahoo), of course I didn't waste any time moving on to another project.  When I suggested the idea that has been on my mind for... oh, the last six months... to Justus, he actually grabbed a pen and paper to start drawing up some ideas.  So yesterday afternoon we braved the cold (although it really wasn't too bad) and dug into the pile of old barn wood we've had sitting on our deck to make a little shelving unit for one wall in our kitchen. 


I promised Justus all he would have to do was cut the wood, hang it and I would do the rest.  You know, he would do everything but sand!  Sound fair?

He just loves when I take pictures of him for my blog!    


 We moved the wood around for a while before deciding on a design and what wood we would use where.  I'm not exactly sure how old this wood is, but I imagine around 100 years... as you can see, some most of it was extremely weathered. 


 After this, I sanded...and sanded...and sanded.  The piece on the left is what this 2x4 originally looked like and the piece on the right is what it looked like after sanding.  Basically I sanded until it was as smooth to the touch as I could get it. 


After sanding each piece from every angle, I applied a coat of butcher block oil (I love this food-safe oil from Watco).  Once it dried (pretend I waited the amount of time it says on the back), I gave it another light sanding and brought all the pieces inside.  I made sure they were clean before Justus hung them.  Once he finished, I applied another light coat of oil.  I allowed it to dry overnight and applied one more light coat this morning. 


 I knew the piece would look rustic, but my hope was that I could preserve its character while giving it a nice, finished look.  I wanted it to match our reclaimed wood butcher block countertops, both in color and design.  When Justus first hung the shelves, it took me a little time to get used to its rugged look.  I know this look isn't for everyone, but I have to say that I really love how they turned out.  I think they might just be the perfect fit for our not-perfect farmhouse (smile). 


I knew the minute I saw these old planks they would be perfect for shelves, because they are so wide and thick.  We used the very weathered 2x4s as brackets for the shelves.  There were two of them, bolted together, so you can actually see some of the holes.   


 The dark streaks visible in the wood are a result of the type of saw used back then when it was cut into lumber. 


 Justus had the idea of using the more narrow planks for the back of the unit.  He cut the bottom planks at an angle to give the shelving unit a more finished look.  

One thing I love about old, hard wood is that it's not necessary to stain... allow the wood to soak in a little oil and it really shows its beautiful, natural color. 


 I could hardly wait to put all my pretty dishes on the shelves.  I filled the shelves with my white Mikasa dishes and some vintage pieces and they looked beautiful... but then my practical side kicked in and I kept looking to the side of our kitchen where my most-used cookbooks sit on precious countertop space. 


 In the end practicality won... some of the white dishes went back in the dining room, but there was plenty of room for a little pretty and functional!  (And, actually, I do find cookbooks pretty too.) 


Sometime this spring my farm table will be moved (and oh, how I will miss it), and we'll have another countertop here and cabinet underneath.  It will be wonderful to have some additional countertop space... needless to say, I'm anxious to start the second phase of our kitchen renovation!  

Speaking of... this weekend I also discovered original hardwood floors in our kitchen, but Justus is definitely pretending like he doesn't hear me when I suggest tearing out our current floor!  Do you feel sorry for Justus being married to me?  Yes, me too! 

Have a great week!


80 comments:

  1. Looks beautiful! The bread looks good too :)
    Robin

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  2. Love your new rustic shelves and isn't that what we married them for!!

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  3. Wow, these are gorgeous! I just loved old wood and all the character it has. These look so rustic yet so charming and just perfect for your house :)
    - Kelly (thelilypadcottage)

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  4. So beautiful. I love the look. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. I love them! And I love your house! I am new to your blog and already have went through the history and read some of your posts! Thanks for sharing! xoxo

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  6. This turned out fab-u-lous. Love the look and I love the way you are renovating your house. Justus sounds alot like my Mr. Vintage. He just goes with the flow and then actually enjoys it ;-)

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  7. You've created the perfect rustic farmhouse shelves. I wish I had more wall space in my small kitchen for shelves!

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  8. I LOVE the shelves and how rustic they are. Pretty dishes and old wood is my favorite combination. You're so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who does all that for you. It's more fun when they're involved with us. Mind's a little tired of my ideas though. He has started that same thing where he acts like he can't hear me. :)

    They really look lovely....I'd love to have a set too.

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  9. This post title caught my attention right away - I LOVE old barn wood! Your new shelves are great. (good-looking cookbooks too) And that's funny about Justus not "hearing" you when you're talking about the old wood floors. Sounds familiar. :)

    Here's how we used our old barn wood to build kitchen pantry shelves http://randomsweetnessbaking.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/barn-huggers-build-pantry-from-storm-stricken-wood/and an entryway bench http://randomsweetnessbaking.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/reclaimed-wood-constructed-into-rustic-entryway-bench/.

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    1. Nice! Love how rustic it is!

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    2. Staci - your projects are amazing! I am so sorry that you lost your beautiful barn, but how wonderful that you have found ways to repurpose the wood. Your pantry is gorgeous and I love the entryway bench you built! I wish we had enough room near our entry to build one. :-) Thank you for sharing!

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  10. Andrea,
    I LOVE your rustic open shelves, and the cookbooks and the china look great on them! I've always admired your wooden countertops and I'm glad to know what you use on them to give them that great patina.

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  11. The first thing I noticed was the way the white dishes pop off the wood. Incredible really. The cookbooks are perfect. Pretty has to be functional too. I think I've said this before but you are so, so lucky that Justus is handy and willing! I love the way the shelves look with your farm table but I'm excited to see what you have planned for your kitchen. These shelves are one of a kind...no one else on earth has them. Very special. :o)

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  12. LOVE,LOVE,LOVE your shelves! I really love barn wood as you really don't know how old it really is. If you go to my blog and click on The Legacy, you will see beams that came from an old barn that my dad cleaned up and sanded. They are so heavy that we had to have my brother weld some metal brackets to hold them into place. I am sure that your house will be beautiful when it is finshed. There is a saying, if your marriage can survive building or renovating a home then it can survive anything. Well this saying holds true. We went through so much when we built our house and that was 21 years ago. Yes, we are still here to talk about it :)

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  13. Great job! I love the chunky, sturdy look of them. They are really beautiful- xo Diana

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  14. Wow, they are somethin else. Great job Justus! My brother-in-law has a cabin in Upstate NY & he always comes back with these beautiful pieces of reclaimed wood, he builds beautiful things for my sis, lucky her:). Your shelves are incredible, perfect in your home! Have a great week, Jen

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  15. The shelf turned out great and I love it. I would put my cookbooks on there as well. I love seeing them all in one place.

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  16. Your shelf turned out great! Love that old wood. It has so much character.

    Judy

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  17. Oh girl, I am a little envious. (or maybe a lot envious) I love your shelving and I love that you found the original hardwood flooring. You are living in a home that I would love to live in.

    You and Justus are a great team!!!

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  18. What is it about rustic and clean white together - just perfect!

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  19. Love it! My husband just finished our attic last month. The floors are my favorite part. He kept wanting to "finish" the floors, but I won this round. ;) We sanded (and sanded and sanded) the original planks and left them as is. (Though maybe I should consider the oil idea.) We sanded 93 years of ick off them.

    They have the crosscuts as well and some are bowed, but I just love how perfectly not perfect they are! It's funny, the boards on my side are about six inches wide, but on his side they are almost ten inches. I love the character more than any perfection.

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  20. It turned out beautiful! SO sweet of your husband to make your dream a reality.
    Lucy

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  21. Oh Andrea those look great ! I love how you can see the texture in the wood ! Great job ! Have a great day

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  22. Fabulous! I wish I had your hubby to tackle a few projects around here.

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  23. I think they're perfect. A great fit for your home. And functional is the best kind of pretty (in my book, anyway). :-)

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  24. I love the shelves :-)

    We are just starting to plan the building of our very own home and I think my look will be 'white and wood' throughout, I just love the simplicity of it.

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  25. Love the old weathered wood look and you were right to combine practicality with pretty!

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  26. Love the shelves..Justus did a fantastic job and so did you....how exciting that you found the original floors....and hey, we "wives" can say that we do keep things "interesting"...life is never dull when there is a great project with a happy ending!

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  27. Wow.
    Gorgeous in it's simplicity.
    I love it!

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  28. I am tingling with awe and envy! I once lived in a rustic A-frame in the foothills...now I'm a city person in a condo, with ugly cabinets...lol

    But I love looking at what can be reclaimed and reinvented.

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  29. I think they are beautiful against the white walls- so much texture and warmth. Awesome project!

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  30. Your new shelves are beautiful. Perfect. I believe I would have a hard time getting much done in the kitchen, for all the looking at them I would do! I enjoy your blog very much. Thank you!

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  31. You did it again. Beautiful, love how the cookbooks add just enough color. P.S. Tear up that floor!! Original hardwood? Stuff my dreams are made of. Lol

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  32. Your shelves are really beautiful! Isn't it wonderful to know that you have saved some really great wood from the refuse pile and can enjoy it now in your home. I love it!

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  33. I love the look of that shelf! You did a great job of giving it a finished look while embracing the ruggedness of the old wood. I would love to have a pile of wood like that to use for the open shelving we have planned in our laundry room. And push for unearthing that original kitchen floor! that is too great to have covered up!

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  34. Thank you, thank you for sharing. I, too, would love reclaimed wood shelves in our study and needed to know how to make them.
    I really like to find a gray-colored wood but am so worried it will have hidden bugs like termites or ants in it that will eat our house up. Where did you find your wood?
    Also worried that wood that is all gray and weathered won't be strong enough to hold books up. Your thoughts?

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    1. Thank you! Wood shelves in a study sound lovely. The gray color usually signifies weathered wood (you can see in the before photos above that the wood we used was weathered to a gray tone before sanding), but doesn't necessarily mean it's rotted. You can tell if it's rotten when you cut it... it will be porous and fairly lightweight. You can check the wood for bore holes that might indicate the presence of insects. We found our wood underneath my brother's old farmhouse. :-) Some of the wood we brought home was rotten, but we were able to salvage the good. If the wood isn't rotten, it will be extremely durable and strong. Hope that helps!

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  35. Those shelves are gorgeous and the glimpse of your kitchen table tells me it is exactly what I'm looking for too. Thanks for the great tutorial C:

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  36. Love it. How did you attach the diagonal shelf supports under the shelves? I can see nails in the front but did you nail from the back?

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    1. Thank you! The shelf supports are held in with a counter-sunk screw on the bottom and then two screws on top of the shelf.

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  37. Love these shelves and the fact that it is reclaimed wood. You guys make a great team and did a great job.

    Cynthia

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  38. Your shelves are stunning! I love old wood, nothing else like it. It is a perfect fit for your house.
    Nancy
    http://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

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  39. It looks sooooo great! I love reclaimed wood. The dark streaks add such a lovely look to the shelves. Is that fresh bread and jam I see on the table in that last photo? Delicious! :)

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  40. Beautiful shelves! You and your honey have inspired me to get my honey to work on something similar! We have a ton of old barnwood we've been setting aside for future projects and this is a wonderful idea for a home that's as tiny as ours and lacking in much needed storage! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. How fun! I understand not having a lot of storage room... we've had to get creative. :-D

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  41. I also love old wood. The shelves are great! They make a great addition to your kitchen. The bread also looks wonderful.
    Have a great week.
    Mary

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  42. So beautiful. I love the wood and how wide the planks are. Absolutlely lovely. I'm sure Justus doesn't mind doing projects for you because he loves you.
    Your kitchen is lovely.
    xoxo
    Lisa
    Leeshideaway.blogspot.com

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  43. Those shelves are simply beautiful! I like the look of wood and think it not only evokes a rustic feel, but also one of elegance.
    Brenda

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  44. i really like the rustic against the white bkgd and dishes, andrea:) you gotta love a handy man!

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  45. Love the rustic against the white background. Love the way how the accessories and dishes are arranged.

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  46. I just love your quiet, calm blog...

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  47. I love the mix of rustic with pretties!
    Mary Alice

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  48. Dear friend,
    What great teamwork! I come over here and get reinspired to get busy on some house projects... although my hubby works with machines not wood so I may have to fall back on being a carpenter's daughter and teach myself some woodworking skills! :)


    like others, I note the balance of the rustic with the pretty.

    love,
    Raimie Lu in NE

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  49. The shelves look amazing! I love how they hold your cookbooks in place with the bracket, and they are large enough to safely hold your dishes. My husband recently built two little shelves in my kitchen and I had the hardest time deciding what to put on them at first. I would look at so many great ideas and then I realized I need to work with what I have. I find myself looking at them all the time, of course with a smile :)

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  50. These shelves are just spectacular. I love the natural beauty. You hubby did an amazing job and your kitchen is just lovely and inviting. I have been looking for inspiration for my kitchen which has so much dead space above the cabinets and this may be just the thing to do for storing cookbooks and dishes. Thanks so much.

    I am your newest follower. Would love if you follow back.

    Janet

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  51. I love this look!
    The warmth of the wood against the white is just perfect!
    Isn't it great to have a handy honey?!!

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  52. The shelves are beautiful! Simple with the richness and depth of weathered wood and the oil bringing out all of the tones of the grain and saw cuts! Love it!

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  53. You and Justus did a great job with the shelves. I love the rustic look of the. So much character in the age of the wood. It lends some texture to your kitchen and fits in perfefctly.

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  54. They turned out beautifully! I love the stain you gave them. So pretty, and I think they look perfect for your home, I love the contrast of the white dishes and warm wood tone. So pretty!
    Kimberlee

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  55. I love your new kitchen shelf! What a great look. I really like it a lot. You and your husband sound like a great team!! Can't wait to see what you come up with for the second phase of your kitchen. It's going to be stunning! Have a great weekend! ~ Jamie

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  56. Beautiful shelves Andrea! I would love to do this in our farmhouse! Love the look with the white dishes!

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  57. The shelves are beautiful! You both did a great job creating them. I love aged wood.

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  58. Aren't your shelves great?! I didn't know that the grooving came from the old saws, learnt something new.
    I love your Golden Shred pot. When I was a child, my granny in England always had Golden Shred marmalade and it lived in a silver (plated?) pot with a lid on the pantry shelf, I'm not sure why the jar had to be in a pot, I must ask her! Maybe a remnant of Victorian properness?! At the time, late 1960s, they still had Golliwogs and my granny used to collect the badges for me and make beautiful golliwog dolls - of course, nowadays that is not politically correct but it was a different time, then, and it never occurred to anyone that we could be lacking in respect or anything. We just liked them. You can still buy Golden Shred, though my granny, now 97, says it's not like it used to be (!)...
    Isn't it nice when these old utility objects evoke memories?!

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  59. Great job! I love your new/old shelves, they look fantastic! I also like -and have- an open shelving kitchen, I think it's nice and practical.
    Besos from Argentina! Silvina

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  60. This is my first visit to your beautiful blog and having discovered your pretty corner of the world has been such a pleasant surprise.
    i love the rustic style of your shelves and your cook books look so pretty on them.
    rita

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  61. I love the look of the raw wood with your white in there! I love displaying my cookbooks too--if I could I would have all of them out.
    Laughing at your comment about discovering the wood floors & tearing out the other--My husband would be on that in a heart-beat. Isn't it great to be married to a handy-man? :)

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  62. just found this on FB, how did Justus attach the wood pieces on the back of the shelves?? Is it just glued? Any extra details would be appreciated. I'm so making shelves like these!!!!

    Thanks for sharing!!

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  63. The wood shelves against the white walls are amazing!

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  64. I love all the interesting ways that people use reclaimed wood. We have lots of it (because we salvage old homes). Thanks for the idea!

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  65. I love your blog! The shelving is fantastic too!!! I am going to have to browse around your sight now. :) Fun! <3 all the good ideas you can glean from others!

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  66. Thanks for allowing me to feature these amazing reclaimed wood kitchen shelves in my Friday Five post today! Would love to do something similar when we buy a home. Thanks for the inspiration!

    The Friday Five: Knitting Without Needles

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  67. Hi,

    Those shelf brackets are what I have been looking for! Good idea and they do look rustic! They will do the trick in my professor daughters not so farm housey home in Upper St Claire, Pittsburgh!!!

    Chuck

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  68. I want more and more articles and blogs please post soon such informative information. Charles J. Toole

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  69. Gorgeous! You, and Justus :-), did a fantastic job. This post has inspired me to go ahead and use the old planks out back to make into shelving for my kitchen as well.

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  70. LOVE your shelves!! Is that one piece or two separate pieces, and I was wondering how you joined the horizontal pieces to the uprights (pocket holes jig) ? What was your final measurements when it was done. I'd love to make some thing like this for our kitchen...it would be perfect!!!

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  71. I really enjoy your lovely blog. Your shelves against the white walls look great. I also own a very old farmhouse and while I appreciated the natural wood in some parts of it I went ahead and painted the whole interior white because it is SO tiny (580) sq feet. White paint makes it feel larger and definitely helps in the dark nooks/rooms. I am going to do open kitchen shelving and your shelves in their natural state have inspired me to keep mine natural and skip the paint. I think painted furniture will be on its way out in the next couple years. Then stripping our "white" wood items will be the new trend and rage.

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