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    Home » Repurposed Furniture » chair wall shelf

    chair wall shelf

    Published by Gail | Published June 7, 2016 | Updated June 24, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    This chair wall shelf was a no brainer, because I love, love, love old chairs. They made my top five list on my items to pick up at thrift stores and curb shopping on my DIY with MRL podcast.

    It’s tough for me to ever pass up a chair, but when they are great deals, it’s impossible to say NO.

     

    old chair

    Case in point—this recent find from Vendors’ Village. It was in decent shape, but I mostly bought it because of the legs . . .

     

     

    cheap chair

    And the price!! It was marked $5.03, but it was actually on sale for 50% off! C’mon, a pretty chair for $2.50, who could say no to that?

     

     

    vintage chair bottomI removed the back for another project- a chair back hook rack. I decided to make a repurposed chair wall shelf, so basically I needed to cut down the depth. I decided to cut it right behind the bottom cross brace.

     

    dremel multi max cuts chairI wouldn’t fit on the compound miter saw, so I used my Dremel Multi-Max to do a flush cut.

     

    jigsaw cuts chairI also tried to cut the seat portion on the compound miter saw, but it wouldn’t work so I used my Ryobi Jigsaw to cut that the same depth as the bottom portion.

     

     

     

    making a wall shelf from an old chairTo make sure it would hang flush on the wall, I held it up to the garage wall to make sure it was actually going to do what I was thinking.

     

     

    trace board for chair wall shelfIn order to get a slight overhang on the shelf all the way around the former seat of the chair, I traced a line on a 1x12 with a carpenter’s pencil held in such a way that it would give more room on the board to allow for the overhang.

     

     

    board for shelfThis was actually a free scrap board I got at 84 Lumber during the winter months while I was picking up some stuff for my DIY picket fence. I should have planned better for the cutting, to avoid the huge knots, but I really didn’t want to waste any of this board.

     

     

    chair wall shelfAfter sanding the edges just a little, I placed the new shelf board onto the chair seat to do a dry fit.

     

    attach board for wall shelfI traced a bottom shelf board and cut it with the jigsaw as well. I used Gorilla Wood Glue and my Ryobi Airstrike Nailgun to secure the boards to the chair parts.

     

    how to repurposed chair wall shelf

    I hung it on the fence to see how it was going to look. I felt like it was missing something, and that it may look better if I added some back “legs”.

     

     

    add shelf supportsI used the original chair legs, cutting them to size on the compound miter saw—drilling Kreg Jig Pocket holes to secure the leg to the bottom shelf and top skirt.

     

     

    updated chair wall shelfHere it is with the back legs. Better? I’m undecided actually. But it’s done now.

     

    diy chalky paint primerOf course I used my diy chalky paint primer as a base coat for the repurposed chair wall shelf. Check out the green lid on my paint can. You can get one on Amazon, it’s called CanSealid. It seals a can of paint with a "burp" and is so easy to use. I love it!

     

    finish max paints chair wall shelfI used my Homeright Finish Max to spray the chalky paint primer on the new wall shelf.

     

    heirloom traditions dark umber waxIt got H.O.T. and I brought some projects in the house to work on them in the kitchen. I applied some Miss Mustard Seed clear wax, and then added a little Dark Umber Wax from Heirloom Traditions using a small wax brush.

     

     

    d rings hangerI used my favorite d rings on the back of the chair wall shelf for hanging it on the wall.

     

     

    repurposed chair wall shelf MyRepurposedLife.comI love the “hint” of antiquing or glazing that the shelf has. I just wanted to bring out the pretty details of the legs.

     

     

    repurposed chair seat wall shelf MyRepurposedLife.comBecause it’s been so hot, I quickly staged this unique wall shelf on the fence. The Kentucky sign was a gift from a sweet friend of mine who I was able to hang out with recently in Salt Lake City, thank you Suesan!

     

     

    lonely chair into unique wall shelf MyRepurposedLife.com

    This was a fairly easy project. I’ve done one other chair that hangs on the wall, a towel rack shelf made from an old rocker.

    white-chair-back-wall-coat-rack-MyRepurposedLife.jpg

    Two projects from one $2.50 chair! Those are the projects I love! Check out this chair back hook rack.

     

    See one of my first, and an all-time favorite chair projects here

    Sharing here: DIY Sunday Showcase

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    1. Sharon

      June 23, 2016 at 9:43 am

      Just wondering how you got the edges of the board so smooth. Did you use a router?

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 23, 2016 at 3:39 pm

        Sharon,

        I once saw a really old "country" shelf and loved how the edges were softened over the years, so now I always sand the hard edges on my shelf boards and bench seats with my orbital sander. I love the "old" look of the boards better than the "new" look of the boards from the store.

        gail

    2. Audra @ Renewed Projects

      June 17, 2016 at 10:59 am

      Love this! And great tutorial, too. Pinning.

      Reply
    3. chris aka monkey

      June 09, 2016 at 12:34 pm

      such a great idea wall space is something we use because we do not have much floor space and i like the addition of the back legs, i still haven't used my homeright max yet first i was so sick then it rained and rained, and now it is 98 degrees and maybe i am just a little afraid of messing up lol xx

      Reply
    4. Wendi @ H2OBungalow

      June 09, 2016 at 6:48 am

      Creative! I love your chair ideas!! I have one broken chair in the garage that is waiting for the perfect makeover. I know I'll find it in your project gallery 🙂

      Reply
    5. Dina Lanzendorf

      June 08, 2016 at 9:02 pm

      Cute shelf! I love it! I don't know if you remember me or not but I sat next to you on the plane on the way to Salt Lake City!!!

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 08, 2016 at 9:25 pm

        Dina!

        Of course I remember you! You were going to the stampin up conference! Thanks so much for checking out my blog and this project.

        Take care,
        gail

    6. Julie @ follow your heart woodworking

      June 07, 2016 at 8:10 pm

      Cute idea! I like how you explain what you did and how you changed it when you felt it needed more. I was just given two chairs by a lady that walked into my shop and I haven't decided what to do with them yet.

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 07, 2016 at 8:55 pm

        I love chairs! I can't stop buying them. But the thing about having so many is this... I can do lots of things, and I don't mind cutting them up because I have more to do other projects. 🙂

    7. Suesan

      June 07, 2016 at 10:48 am

      You are so clever, Gail. I love seeing what you come up with. Great job and I have to say, I love the sign! 😀

      Reply
    8. Mindi

      June 07, 2016 at 10:45 am

      Super cute shelf Gail! I think I like the back legs added. You always amaze me with your cleaver repurposing skills, I don't remember a chair shelf like this! Awesome job!

      Reply

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    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

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