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    Home » DIY » Build It » Farmhouse Shelf Tutorial You Can Make

    Farmhouse Shelf Tutorial You Can Make

    Published by Gail | Published May 2, 2017 | Updated June 8, 2020
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Easy to Make Farmhouse shelves for your home. Tutorial on assembling shelves using pre-made corbels. Tips on painting and staining the perfect farmhouse look. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #farmhouse #shelf #diy #project via @repurposedlife

    Last Fall a reader wrote me to ask if I would make a rustic farmhouse shelf project that she saw on Pinterest. Funny thing—the pin lead to My Repurposed Life, but it wasn’t my project. It's rare for me to do  this sort of thing and ship it, but I loved the look of the rustic distressed shelves and agreed to take on the challenge of making a farmhouse shelf.

    How to make a farmhouse shelf

    materials for rustic shelvesI used all new materials for this project, but I hope in the end, you will love the rustic farmhouse look of these shelves. I picked up the 1x8 at home depot (6 ft) and I got the corbels on Amazon. That was because I couldn’t find these at my Home Depot or Lowes.

    *this post contains affiliate links*

    Materials to make farmhouse shelf

    30 inch shelves sandedIn this photo you can see that I have sanded the shelf board on the right. I like sanding all the edges with a slight “round over” to take of the sharp edged of the mill.

    To get a vintage look, start with stain

    minwax jacobean stainA soft rag was used to stain all the pieces with Minwax Jacobean Stain.

    How to do vaseline resist trick

    white paint over jacobean stainI used the vaseline technique to prevent the white paint from adhering completely to the stained corbels. I applied the vaseline with my fingers in random places. When you do this technique it works best if you don’t “over paint” the project pieces. As always I used a cheap chip brush to apply the Behr paint (Polished Pearl)

    You can also use Vaseline when you want to keep paint off hinges

    distressed corbels using vaselineWhen the paint was dry, I used a soft rag to remove the paint where the vaseline had been applied. I lightly sanded all of the corbels with some brown craft paper.

    If you like the chippy look, check out this chippy white chest for the guest room.

    Chippy Farmhouse Shelf

    dry fit rustic shelvesI snapped a quick photo to send to Cindy to make sure she was pleased with the way they are looking. She loved them, and so do I.

    Seal with Wipe-On Poly

    minwax wipe-on polyTo protect the shelves and corbels I used Minwax Wipe-on Poly, applying with a soft rag.

    wipe-on poly for corbelsWith my messy work table it’s difficult to see where the corbels begin and end. Winking smile

    button plugs for corbel screw holesI bought these ⅜” button plugs from Home Depot. You can also buy the oak button plugs on Amazon.

    button plugs distressedI painted the button plugs with a small artist’s brush with the Polished Pearl paint, then used a Minwax Stain Marker (Ebony) to give them a more distressed look. I poured a small amount of the Minwax Wipe-On poly onto a paper towel and applied it to each button to make them match the corbels.

    DIY rustic farm shelves MyRepurposedLife.comIn a rush to get these farmhouse shelves in the mail, I quickly hung them on the fence to snap some pictures to show you.

    rustic farmhouse shelves MyRepurposedLife.comThe buttons/plugs are in place where the board is attached to the corbels. The buttons will be included so they can be inserted after installation. I really love how these turned out, and so does Cindy!

    how to make new corbels look old for farmhouse shelves MyRepurposedLife.com

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    It took some investigation, but I found the original source of the inspiration project. It’s from Shabby Love Blog. Cindy loves her shelves, she wrote me this email…

    Just got my package opened the box and I'm beyond pleased at what a wonderful job you did. The farmhouse shelves are just what I wanted. Can't wait too put them up. Thanks again they are perfect.

    Rustic Farmhouse Shelves gallery wall MyRepurposedLife.comHere are the shelves in their new home!

    iron stone on rustic farmhouse shelves from MyRepurposedLife.comAll dressed up with an ironstone collection!

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    Reader Interactions

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    1. Mary Helene

      May 07, 2017 at 8:25 am

      These are gorgeous and love how the customer uses them to display her Ironware.

      Reply
    2. Ruth

      May 03, 2017 at 10:50 pm

      Looks great, you did a wonderful job!!!

      Reply
    3. GirlfromWVa

      May 02, 2017 at 1:07 pm

      Love the way u did these farmhouse shelves!

      Reply
    4. Julie@followyourheartwoodworking

      May 02, 2017 at 9:07 am

      They look great, Gail... and your customer is happy, so bravo!

      Reply
    5. Sandy

      May 02, 2017 at 8:37 am

      So glad to see how the shelves worked out in Cindi's home- just beautiful! I haven't tried the chippy paint technique, but really want to now that I've seen this. Thanks for the inspiration, Gail

      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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