Shutters Repurposed into Bookshelf

Vintage shutters repurposed into an awesome bookshelf or bookcase. Who doesn't love a great shutter upcycle?

 

This awesome repurposed shutters project was custom made for a friend. Jan picked up these awesome shutters at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $5.00 a PAIR. That is not typical of our ReStore.

These are very nice, large, sturdy shutters.

Designing the repurposed shutters shelf

In order to get them to fit together, I did have to rip a “ridge” off of each shutter on the table saw.

Connecting shutters using pocket hole joinery

I removed the black hinges and latches from the shutters. I used my Kreg Jig® R3   to make pocket holes to butt these two together in the back. Those pocket holes really give a great (tight) joint. In case you don’t know what the Kreg Jig Jr looks like:

I also used the pocket holes to attach the sides to the back using pocket hole screws.

 

When I build, I rarely  have a plan. I just sort of jump in. After I got the four shutters together, I realized I need pocket holes to attach the top. That’s where the portability of this jig comes in handy.

Even a warped top is no match for pocket hole screws

The rough sawn lumber was a little uneven. Do you see the pocket holes? and the gap in the wood?

 

This is how it looked in the back.

Voila! Screws are in, and they pulled the top right down.

A quick clamp comes in handy when you work alone

The shutter shelf is made up of 3 1x6’s butted together with pocket holes in order to make 3 boards into one shelf. I found a new way to use my quick clamps. It can be quite challenging building alone. I could use an extra pair of hands sometimes.

I made sure the shelf was level. The clamps were really handy to help hold the shelf in place. While the clamps held the shelf in place, I screwed the shelves to the shutters using pocket holes I drilled into the ends of each shelf. (if you don’t have a Kreg Jig, you can use cleats to hold your shelves)

How to attach shelves to repurposed shutters bookcase

In this picture you can see the pocket hole that put the boards together, and in the back left corner you can see that I used a double hole to attach the shelf to the back of the shutter.

In this picture I am getting ready to install the bottom shelf. I used this Combination Square  to make sure the shelf was the same measurement all the way around. This is one of the handiest tools I have.

Fill visible pocket holes before painting

I filled all the (pocket) holes with spackling. The shelves are attached on the left front/back, middle, right back/front. The middle shelf is attached all the way around due to the fact that the shutter is solid in the middle.

Add trim molding to top of bookcase

Here you can see what I mean. Without the pocket holes, I would have had to make “cleats” to run all the way around the bottom of all the shelves to “rest” on. I installed crown molding on the top.

 

Then, I sanded all of the patching, and prepared the bookshelf for painting. I used a paint sprayer. You will love using a Finish Max paint sprayer.

Blue Bookcase made from Repurposed Shutters

After many coats of paint.

 

Jan chose a blue from Behr, I believe it’s called Velvet Evening. I still have this shutter shelf and the door nightstand/bookshelf. I have one more project I’m working on for Jan, then I will deliver them all to her. She has promised to take pictures for us.

gail
Pin It

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.