DIY

06.17.2017

DIY Open Shelving

Our kitchen nook needed a little something, so I added elegant DIY open shelving. It is an easy project – I did this solo one morning!

There is a large empty wall in the space, and I have struggled with decorating it since we first moved it. I tried stenciling it (see more details on that stencil HERE) and eventually added shiplap (see that DIY tutorial HERE).

Although I loved the texture the shiplap brought to the space, I still struggled with what to put in the space. I felt my bench and hutch looked cluttered in the space. I dream about building a large built-in buffet, but we have other large projects that need to come first. I decided to build some inexpensive open shelving. I began by taping out my plan for the shelves and added some faux lighting (I’ll talk more about this later) above the shelving.

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For this project, I used:

2 10″ x 8′ boards
6 brackets ( I bought these from Lowes)
3 wall lights (I found mine on Amazon)
gold spray paint
primer
paint
Electric sander
Drill

I began the project by sanding down/smoothing my boards.

I added a couple of coats of primer and a couple more coats of paint.

I “installed” my lighting. I looked everywhere for battery-powered wall lamps without any luck. I ended up finding some gorgeous wall lights on Amazon and decided to add them to my space. I’m hoping my electrician (aka my dad) will help me install the lighting down the road, but it will probably prove to be a little tough since I added shiplap. However, I love the look my (faux) lights add to the space!

After the lights were added, I installed the brackets for the shelving. I spray-painted the brackets to match the finish of the lights.

I added my painted boards, and the open shelves were done! The entire project only took me a few hours (solo) to install.

I styled the shelves with some plants and white dishes (click HERE for an inexpensive way to get the look).

I now love this wall!

Where could you use some open shelves in your home – if you don’t already have any?

Go create something!

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Shiplap in Mudroom

Simple Mudroom Solutions

I’m still adding shiplap. Now I added shiplap to a wall in our mudroom.

How to install shiplap

A few weeks ago, I shared the tutorial for how we added shiplap to a wall in a kitchen. To see all the details, click HERE.

Adding Shiplap to Mudroom

We had some leftover pine planks from the project, and I was ready for a break from the bold striped wall that had been in our mudroom. Also, I was determined to become a power-tool girl. My husband helped out with the kitchen wall, and I pulled out the chop saw, jigsaw, and nail gun and went for it!

Mudroom Makeover

I love that the texture and brightness the shiplap adds to the space.

Mudroom Ideas

I used the Hobby Lobby mirror I had on the wall before and found these cute chalkboard hooks from Pottery Barn.

Mudroom Coat Rack Ideas I can’t turn down a chalkboard…

Pottery Barn Hooks ..or a good deal. These chalkboard hooks were marked down to $9.99!

Pottery Barn Chalkboard Hook

Hopefully, the kids will remember to grab their coats before we leave the house now that they are in plain view. I am embarrassed to admit how many times we are driving down the road, and I realize one (or two or three) of them are without a coat.

DIY Shiplap Wall

I am glad I ran out of the planks because I’m not sure when I would have stopped shiplapping walls.

Mudroom with Shiplap

Are you a fan of the wall treatment?

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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DIY Shiplap Tutorial

I often get asked about this Spirit Lead Me wooden sign. Click HERE for the source!

I have been admiring shiplap walls for awhile, and I finally decided to create one for our home. I enlisted the help of my husband, and we completed this large wall (9 feet x 20 feet) in one weekend!

There are several ways to create a shiplap wall (see my earlier post HERE), but we decided to go the easy route and bought pre-cut pine boards that have a simple tongue and groove system.

We found these boards at Lowes and bought 11 packages. We had plenty of extra small pieces leftover (the extra will be used on a smaller wall in our mudroom).

Don’t get overwhelmed at the thought of doing this project because it is definitely doable. We installed the shiplap with some hard cuts (two outlets, a light switch and a hood) in one day and painted the second day.

Here are the supplies you’ll need:

Sanding Block
Tape Measure
Pine Tongue and Groove Boards
Wood Filler
Primer & Paint
Jig Saw
Chop Saw
Stud Finder
Pencil
Nail Gun & Nails (we used 16 gauge nails)
Caulk
Level Ruler

The cost of the supplies for this wall was under $200. The wood boards cost around $100 and the primer, paint, nails, wood filler and caulk were under $100.

Begin by sorting the boards, because you will find flawed boards. Save the flawed boards to cut into smaller pieces.

Although most of our flawed boards were minor, there were a couple that looked like this.

To begin, mark the studs (using the stud finder and level ruler). Then begin at the bottom with the first row. Use a level to make the first row is straight (and continue using the level throughout the entire process).

When possible, use the full 8 foot board. However, when you do cut, use the tape measure to measure (twice) before cutting.

In order to keep seams consistent, make a game plan.

For our wall, we started from the bottom right with a full 8 foot board and cut the one on the left. Then we used a full 8 foot board on the left and cut the one on the right. We continued this patterned all the wall up the wall. The door frame obviously required another solution.

Use a nail gun and put two nails in each stud.

Use a chop saw for the easy cuts.

And a jig saw for harder cuts.

The jig saw is great for going around outlets, light switches and any other obstacle you may need to tackle.

You can buy electrical box extenders for outlets and light switches to bring them out over the ship lap. We left ours sunk in in because we are in the process of (slowly) replacing them throughout the home.

We created paper patterns for the really hard areas like around the kitchen hood, traced the pattern on the wood and cut with the jigsaw.

With some planning, patience and time, we had a completed wall!

The next step was filling the nail holes. I had my oldest help out with this, and we managed to fill 800 (!!) holes pretty quickly.

After the wood filler dries, we sand the holes and use a roller to prime the wall.

Once the primer is dry, add paint. Our wall required one coat of primer plus two coats of paint. Use a brush for the paint since the roller will not reach in the cracks/seams.