Saturday, January 5, 2013

DIY Bookshelf Upcycle

While we were cleaning up/organizing our storage rooms in our basement, we found an old shelf that was in pieces. We have been up cycling the shelf and it is now featured in my sister's room. It was a cheap laminate board thing that was wobbly and good for nothing, really. So to strengthen it we used some, you guessed it, pallet wood.




We started out with this. Everything that held together the original shelf was broken, so we drilled new holes and put back together with screws.


First, we measured and cut the pieces to the correct length, and the used a grinder instead of a sander to smooth out the wood. (You can use a sander if you want.) Our grinder is really dull, so it might not work exactly how it did for us.


 The top is covered with pallet wood because it looked bad. Before we screwed it on, though, we pre-drilled to prevent the wood from cracking.We also made a pallet wood shelf I have to show you sometime. We used the same technique.


The back was put on the same way, just pre-drill the pre-measured boards, and then screw on the boards. It really is very simple...

 Do you see how the original shelf and the pallet wood top look? Well we added a piece of wood as a sort of trim because the top edge didn't look right.After that was all done we slipped in the shelves and set it up in Julia's room.


 So, even though we didn't start out with an idea about where to put it, we always find room for new junk at our house. She actually liked it even though she's super picky. We didn't think she'd like it at all. That was a nice surprise.


This is my favorite picture of the shelf. Julia made that ceramic owl in art class and the corner of that canvas in the top left corner was also made by us. I'm going to do a post on all the art that is in her room next time.


This is her room as a whole. The shelf fits perfectly! And it was free...that seems to be a reoccurring word here. But hey isn't it cute! Also, almost everything in this room is from some sort of second hand (yard sales, Craigslist) we found all kinds of beauties. I think having the shelf in the corner makes her room more symmetrical, because she doesn't have two nightstands. So...the "Julia's Room" Post is yet to come!

 
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17 comments:

  1. Very woodsy/rustic looking. I like it!

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  2. I love this Emily! A great way to make that inexpensive shelf look awesome! The part I especially like is that you did it on the top too, the overhang on the front makes the whole piece! Excellent!
    Susan

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  3. The pallet wood is perfect! How adorable1 And functional at the side of the bed!

    Good for you!

    hugs x
    crystelle
    http://www.crystelleboutique.com

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  4. Great idea, Emily! I love re-used pallet wood. It really does look awesome.

    I'm having a GOOGLE + Social hop. I'd love for you to hop on over, grab a button and link up your Google +. If you don't have Google + it's ok, come link up your blog or favorite post.

    http://mydailyphotojourney.blogspot.com/2013/01/google-social-hop.html


    I'm also looking for Pinterest Pinners to feature every week beginning in January. If you are on Pinterest and are interested in being featured come link up! Who knows you might meet some other great pinners and gain a few great ideas.

    http://mydailyphotojourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/looking-for-pinners.html

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  5. Love the shelf! I just pinned it to try to make a similar one myself. You have a cute blog!

    ~Chelsea @ Married Filing Jointly

    http://www.marriedfilingjointly.blogspot.com

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  6. I love your shelf! It turned out great. Visiting and following from Creatively Tuesday! Love your blog. Have a wonderful week. :)

    Kathy
    www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com

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  7. Awesome shelf! I've thought of doing something similar but wasn't sure how it would look in the end. Yours turned out nicely! Inspired to make one.

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  8. I've had this on my to-do list for like a month but I can't find any free pallets. Send me one of your pallets!

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  9. This is so creative. Thanks for sharing. Think this upcycling DIY project is perfect for my house.

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