Tag: Stain

Time and Money Saving DIY Floating Book Shelves

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved reading and owning books. That’s why I could totally relate to my oldest daughter’s request for book shelves. In our previous house, I had built her a recessed bookcase we both loved. As this Christmas inched closer with the expectation my daughter would be gifted more books, it was time to buckle down to give her a way to organize all the book stacks she had lined up on the floor. Although, I love a recessed bookcase, I didn’t want to dive into wall cutting and shelf building while caring for a newborn. That’s how I came to constructing easier and time effective floating book shelves. If you’re looking for a way to organize your own stacks, follow along below!

Floating Book Shelf Basics

Many of the floating shelves out there are quite thick for the elevated look of it and/or the hardware that is likely needed to support the shelf. Generally, I like the look of those shelves more than a thin wood shelf. As I was looking at examples of floating book shelves on Pinterest, I saw a post about L brackets, which really sparked for me. While considering how many shelves were desired in combination with the height of the wall and the cost, I ended up using a 1 in width instead of 2 in. After purchasing 1″ boards from Lowes, I was slightly concerned the boards would bow from the weight. After doing a quick test of the board strength by sitting on it while propped on two saw horses, I was confident the board would be fine. 

The other decision I had to make was the size of the brackets to get. L brackets are definitely cheaper than a decorative shelf bracket, which was part of the draw for me. I wanted to be sure the shelf had enough support while keeping cost down, so I ended up choosing the 6″ x 6″ brackets. 

Supply List

I determined the amount of length I would need for 9 shelves would be three 8′ boards or two 10′ boards. Lowes apparently doesn’t sell 10′ boards as a 1″ x 8″, so I had to get three 8′ boards. Then, I cut the boards the same width as the wall space, roughly 29″.  A word to the wise, it’s worth measuring the wall space several times. This is my second project using wall space to find that they weren’t exactly square. This meant the width at the top of the wall was 1/4 in wider than the bottom of the wall. 

The prep steps for this project were quite minimal, spray painting and staining. I used Rust-oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze I had from my Live Edge coffee table project. The screws should likely be sprayed as well to match. I should have sprayed them at the same time but didn’t. I ended up leaving the screws silver, because my daughter was hard pressed to get the shelves up. 

From there, it was just a matter of staining the shelves. I used a stain I already had on hand, Minwax Chestnut. I tend to like the darker colors better for most of my projects. When it comes to staining, you can use either a clean rag or a foam brush. I learned long ago from my mom to save disgarded white t-shirts for staining projects. Free is always fabulous. After many a stained hand, I have decided it’s worth buying a box of gloves for easier clean up. 

Shelf Attachment

The shelves were hardly dry before my daughter was carting them to her room for me to attach to the wall. This made for a very pungent upstairs since the smell lasts for days. I toggled between attached the brackets to the shelf first or to the wall first. I ended up attaching to the wall first with the thought I wouldn’t be able to screw in the bottom screw with the shelf attached. The easiest method, is to place the bracket against the wall, then draw the holes onto the wall. With the bracket off the wall, drill a hole into the stud. I didn’t necessary want to put the brackets at the end of the boards, but that’s where the studs were in the wall. Using anchors in the drywall wouldn’t be a good way to support the amount of weight books would create. 

After the first bracket was secured to the wall, it was important to level the shelf to ensure the right bracket would be in the correct spot. For me, the right bracket was so close to the connecting wall that the inner screw hole was just outside of the stud. Given I had two screws secured into the stud, I felt okay about one of them going into a drywall anchor. 

With the brackets secured to the wall, it was just a matter of screwing in the shelves. Wood screws are self drilling, which means you usually don’t have to pre-drill the hole. I didn’t want to risk creating a crack so close to the end of the board, so I opted to drill a hole prior to placing the screw. 

While I finished up the last of the shelves, my oldest and youngest daughters, shared some bonding time on the bed. How adorable are they?!

A Floating Book Shelves Must: Book ends

I would venture to say that floating shelves aren’t the first choice for books simply because there’s nothing to keep them from falling off the end. With this being the case, you either buy some book ends or you can go the cheap route of using the extra wood to make sliding book ends. I cut into the wood with the radial saw to knotch out a 13/16″ width. Then using a router, I cleaned up the cut, leaving about and inch or so at the end.

That’s all it took to keep the books from falling off the shelves.

Final Product

That’s all there is to creating your very own Floating Book Shelves! Go ahead and give it a try this weekend! It’s a given you will feel great for accomplishing a project and creating a way to organize your space. As noted in Can organizing impact your mental health?, “Your disorganization, unfinished projects, and piles of “to-dos” may be contributing to your stress and depression. As you work hard to clear away the piles and never-ending projects, your brain will rest easy and make it easier for you to feel relaxed and happy.” For this particular organization, you may also enjoy the chance to organize the books in a particular way. My daughter was excited to organize her books by author’s last name. Whatever floats your boat!

*This page contains affiliate links. This means if you use one of my links to make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Cathartic Crafting!

Faux Wood Plank Shoe Enclosure to Keep Shoes Out of the Way

We got a Greater Swiss Mountain puppy this past year, which ended up meaning our shoes were no longer safe. I decided to use some extra wood sitting in the garage to create a shoe box to keep them safe by the back door. It’s also served to keep the area cleaner and trip free. Rather than keeping the plywood as is, I opted to do a faux wood plank technique to the top.

Our puppy Skye, particularly enjoyed our flip flops.

My Materials

  • 3/4″ plywood
  • 1/4″ plywood
  • 2 hinges
  • Spray paint
  • Stain
  • Drawer knob
  • Painter’s Tape
  • Screws

Tools

  • Painter’s Tape
  • Nail gun and nails
  • Kreg jigs
  • Circular saw
  • Drill
  • Saw horses

Using the circular saw, I cut the plywood to the width of the wall space and the depth of my husband’s shoe. If I had had enough 3/4″ plywood in my scrap pile, I would have done the bottom with it as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t, so I used 1/4″ plywood instead.

I decided to use this Rustoleum spray paint I had from an ombre project I completed for my niece. The pop of color was a nice surprise on the inside. Rustoleum has good coverage.

I used some inch long wood screws to attach the bottom to the sides. Since it was just a simple project to keep our shoes safe, I didn’t worry too much about having 1/4″ board on the bottom being attached with glue and screws.

Faux Wood Plank Time

I thought it’d be fun to give the top the look of panels. To achieve this, I taped it to allow for the stain to create lines. The darker stain was first with two coats to make sure it would be dark. I switched the painter’s tape to cover the dark stain and then did the lighter stain. After that, I did a second coat on a few of the spots to have a third variation.

I put on two hinges I had handy. It seemed better that we’d have to pull up on the door to open it and make it puppy proof, so that is what I went with doing. I drilled an easy hole in the middle of the front panel and screwed in a knob to finish it off.

Safe and sound

The finished product for family shoe organization and safe keeping! If your looking for more organization ideas, check out the Family Command Center above the shoe box here.

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Antique Hutch Refinish For an Outstanding Shabby Chic Focal Point

In a random search of the Facebook marketplace, I found this antique kitchen piece for less than $50. I LOVED IT! I find it truly exciting to find these kinds of things, even when I don’t need anything for my own house. Have you found any antique steals yourself?!  This kitchen hutch (as I deemed it) was located near my sister’s house, so after confirming she could pick it up for me, I snatched it up. Then, she lovingly dropped it off at my house for me. I was ready to take on this antique hutch refinish job. 

To do’s for this project:

  • Painting the wood 
  • Buy wood and new drawer handles
  • Cutting new shelves
  • Staining the shelves and the top
  • Cleaning the rust off the metal drawer bin
  • Replacing the metal 
  • Fixing the broken wood

Expenses

  • Annie Sloan paint: $12 for 4 oz
  • Fusion Paint: ~$22 for 16.9 fl oz
  • Pine board $16
  • 5 drawer handles, $15 
  • Metal sheet, $22
  • Wood Filler $7
  • Drawer/shelf liner (bought for a previous dresser refinish)
  • Time…priceless

Total $84

After having used Fusion paint on several projects, I wanted to give Annie Sloan paint a try with this project to be able to compare the two. I had found an Annie Sloan paint seller nearby at an antique barn sale, so I had gotten a 4 oz bottle of teal (named Provence and number B8100620). The bottle says “Absolutely anyone can use my paint. It’s easy.”

Normally, I’d say you need to sand or strip the wood before painting, but with this one, it wasn’t necessary. I had to fix a few pieces of wood that were loose or broken before painting. After those fixes, I did a single coat of teal on the back and a double coat of white fusion paint on everything else. This was likely the easiest paint refinish I’ve done to date. The single coat of teal was enough coverage to give it more of a rustic look. Of the 4 oz canister I bought, there was about a quarter of it left. I’d say that’s pretty good coverage for that small amount. It also went on smoothly without any brush marks. It was definitely a positive to have an easier paint job for this project given the other tasks needed. Annie Sloan got a thumbs up from me.

A Little Bit of Metal Work

With the top and the legs painted, it was time to start on the metal bins. I’d been told they were used to store flour, but I really couldn’t find any information on the internet to verify that. I would guess they were used to store onions and potatoes but that’s purely based on what I think would make sense to put in there. 

One of the bins was only slightly rusted, but the other side had a hole in it from all the rust. In order to fix this, it was easiest to replace it altogether. I bought a sheet of aluminum from Home Depot to cut to size. In order to get the old metal off, I had to remove the nails holding it in place. It took me quite a bit to push myself to start this task because I thought it was going to be quite difficult. Procrastination really gets me on some projects. It ended up being easier than I had thought, which was fantastic! Be warned that sometimes our fears end up falling flat. 

A little motivation for you…

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

“If you put off everything until you are sure of it, you will never get anything done.”

Norman Vincent Peale

“The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.”

Dawson Trotman

Adding a friend to the mix

While I was working on the bins, my friend was working on her own dresser refinish with me in my garage. It was cold in there! I was helping her learn the refinishing ropes. Having a buddy definitely makes a project much more socially fun. 

Clean metal bins

Although part of what I love about crafting and woodworking is the solitary nature of it, sometimes it’s really nice to have company. You can still get lost in your own thoughts and mentally working through your own problems, but you also have the opportunity to get feedback on those thoughts. Normally, I do have social engagement even in my garage solitude due to the constant need for ‘mom’. For example, while trying to write this post, I’ve been interrupted no less than a million times from the three kids and husband. 

Anyway, back to business…

I placed the new sheet in place and then nailed it into place with some 1/2 in nails. After it was set in place, I pressed the edge down over the wood and used a hammer to flatten it as flush as possible against the wood. It was complete after that!

Rust, Rust, and more Rust

I used this same tool I had used to cut the metal. It had several different tips and this bristle brush was FANTASTIC at scrubbing off the rust. Since I hadn’t done anything like this before, I was really impressed with how well it worked.

Wood Fixes and Staining

This antique hutch refinish was well on it’s way to being complete. I ended up buying some pine to cut into two shelves because the hutch hadn’t come with all the shelves. The hutch had a removable cutting board that was in need of repair. I used wood filler to fill in the gaps. I did one round of it, let it dry, and then did another layer. If you put too thick of a layer on, it doesn’t seem to dry as well as it should. I’ve learned this from personal experience. I’m glad to fail to help you stay on a successful track on your journey. (Definitely not happy when it happens, but after the moment passes, I can be.)

Shelves cut, stained and ready for placement.

After the wood filler dried, I sanded it and the top smooth to be ready for staining. I employed the services of my oldest to help with applying the dark stain. I used the same stain as for my Paddle Platter

Look at how much she appears to love helping with this…Not at all. After the stain, came the three coats of polyurethane to protect the surface from frequent use. 

Antique Hutch Refinish Final Product

And after all that work and time, it was finally finished and ready for staging. If I had the space, I would love to keep it. Sadly, I don’t, so this beauty is ready for a new owner. 

Hard to see in this photo but there was nice detail on the top border.

I hope you enjoyed the run down of this antique hutch refinish and find it inspiring as you start on your own journey. Happy crafting!

A Straightforward DIY Living Room Table Set just for You

While trying to decide on the direction for our new living room that wouldn’t break the bank, I was inspired by pins on Ikea furniture hacks. One, in particular, struck my fancy because of its simplicity and look. I ended up finding a discounted Hemnes white coffee table which was the start of this living room table set project. If you’re looking for a simple project that will impress your friends, then follow along with me.

Personalizing Ikea

Supplies for Ikea top:

  • 3- 1x6x8
  • 1- 1x3x6
  • 1″ Wood Screws

Supplies for Side Table:

  • 1- 1x2x6
  • 1- 2x2x8
  • 3- 1x6x8
  • Stain
  • 1 1/2″ Wood Screws 
  • Kreg jig & screws
  • Wood Glue

I assume you know how wood measurements work, but just in case, here’s a nice breakdown at Arch Toolbox. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if the name matched the actual size?! I was given some poplar boards from our builder that were perfect for the coffee table and as the main part of a coordinating side table. I used pine for the store-bought wood for it’s affordability. In general, pine is a softer wood, so choosing this option could mean finding nicks and scraps in the wood at some point. Poplar is a harder wood that will take more of a beating.  

Getting started on this Living Room Table Set

This portion of the project involved ripping the boards into 6 equal pieces at 4 3/4″ x 41 1/4″. You have two options on how to connect them side by side; doweling and pocket holes. Pocket holes are easier to do but can be tricky to ensure the boards stay completely flush. Doweling needs to be pretty precise, so it can be tedious and slightly difficult to do by yourself. I chose to go with the pocket holes route for both tables here. I also decided to sand down the corners of each board to ensure there was a distinction between the boards after they were secured together.

living room table set: ikea update

After the long middle boards were screwed together, I cut the end boards to size at 2 3/8″ and 29 1/4″. I used the Kreg jig to create the pocket holes to attach the ends. With the top together, I stained it and the sides with a white stain followed by three coats of clear polyacrylic. I wanted to keep the top white to match the table and go with the white, gray, yellow, and teal color scheme of the room.

living room table set: new top

To finish this easy table upgrade, I just needed to screw the wood top to the coffee table. This was simply done by turning the coffee table over to expose the bottom. It was best to clamp the top to the table to avoid a gap between the boards. I chose not to use glue and stick with just the screws. To make sure the wood wouldn’t splinter with the wood screws, I pre-drilled the holes.

Side Table

Cuts

  • 8 – 1″ x 4″ x 19″
  • 4 – 1″ x 4 1/2″ x 24″
  • 6 – 1″ x 2″ x 13 1/4″
  • 2 – 1″ x 2″ x 19″
  • 4 – 2″ x 2″ x 24″

The width of the legs and shelves is 14 3/4″ and the height of the side table is 24 3/4″.

The side table consisted of cutting the wood to size and using the kreg jig. I didn’t care to have to do more cuts than necessary, so my schematic limited the need for notched cuts by utilizing the 1×2’s.

living room table set: boards for side table

The poplar boards I used also needed to be ripped to size for the two shelves. I used a circular saw with a guide to cut the four boards, which works well enough. I would actually much rather have a table saw to use that would ensure an absolutely straight cut. My woodworking projects would be so much easier with a few extra tools, that’s for sure, but it just goes to show you don’t need all the special tools to complete a project. After cutting all the boards, sanding them smooth and making the pocket holes with the kreg jig was up next. 

Almost finished

Pocket holes galore. I used pocket holes to connect all the pieces together as you can see below, making sure to screw the shelf into all four legs and the 1×2’s. With all the hard work done, it was finally time to stain it. Rust-o-leum Antique White stain applied with a white rag gave it the finish I was trying to achieve. It needed three coats of stain to give it a consistent white. You generally shouldn’t need to do that many coats, but I felt it was warranted with this one. The most important point when staining is to go with the grain and not to allow it to pool in any one spot. 

And that’s all that is involved with creating a simple side table and giving an Ikea table an upgrade. If you’re looking for another easy project, check out Revamp a Composite Bookcase. It uses 1×2 pine boards just like some of this one.

living room table set top
living room table set bottom shelf

Completed Living Room Table Set Project

living room table set finished side table
living room table set: finished idea table

*This page contains affiliate links. This means if you use one of my links to make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Cathartic Crafting!

DIY Wood Serving Platter for your Next Gathering

If you’re anything like me, you likely see creative possibilities all around you. Sometimes in comes in the form of more random options. For this easy woodworking project, I was inspired by an oar shape. After some brainstorming, I came up with this wood serving platter idea. 


“She believed she could so she did”

My parents both grew up in the great state of Kansas before moving to Maryland, where I was raised. During my younger years, we would make the long drive once or twice a year to visit our many relatives. I now try to get out there every few years to spend a week visiting with as many in the area as we can. We made the trek to join in the family reunion with the family from these two fabulous people below, my paternal grandparents. They are a crafter and carpenter extraordinaire among a great many other things. The line of DIYers is obviously pretty long. In 2017 when this photo was taken, they were 91 and 94 years old. I can only hope to live as long and fruitful a life as these two.

Grandparents

During this particular reunion, the family was making carpenter stools to match my grandfather’s well-used one. My grandmother was also providing instructions on how to cut a chicken down to make her fried chicken. It was quite a unique and memorable affair. My family knows how to do it right.

grandfathers carpenter stool
Family woodworking at its finest. Look at the line of constructed stools. I certainly use mine plenty now.

It wouldn’t be a trip to my aunt and uncle’s house in Missouri without an exotic animal sighting. Missouri seems to have laxer animal rules, so there’s quite a bit of animal variety in the area.

Now on to the Project

Part of this particular Kansas trip included cleaning out my parents’ old shed, which happened to have a couple of boxes of ready-made wood forms. That wood was calling my name, so I had my pick of the stock along with my younger sister. I dragged my selection back to Maryland with me and piled them up to wait for creativity to strike. Some ideas came more easily but those oar shapes nagged at me to figure out what to do. Then it hit me all of a sudden; I’d practice my raw routering skills by making a food platter. I took a trip to Goodwill, found three perfect glass cups, and to my garage I went.

Pile of projects
Pay no attention to the foot by the stack of raw wood forms.

I traced the bottom of the glass cups on the long portion of the oar and measured around the base to ensure I had an even border there. Then I used an older router to start cutting out the inside of my markings. It’s important to lock it tight when using a router. If you don’t, the blade will move deeper than you plan on it going. Unfortunately, the router I was using did not stay put and started digging in a little deeper than I’d planned. I can’t begin to describe the disgust I felt with this, so I ended up quitting it for quite a while and picking it back up when I got a handle on my frustration.

Routered oar server

Quick Fixes

Wood filler and a scraper solved the problem of evening out the spots that happened by accident. After the wood filler was dry, I sanded it down as best I could using a medium grit (80 grit) sandpaper. Medium grit (60-100) helps with smoothing the rougher areas. For more significant marks, you’d go for coarse grit (40-50). It’s typically best to sand with a fine-grit paper (120-220) to create a really smooth even surface before staining.

I’ve since started using a much better router thanks to my parents, which makes completing projects soooo much easier. This Ryobi router serves me well now. I can’t say enough about having the right tools. Many of the ones I have are hand-me-downs or are older because I can’t spend the money on better versions of everything. If I had my druthers, I’d get a bunch of new tools to speed up my projects and save my sanity. You get the benefit of seeing you can still accomplish things without all the best tools.

Oar Server with router errors fixed
The bane of this project.

Staining

After the routering was complete, I did two layers of stain with a dark stain I had on hand. I keep old cotton white shirt strips handy for staining just like my mom used to do. My parents were avid woodworkers and often built cabinets, tables, or trailers, among the list. My siblings and I helped complete many of the projects when extra hands were necessary. I’ve said many times as an adult now that although I wasn’t so keen on it as a kid, I’m thankful for the skills gained by having had to help.

Oar server with final stain
There’s a light spot on the end here where I failed to get the stickiness off from some masking tape. Before staining, it’s always important to ensure the wood is completely clean of residue or glue. Sanding is important.
Oar server before polyurethane

The stain ended up being inconsistent in the wood filler spots. I decided the oar server would look better to do chalkboard paint on the inside. If you are looking for other simple projects with chalk paint, check out this easy frame project. Then I painted “Bon Appetit” with white acrylic paint and finished it off with two coats of polyurethane to seal it for food and washing. The clear coating really gives it the finished look as well.

Oar server ready to use

I put a twine hoop on the oar server for hanging to make it a multipurpose server and decor item.

Oar Server hanging as decor

Wood Serving Platter: Putting it to Use

Around the time I was working on this, I was attending monthly moms’ dinner nights. If you haven’t participated in these, it’s best described as one mom hosting and choosing a theme to create the main dish around. The rest of the attending moms/friends bring a dish to match the theme. This particular night was Mexican-themed, so I went with homemade churros and three different dipping sauces. It all worked perfectly together as you can see below! It just goes to show that random finds can be made into something completely fun and useful. Here’s to inspiration finding you soon!

Oar server put to use at party

 

*This page contains affiliate links. This means if you use one of my links to make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Cathartic Crafting!

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