I have a shelf that has been lurking in my storeroom F…O…R…E…V…E…R. It is a solid, well-built, real-wood piece that was just begging for new life. I am crazy excited about how this small project turned out. First, I have to show it to you in all of its 1996 Americana Country Christmas glory. That was our second Christmas as newlyweds in our teeny rental house. Our kitchen was so small that our fridge had to sit in the dining room, but I LOVED that house. I did my best to make it feel like home with a small budget, but oh my, even though a few of these pieces have transitioned into my current decor, my taste has definitely changed over the years! Check it out.

I apologize for the quality of this pic. Thank goodness our camera equipment has also changed over the years!

So this is how this shelf started yesterday. I apparently had also painted it a brighter red at some point over the years.

Before:

My plan was simply to paint it white and add black hardware. My sweet husband took one look at this shelf and said that he felt the shape of the shelf was quite outdated. It just did not match the feel of our lake house where it was headed. Okay….he was totally right. I told him I would have to promote him to Design Assistant. (Remember when Joanna Gaines did that for Chip?) 🙂 We decided to mimic the feel of our kitchen shelves.

So this is what my hubby did. He started by taking the shelf apart and cutting the pieces into straighter lines. Then he removed the pegs with a saw and put everything back together. Next, I gave it a little sanding and painted it with Sherwin Williams  Creamy (SW7012.) The final step was the addition of some great black hooks that I picked up at Menards. We placed them right over the spots where the pegs had been, so that you will never know they were there!

Here is the finished product!!

After:

Doesn’t it now look like a great trendy farmhouse piece? We are literally headed to the lake in MINUTES. I can’t wait to hang this shelf in our bathroom there. I will share a pic of it all installed and cute as soon as we get back!

This was actually a pretty quick project. Do you have some outdated pieces that are also screaming for new life? I would love to hear about them!

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