Monday, July 17, 2017

Roadside Rescue Bookshelf

When hubby told me he had picked up a real wood roadside shelf, I was excited.  But, then he brought home this...
before picture of a roadside find
a very dirty, very dilapidated, shelf with a burn hole.
burn hole in a roadside rescue bookshelf

So, after letting it sit for a month and almost hauling it to the dump, I decided to tackle it... and gave it a rustic industrial makeover.

rustic industrial bookshelf with reclaimed wood

I cut out the burn hole with a jigsaw, making the hole a rectangle.  I filled the with a rectangular scrap of wood that was the same thickness as the shelf. I glued it in place with wood glue.  When the glue was dry, I used wood filler on the edges of the "wood patch".
how to makeover an old bookshelf
It wasn't a perfect patch, but I knew with paint it would be hidden. I removed the flimsy back.

I then sanded and painted the shelf. I mixed some black into a brighter green to make this darker, earthy green that I think will be coming in hot this fall and winter.
add barn wood and pallet wood to an old bookshelf for a rustic industrial look
I added reclaimed wood pieces to the fronts of the shelves because they were damaged.  I used a couple pieces of barnwood on the top. Two very thin reclaimed wood boards were slid into the slots in the top, middle shelf.  I think this was originally a secretary with a fold-down desk as I could see places where  hinge was screwed to the top shelf.
roadside bookshelf gets a rustic makeover
Pallet wood made a much better back and gave the shelf a great rustic feel.  I secured all of the wood pieces with the brad nail gun.
I stained over the paint and the wood with Minwax's Special Walnut. I put the shelf on wheels to give it a more industrial look. And, I thanked hubby for dragging this piece home--a little love and a new plan was exactly what it need!

11 comments:

  1. You definitely made it look much better!

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    1. Thanks Rose! I am glad i didn't dump it like I thought I might do!

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  2. I love that color. Green is my favorite color anyway. It looks awesome Becky. I recently took a little rickety bamboo stool that my son found & saved it from the dump. I used jute twine to rewrap almost the entire thing & I'm putting a pretty teak wood round top on it. It'll be just perfect now as a little plant stand on my carport. I love saving things from the dump!

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    1. That sounds like a perfect makeover. Love the jute and bamboo together--so much awesome texture. Thanks, I am falling in love with this green!

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  3. That is fantastic. All I saw was a burned cabinet!

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  4. Oh, I really, really love it! You did a great job and love the green!

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  5. What a great save! Love the green too.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate your kind words!