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...

a very dirty, very dilapidated, shelf with a burn hole.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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!