Shelves Archives - Everyday Edits

The farmhouse shelves in our kitchen were one of my favorite projects. The shelves opened up the space and added a bit of a trend to my aging, dated kitchen. The farmhouse kitchen shelves were an inexpensive solution to replace the dated cabinets and not lose valuable storage. If you are looking for an entry-level DIY project these shelves are a perfect starting point.

Well, when we knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room we lost a row of upper cabinets. The open shelves was a great way to keep the space open and add storage space for the essentials.

It was a simple project with 2 x 12 select pine from Home Depot. We went with select pine because it has a smoother finish. I cut the pine boards to size using a table saw (with an assist from my assistant (husband) to hold the end of the board).

I used my favorite pre-stain wood conditioner to prep the wood shelves.

This was my go-to stain for most of my DIY projects. I have a few other favs, but this is a reliable stain and gives me a rich, Colorado rustic finish.

I went with a heavy bracket and found Wade’s shop on Etsy. These were super easy to install to the wall and the weight of the brackets matched the weight of the pine shelves.

The hardest part of these farmhouse shelves was capturing a photo at the right time of day (still waiting) and staging the shelves. Seriously, I was so excited to stage the shelves and it has been many late nights with episodes of Friends in the background while trying to find the right accessories.

This was an easy Saturday afternoon project. I loved this project so much I added the same shelves to our aging basement kitchenette/bar. So the farmhouse shelf photos are from both spaces.

I am taking staging suggestions for staging the shelves in the comments.

If there was ever a time to paint it’s the month of January. In our family, we like to wait for a more snow and warmer temps in the mountains. It’s also a slow month in residential home sales so it’s a good month to haul out the ladders and paint tarps. And, so January became the month I decided to paint the shelves and built-ins in our basement.

After we got our entire interior walls painted last year (best investment ever) I missed a little color. Last January, while my husband was on his annual guys’ ski trip, I painted a few accent walls to add some much-needed color to our Revere Pewter walls.

Built-ins Before Paint

And then I took a look at our white built-in bookcases in the basement and made the decision to paint the back of the shelves after seeing Heather’s shelves in her family room.

The back of the shelves and walls were both painted with Revere Pewter (even though it looks like the color of evaporated milk in this photo).

Built-Ins After

This is the same fireplace after this project. We also replaced the square tiles with thin set stone sold in “sheets” at Home Depot.

The contrast between the lighter walls and the Hale Navy added much-needed depth to the area. Many of the same or similar accessories look completely different. I think the painted built-ins class up the shelves and the accessories.

What do you think? My husband initially thought the shelves were “just fine.” But, loved how the paint made our “stuff” look better. Of course, I reminded him the classier word for our stuff is an accessory.

What are you waiting for…?

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Merry Monday

How to Build Farmhouse Kitchen Shelves

Looking for a Reason to Paint the Shelves or Built-Ins?

Built-ins Before Paint

Built-Ins After

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