I am so-OH obsessed right now with vintage finds and re-purposing items as decor throughout the house.
I have to tell you, I hate decorating. I have a fear of commitment when it comes to stuff in my home. So as I was doing this project, I had to make sure that everything I did was something that could be interchanged, mixed around, removed or had multiple uses.
First, this 2×4 shelf is made from one that sat in a pile of weathered 2×4’s that were already in my back yard when I moved into our place. I almost threw them away, but I am so glad I didn’t. Over on The Hen House, you can see our collaboration on the ladder we did. We wanted to make it something that could be used for a wedding or event, then brought home and be used as a functional piece inside the happy, newly wed’s, humble abode. Amanda and I made the ladder in about an hour. Super easy, super fast, and rusticly chic and stylish. I love it!
The shelf here is painted with same color of the ladder, a semi transparent wood paint and sealer, color “wood chip” by Behr. I also purchased the nail heads at Home Depot in the aisle that sells drawer pulls and knobs. These nail heads are easily bopped in with a little tap from a hammer or rubber mallet. If you use your super strength taps, you risk denting the nail heads. To hang the shelf, I used L shaped brackets 2 inches by 2 inches. I used anchors on the wall side then screwed the board down from the bottom. Cool thing about this shelf, it looks like a floating shelf.
The ‘cracks’ in the wood are from the weathered effect and its not from the nail heads, don’t panic. these boards sat outside probably about 5 years, if not more and they were a little warped, and cracked and it just gave the shelf charm and uniqueness.
The next thing I repurposed was a patio lantern. Summer sales are going on people, get those deals on lanterns! I used mine as a planter. Now, I am embarrassed to say that I have a black thumb and I am not joking. I kill all plants. It is ridiculous actually, my lack of intelligence in the horticulture department. So I am praying my plants stay alive, and so far it’s been a week and I think this one grew a little…hehe.
I love that I can change out anything on that planter hook, I can actually hang a lantern with an LED candle in it if I wanted to, or when the Holidays come around I can get all geeky and hang up festive stuff. Make sure you screw your planter hook into a stud or use a heavy duty wall anchor. I got that lantern at Smiths Market Place, alongside this birdcage…
I love birdcages as card holders at weddings, but when you buy it for only that reason, you take it home and have no idea what to do with it sometimes. So stick a plant in it. If you are not into plants, you can get creative and put fun items in it to display or you can put some folded hand towels in it if you are putting this in the bathroom. Don’t store it away after the wedding, keep it out..I love birdcages! I also found these vintage treats- the pitcher, candlestick holder, and colander at the thrift store. I am not sure of the food safety feature of the colander so I used it as a pedestal, and kept the other items as decorative pieces. Another repurposing technique with the colander, right?!
Also, I have been collecting random picture frames for a while, and I knew that I would use them for something eventually. I am not big into displaying art, so I took all the glass and backing out of the frames and just arranged them so, to make them a fun cohesive art piece. And because I am just a little funky, I like the frames in frames idea and the random ‘M’ that has no reason to be there other than I wanted it there.
Last but not least, a quick brush over with chalk paint on some decorative fruit pieces to tie in with this old vintage tray, that I tried to polish but got impatient with all the bumps and crevices in it. I think it keeps the tray aged but ,well aged 😉
So now this wall is done, it sat empty for over a year because, like I said, I didn’t want to commit to any one type of decor on it. I know now that I left it flexible to change things up and I am really happy to upcycle the 2×4’s and make something unique and functional.
Comments or questions? Don’t hesitate to contact me at muylymillerco@gmail.com. Have an event or wedding coming up? I’d love to help, so give me a call at 801-503-8934! Thanks for reading today. Here is the segment from Fresh Living about all these items I posted about!
{Foodie + Cakes + Classes} 