At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

A Frugal DIY shelf, A Featured Blogger and…A winner!

Whew!  It’s  been a busy week around the picket fence!  We hosted a virtual baby shower, we survived the “The Great Blogger Freeze of 2011” (thanks Leslie at Goodbye House Hello Home for giving an appropriate name to that fiasco) and we managed to still get Inspiration Friday up! What a week! grin.  While in the midst of all of this chaos and upheavel, I was able to FINALLY convince Bama Boy and Will “The Tool Man” Taylor (best neighbor on the face of the earth) to install my new shelf.  New shelf you ask?  You did ask yourself that right? YEP!  My frugal DIY shelf for above my beautiful new buffet!  Here is what my buffet area looked like right after we removed the planning desk and installed beadboard to this area.

I just LOVE it.  But, it was looking kind of bland. (even though the stuffed horse hanging over my stair railing does give it that extra special something…don’t you think?) I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to “style” it.  I knew I wanted lamps and I wanted a way to display a few more of my “special” pieces.  I decided that this space needed a shelf.  But not any old shelf…a special shelf.  One that would span the length of the buffet.  On the other hand I did NOT want to spend a fortune.  Um…hello!  Have you priced nice shelving?? Even the little shelves are expensive.  Let alone a 65 inch one!  Hundreds of dollars people!  Well we couldn’t have that…so I decided to build my own!  It was so easy…how easy was it?  I will show you.
 I purchased a long board from Lowe’s.  I wanted something with a nice paintable surface. It was 7 feet long X 7 1/2 inches wide X 1 inch thick,  so we did have to cut it down to size.  I also purchased 4 decorative wood brackets.  Why four?  Well, I wanted them to look substantial since the shelf was so long.  It was a good decision as you shall see!  In addition to the board and the brackets, I purchased 8 feet of decorative wood trim that was an 1 1/2 wide.  But that’s wider than the board..yes, yes it is and you will see why!
First we cut the board to the length we wanted, 65 inches which is the length of the buffet and gave it a light sanding to remove any rough places.  They we painted one coat of primer onto the board, the trim and the corbels.  Once that had dried we measured and cut the trim.  One long piece and two side pieces, mitering the corners.  Mitering trim that is upright and not laying flat (like picture frame trim) is a little tricky to miter.  You must hold it upright and not lay it flat, to get the right cut. There are many tutorials online if you are unsure. Once you get your corners mitered, you need to attach your molding to the front edge and sides of your board using wood glue and masking or painters tape to hold it in place.
Now, if you will notice the molding has added a lip to the top of the shelf.  Yep, that’s on purpose.  First, it adds substance to the shelf.  When looking at the shelf from the bottom or sides it looks quite a bit thicker than it really is, which makes it look more expensive.  Second, by adding the lip to the top of the shelf it works to protect the items I place on the shelf from being knocked off or sliding off.  This is really nice if your shelf is on a wall with a door that might be slammed or if you have kids..or husbands..who might accidentally bump the shelf.  
Here you can see the molding attached along the entire length and width of the shelf.
A closer look at the lip along the shelf
Now don’t let any gaps bother you.  That is where caulk comes in.  I went along the the edges and caulked in any gaps I noticed before I began to paint the entire shelf.
Here you can see that I worked on painting the shelf in between working on my cabinet doors…I think I just broke into hives seeing those again.  I am so glad to have that month long project done. really glad. I painted two coats of paint onto the shelf and the brackets.  Making sure that the bottom of the shelf looked really nice since that is what you will see when the shelf is installed.  Fast forward 6 weeks..as my shelf sat in a corner waiting for someone big and strong (make that two someones big and strong) to hang it since shorty me couldn’t reach up high enough to hang it herself.  So for my birthday my two favorite guys hung my shelf for me…

I am so HAPPY with my new shelf and my buffet now!  I am glad I chose to use double brackets on the shelf.

My sweet mom-in-law purchased my beautiful nickel drum shade lamps for me.  I then saw this great tutorial from one of our Inspiration Friday links on painting faux fruit white and so gathered up all of my ugly plastic pieces of fruit and painted them white to place in the largest apothecary jar.  The one that covers the ugly outlet behind the buffet.  I searched and searched for who shared it and couldn’t find it…so if was you please let me know so I can link to your post and give you credit. 🙂

I also added some antique family silver pieces to the vinette.  On the shelf I placed all of my favorite toile pieces.

The platter was given to be by my Mom.  The red and white one was Bama Boy’s paternal grandmother’s and the beautiful tureen was given to me by my mom-in-law.  She purchased it from Shakespeare’s birthplace many years ago when they were stationed overseas.  It is so special to me!  

Finally I stole the mirror from our master bath water closet (which did not disappoint Bama Boy one bit who always had an issue with a mirror over the toilet…I’ll let you process that one on your own…grin) and painted it white, brushing off some of the paint as I went to make it look worn and to bring some of the nickel color through the paint.
I am so happy with the final result and for the progress I am finally feeling with my kitchen remodel! I am still working on several projects that I will share with you…and I will give a final reveal soon…I promise!  This week we will be installing new counters and a new sink, putting us another step closer to being finished!  Here’s one more photo of this finished project to remind you just how far this little corner of my kitchen has come

Total Cost of Shelf: $40
Shelf Board: $8
Brackets (4): $24
Molding: $8
Paint: already had for cabinets

Up next I want to take a moment to announce the winner of the T.J.Maxx $25 gift card that we donated for the Tuscaloosa Blogger Baby Shower!  A name was drawn at random from everyone who made a purchase of items through Amazon.  And the winner is…
Lori Jackson
she generously purchased three boxes of diapers and onesies!  
We will contact you to mail you your gift card!  Thank you so much for your donation! Thank you to all of you for so generously giving!
And last but certainly not least…Our

  is one of our newer friends here At The Picket Fence…the fabulous Debbie


from

She not only has fantastic projects that she shares at reFresh reStyle, she takes the most beautiful pictures of them!

We want to invite you to pay Debbie a visit at her gorgeous blog!  She is creative, talented and super duper nice!  Thank you Debbie for always being so sweet to the gals at the picket fence!  We our proud to have you as our Featured Blogger!
And to you our friends…thank you as always for meeting me at the fence!

 P.S. No, you are not seeing things.  The Fence got a face lift..hope ya like it!

This post is partying at the following fabulous places:

Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
DIY Showoff: Project Parade
The Stories of A to Z: Tutorials and Tips Tuesday
Us and Them: Party with Us and Them
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday’s Treasures
DIY by Design: Swing Into Spring
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays
Element Interiors: Whassup Wednesday
Goodbye City, Hello Suburbs: Workshop Wednesday
No Minimalist Here: Open House Party
Green Door Designs & SAS Interiors: Saturday Spotlight

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Comments

  1. the shelf looks amazing…can’t believe how little it cost! and your platters are so pretty reposing on it…and yes, i thought i spied a little graphic face lift…love the new look!

    Reply

  2. The shelf really makes the space. I can’t get over what a difference it makes. Love the new look of the blog. Glad to hear that the blogger issue was not only with me.

    Reply

  4. Hi Heather, I absolutely LOVE the way your new shelf looks over the buffet!! Love all the pretty pieces you displayed on it too, that whole area looks beautiful! Just popped over to visit Debbie’s wonderful blog and became her newest follower. Have a great week, Martina

    Reply

  7. Heather- It looks absolutely beautiful…although I kinda miss the horse on the post!;>) It really fills the area in nicely and gives it a finished look! LOVE IT! Hugs-Diana

    Reply

  12. Your shelves are beautiful and your new area looks gorgeous Heather! I love the lamps like that and your plates and servers are beautiful.
    Congrats to the winner!

    Reply

  14. The shelf is awesome and what a wonderful look it adds to this area. I love the olden buffet too.
    Thanks for popping in to see me.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia 😉

    Reply

  16. Wow what a difference! It is amazing how a few somewhat simple changes can make a home look and feel so much more luxurious! Great job!

    Reply

  17. Wow, wow, wow … amazing job with the new shelf. Love all of your pretties displayed … an incredible before and after !! Thanks for sharing !!

    Reply

  20. The shelf looks truly amazing!! The before and after pics are incredible. Now, let’s talk about the new blog design…..be still my heart. I LOVE IT!!! You both are doing such an awesome job with this blog. Happy Tuesday!!!!

    Reply

  22. The entire corner looks wonderful!! Your self turned out so nice! Great job. I LOVE your platters. How nice that you have somewhere to show them off.

    Kadie @ Seven Alive

    Reply

  23. It looks AMAZING!!! That piece of furniture is gorgeous and the shelf above adds the perfect balance! Lovin’ the toile pieces and particularly because they have such great history…what treasures! I am most fond of the stuffed horse hanging delicately over the banister!! (A favorite because that is my house ALL the time!!(:) Heather, it looks so lovely!! I have been so lost after blogger blackout! Can’t seem to catch up! I am trying to add all the buttons to my sidebar for the parties! I will add this new one! Your new design looks great, too! Hello to Vanessa, too!!

    Reply

  31. Such a gorgeous new shelf that has such a vintage feel to it! GReat job accessorizing it, too. Love how the pieces have such special meaning to you. Such a huge transformation into a unique area. Also love the bull’s eye moldings in that part of the room!

    Big TX Hugs,
    Stephanie
    Angelic Accents

    Reply

  32. That is fabulous, Heather! I love it! I have some pieces of wood with decorative trim already on them from an deconstructed project that I want to use as cafe shelves. Since we are on the market I’m holding off until we downsize. Love your transferware pieces, too.

    Reply

  35. Hey Heather! The shelf turned out fabulous!!! I love the double brackets & I wouldn’t have thought of that. The big substantial corbels are so expensive. I know I’m late in commenting but I’m still catching up on all the posts I missed when I was on vacation. Is that a sign that I follow too many blogs??

    Reply

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