Knock On Wood - repurposed yard sale shelf

Shelving is always an issue for me. I love the look of floating shelves or funky surfaces that moonlight as a ledge but ,admittedly, that is one thing my home is lacking. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of shelves, they are just nondescript floor models.

Last summer I picked up a wooden shelf at a yard sale for $2. It had a rough, rustic look that didn't quite fit my aesthetic, yet I thought for the price I could use it for something. It spent awhile in my bedroom holding pictures then got relocated to the kitchen to hold cookbooks, yet it never seemed at home.

A few weeks ago I was working on redoing the guest bathroom and had a brilliant idea; maybe I can tear it apart and use the wood to make a shelf. Demolition is not my favorite activity but it came apart fairly easily and I was left with nine long boards (there was a shelf on the bottom too) and two side pieces.

Looking at the sides, I instantly saw a sleek way to display art and knick knacks. I used watered down, high gloss brown paint to wash the wood (just wipe on and wipe off) and give it a more finished look. What a difference! Then a picture hanger was nailed into the back of each one and voila!

I added different accessories along with essential items (lotion, Q-Tips and cotton balls) to create a unique focal point. It took awhile to find out what worked but by trial and error I found a pleasing mix. I also used scrapbook paper behind two of the four squares to add a little more interest (there is just a small amount of Scotch tape on the back so I can change out designs).

The wooden planks were still sitting on my living room floor and I had no clue what to do with them so I put then aside for the time being. A couple days later it came to me. Why not use them to mask the ugly, plain mirror? I used the same washing technique to get a deeper, richer color and simply used hot glue to attach each piece to the surface of the mirror about an half inch apart. The top boards were overlapped to hide the hooks. The finished look was AMAZING!

You can still see the corners of exposed mirror, but honestly, you don't even notice and I'm sure I can pick up a square piece of wood at Home Depot for nothing. Stay posted to see the rest of my bathroom makeover!