Wednesday 21 January 2015

Upcycling an old shelf

 
I finished this shelf quite a while ago (& its been sitting in my drafts for about 6 months, oops!). This year Im motivated by wasting less, so I thought why not publish it now to highlight how important upcycling is. I love a bit of upcycling, as most outdated furniture items just need a fresh coat of paint or a sand down & it eliminates the need to throw it out & buy a new piece.
 
 
This shelf was originally a standing shelf with legs which I removed as I wanted to hang it on the wall. I sanded down the ugly poo brown colour, then added a lick of primer, once that was dry I used some leftover black chalkboard paint. I sanded the edges raw to give it a slightly industrial feel, it came out bumpy in places but that seemed to go hand in hand with the vintage pieces I was going to display on it. Luke supported the shelf up with zenith brackets.
 
 
 
We had to make sure the shelf was high enough so this cheeky monkey wouldn't hang off it. Unfortunately he has had a growth spurt & can now reach items off the lower shelf. His old cot now moonlights as a couch, a storage area he throws his toys on, a hiding spot or a make believe rubbish tip.
 
 
 
 
I lovingly decorated Kobe's shelf with thrifted finds & things I wanted on display that I don't want broken (ie. the tin cowboy & icecream man) or special keepsakes like the thrifted Enid Blyton books I use to read him at bedtime (which I hope he enjoys reading when he starts reading on his own) & those kitshy animal blocks he use to mixmatch to form strange animals I cant bear to part with (yet). I threw in a picture card of rubbish bins I found at Many 6160 because he adores them.
 
 
Happy Wednesday friends!
 
Grace
 
 
 
 

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