The kitchen is *this close* to being done. And if I were a good blogger, I’d wait until it was “stick a fork in me” ready before I shared details.
But I never said I was a good blogger.
Instead, I’m going to share the progress and some details. Because that’s real life renovation. Real life renovation happens in stages and spells.
Real life renovation happens amid crying outbursts of a stressed out woman who believes “NOTHING WILL EVER BE FINISHED AND EVERYTHING WILL ALWAYS BE COVERED IN DUST. THIS WILL TAKE ME FOREVER TO CLEAN.”
Not that that happened.
Ryan is a patient, patient man.
Today, I’m sharing our fabulous- OHMYGAWD I LOVE THESE – shelves in the barn kitchen. And I’ll give you a quick description of how Ryan made them. (Psst: they are pretty simple.)
I knew I wanted a long barn wood shelf in the kitchen. After living with open shelves for a few years, I’ve realized that they are the best. Gives me tons of space to store daily-use items like dishes. It also looks great. And for the small space in the barn apartment, I needed all the extra storage I could get. I ended up having about 8 feet to fill between the fridge at the living room built ins.
I couldn’t figure out exactly how I wanted the shelves to look. And then inspiration struck. In the form of this shelf at a local shop. (Insert horrible iPhone photo.)
I loved it, but it was far too short and a little too “new.” So, I asked Ryan to recreate it from our barn wood pile. It started with these cheap black brackets from Menards. They were the simplest and cheapest, which is exactly the look I wanted.
After we picked up the brackets, we set our sights on the board. We found two pieces that were more than 8 foot long in our pile. I also wanted them to be at least 12 inches deep (to fit our platters and plates). These boards are full of character.
My favorite part is the hole on the edge, which I asked Ryan to salvage if possible
To make:
- Cut the boards to length and use screws to attach the top board to the vertical board.
- Then attach the brackets with screws to provide extra stability every 2 feet or so.
- Attach the shelf to the wall by screwing the vertical board right into the studs.
(I have no pictures of the process because Ryan did it while I was living it up in California.)
And there you have it.
Now I have a beautiful, rustic shelf for our kitchen. I am thinking about adding wax to it for a little shine and protection. But, I probably won’t. These boards have stood up to the elements for 100 years. I think it can handle our kitchen.
I think I love these so much because they really fit into the whole vibe of the barn apartment. Laid back. Rustic. And a bit out of the ordinary.
I’ll be back tomorrow with a bigger peek at our (almost done) kitchen.
You couldn’t have done something more perfect. It’s like the barn birthed it, from the same gene poole. It was meant to be part of the family!
I love the birthing reference. And the barn sort of did birth it since the boards originated there.
LOVE that barn wood shelf! It looks amazing! I am falling more and more in love with open shelving lately. You may have just pushed me over the edge…
gah i like this. and it just so happens we have a pile of barnwood and an entry way shelf to be made. this might be it.
Your shelves look great. I love the knot hole at the end, too. Can’t wait to see the rest of the kitchen.
looks so perfect in there- love the design and roughness of the wood.
Love it and love that little hole at the end! The scale of it is perfect.
1) You’re a great blogger.
2) I want to marry that shelf!
Really really cool and I can’t wait to see the rest of the kitchen.
your ‘new’ old shelf looks SO good perfect new element in your kitchen, and i’m with you totally love open shelves too!
Gorgeous! That is some sexy wood. I absolutely love this and couldn’t think of anything more perfect for open shelving in the barn.
Love it! I wish I had a barnwood pile to pull wood from whenever I needed some. And I love it when the cheapest things are also the best. Can’t wait to see the whole kitchen!!
That shelf is wonderful and really does fit in perfectly with a barn apartment. What a brilliant way to utilize old barn wood! Can scarcely wait to see your kitchen reveal.
That shelf is just perfect for your kitchen. I love how worn it is and I agree that hole at the end is awesome 🙂 Wax, schmax, I think you are fine as is, too 🙂 It’s really coming together!!!
Guess this photo was before I stole your shelf and cow. Good thing you capture the moment before you invited your friends over…to steal your stuff. 😉
Love how the kitchen looks. Pretty sure you will be featured in a magazine on this one!
Your vision on this apartment is awesome, Kim. It is so much fun watching it all come together. (And I know it is even better for you!)
And then you for keeping it real good blogger or not. This is life, right?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog and barn. I am so impressed with the talents of you and your husband. Everything is so cute and practical. Perfect in my eyes.
~Karen.Scott@gmail.com