Hello friends!! Thanks for stopping by today to see how to make the simplest DIY stained wood open shelves in all the land. If you remember, I shared phase 1 of my kitchen eating area last week. Well, welcome to phase 2. I knew I wanted something different that would make a huge impact without spending a lot of money. My solution was to add a planking or faux shiplap and open shelves to the wall behind the table. I shared the cheap and easy DIY planked wall tutorial HERE. The last step was to add some shelves to this space. I can’t wait to show you just how easy they were to make!
Before…
How To Make Stained Wood Open Shelves
Materials
- 2 1×12 6ft common boards
- black brackets
- wood stain
- stain brush or cloth
- saw
Step 1- Find Your Boards
The first step is to find the size board that you need. I made mine with 1 x 12 common boards and cut the length down to the size that fit my wall.
Make sure to examine your boards and pick out some that are in good shape. I always lay them down and make sure they lay flat. This keeps you from getting boards that are warped.
Step 2- Stain
After your boards are cut to size, now it’s time to pick out your stain color. I had no idea what color I wanted to do, so I bought a couple of different colors. Luckily, Golden Oak matched my table perfectly.
Staining the wood was SO darn easy. I literally brushed 1 coat on and it only took about 5-10 minutes per board. I decided to go with 1 coat, but to make it darker, you can add coats how you see fit. Allow at least 1 hour to dry although mine dried faster.
Step 3- Brackets
The last step is drilling in the brackets. NOTE: The brackets that I used do not support the board very well if you plan on putting heavy objects on your shelf. I recommend attaching them from the TOP instead of the bottom like I did. I linked a few other options at the bottom of the post.
Kitchen Open Shelves Reveal
Here is what the wall looks like now! I still can’t get over how much of a difference it made. I honestly can’t stop staring at it because it just makes me so happy to finally have this space the way I am want. The best part is that it only took 2 days to complete!!
My favorite part is the rich wood tones of the shelves up against the shiplap wall. I also love how the black brackets tie in with my black chandelier. It gives it the perfect modern farmhouse look that I was going for.
And can you believe how perfectly the table and shelves match?? I couldn’t believe it myself because I have no experience with stain. I got so lucky that the first color I brought home was the winner. You can see the color I used in the materials link above.
I finished off the look with simple and light decor. I never like to clutter open shelves. My go to shelf items include plants, vases, jars, dishes, and books. You can see a few other items I love to use on open shelves HERE.
I really hope this space motivates you to make some open shelves yourself. It really was such an easy DIY that made the biggest difference in my kitchen. Thanks for stopping by the blog today. I think everything was covered for the most part, but feel free to ask me anything I may have forgotten. See you again soon!!
Shop The Post
Pin For Later
Leave a Reply