Long ago, we hinted at the detailed process behind creating the beautiful reclaimed wood shelves that became a centerpiece of our extensive kitchen remodel. Today, we’re finally ready to unveil every secret, from precise measurements and unique staining methods to essential hanging tips. Join us on this journey of transforming an empty wall into a functional and aesthetically pleasing focal point.
The Vision: Why Reclaimed Wood Shelves?
Our kitchen renovation journey was filled with twists and turns, and these shelves were no exception. Initially, we envisioned a grand piece of art adorning this particular wall. However, once the art was in place, it felt… flat. The space yearned for more dimension, texture, and a touch of character that only a layered element could provide. It was then that our attention pivoted decisively towards the idea of open shelving.
Beyond simply filling a void, shelves offered a multitude of benefits. They provide practical storage for items in constant rotation, such as drinking glasses, ensuring they stay dust-free with frequent use. Moreover, Sherry, with her innate talent for accessorizing, saw them as a blank canvas for styling and adding personality to the room. And of course, no modern kitchen is complete without a touch of greenery – plants thrive on open shelves, bringing life and freshness into the space. This combination of utility, style, and natural elements made reclaimed wood shelves the perfect solution for our bright white kitchen.
Selecting the Perfect Brackets: A Foundation of Style
With the decision for shelves made, our first concrete choice was the hardware. We fell in love with these gleaming polished nickel brackets from Rejuvenation. Their exquisite finish provided a perfect opportunity to seamlessly integrate the polished nickel accents already present throughout our kitchen, creating a cohesive and sophisticated look. It’s worth noting that these versatile brackets are also available in three other finishes, offering flexibility for various design schemes. When choosing, always remember the subtle yet significant difference between polished nickel and satin nickel, as they evoke distinct aesthetics. For those who follow our podcast, you might recall the humorous tale from Episode #24, where a minor mix-up (possibly involving Chipotle) led us to acquire two dozen brackets instead of the four we actually needed! Such are the adventures of DIY.
The Wood Dilemma: From White to Warm Tones
While the brackets were an easy choice, the actual shelving material and color proved to be a more complex puzzle. Our initial thought leaned towards simple white shelves, aiming for a low-contrast, minimalist look. We even purchased some standard shelving boards to test this concept. You might recognize the image below from our previous post about kitchen mistakes – please disregard the other elements that were still in flux at the time (we later refined the wall color, pendants, and door color). Our focus here was solely on the white shelves, which, to put it mildly, felt thin and uninspired. They lacked the visual weight and character we desperately wanted for the space. Stepping back into the living room, we quickly realized that a touch of warm wood tones on the left wall would not only introduce much-needed balance but also echo the warmth provided by the blinds on the right, creating a harmonious and inviting atmosphere.
The Quest for Authentic Reclaimed Wood
And so, we “PIVOTED!” (imagine Ross from Friends screaming it) to the idea of wood shelves. However, finding the right wood presented its own set of challenges. Most basic lumber available at local hardware stores came in the same thin 3/4-inch thickness that made our white test boards feel so flimsy. If we found something adequately thick, it often lacked the specific depth or length we desired. Our ideal shelves needed to be approximately 65 inches long, 9 inches deep, and a little over 1 inch thick to achieve the robust look we envisioned.
At one point, we nearly settled for these salvaged boards from Rejuvenation, which we discovered during our bracket purchase. They were noticeably thicker at 1 inch, but even their most expensive option, priced at $119 per board, was still more than a foot shorter than our required length. This pushed us to explore local options, recognizing the value of bespoke solutions.
Discovering E.T. Moore Manufacturing: A Local Gem
Inspired by the character of those Rejuvenation boards, we began calling various local lumberyards and reclaimed wood suppliers, hoping to find a longer, more suitable solution. After a few dead ends – some places wouldn’t even consider such a small order – we stumbled upon E.T. Moore Manufacturing near downtown Richmond. This place seemed promising. While our request was still relatively small compared to their usual large-scale projects like full house floor installations, they were incredibly accommodating. We had the fantastic opportunity to hand-pick our boards from a vast collection of old salvaged timber, sourced from various tear-downs and renovations across the state and beyond.
Our two magnificent pine boards ultimately hailed from an old barn in rural Virginia, each carrying a unique history within its grain. The best part? E.T. Moore offered to custom-cut and plane them to our exact desired length and thickness. This meant we could achieve precisely what we envisioned: two 65-inch long, 9-inch deep, and 1 1/4-inch thick boards. Bringing them home in the back of our car felt like a true triumph.
The total cost for these custom-made treasures was $100, a significant saving compared to the Rejuvenation alternative (less than half the price!) and tailor-made to our specifications. The true beauty lay in their unique blend of character and precision. They retained the interesting imperfections and rich history of old wood, yet, thanks to E.T. Moore’s expert planing process, they were flawlessly level and straight – a stark contrast to the warped or bowed boards one might find off-the-shelf. These boards were truly the perfect canvas for our vision.
The Staining Saga: Chasing the Perfect Hue
Once the perfectly sized boards were resting on their brackets, the final frontier was color. Initially, we were tempted to simply apply a clear seal, preserving the natural, raw tone of the reclaimed pine. There’s an undeniable charm to untouched wood, allowing its inherent beauty to shine through.
However, after living with the raw wood for a couple of weeks, we decided a different approach was needed. The natural orange undertone of the pine felt a little too prominent for our overall kitchen aesthetic. Our goal was to achieve a color that was slightly less orange and more in line with the richer, warmer tones of our island stools and the existing flooring, creating a cohesive flow throughout the space.
The thoughtful gentleman at E.T. Moore had foresightedly included a short scrap piece from the same batch of wood, a gesture that proved invaluable for testing stains. We knew we couldn’t risk ruining $100 worth of beautiful reclaimed wood with the wrong color choice – a crucial lesson in any DIY project, and a bit of foreshadowing for what was to come!
Experimenting with Vinegar and Steel Wool
After countless hours spent scouring the internet for wood finishing techniques, we settled on a method new to us: a reaction-based stain involving vinegar and steel wool. This technique is renowned for its ability to neutralize orange undertones and create a beautifully aged, grayish-brown patin, perfect for achieving that weathered, less orange look we desired. The process itself was surprisingly simple: we soaked a few pieces of steel wool in small buckets of distilled white vinegar for approximately 24 hours. For our tests, we compared the results of using just one piece of steel wool versus two pieces, alongside a conventional gray stain (Minwax’s Classic Gray) for comparison. The image below shows how the solutions looked when freshly applied to our small test piece.
Once dried, the results were eye-opening. The vinegar and steel wool mixture proved remarkably effective at neutralizing the wood’s orange undertone, even surpassing the performance of the traditional gray stain. Crucially, it did so while allowing the natural grain and charming imperfections of the wood to remain beautifully visible. In fact, the “vinegar + 1 steel wool” test spot dried to almost an exact match for our kitchen stools. Confident in our findings, we decided to proceed with this option for the full boards.
The Unexpected Turn: When Plans Go Awry
This is where our staining adventure took an unexpected and rather dramatic turn. Despite the promising results on the test piece, the full boards reacted completely differently. To this day, we can’t fully explain the exact cause, but as we were applying the solution to the second board, we noticed the first one drying to a very, very, very pronounced red. Gulp. Our hearts sank.
To be honest, I was incredibly bummed. We had been so meticulous, so particular, striving for that precise outcome the test board promised. The perfect tone created by the vinegar and steel wool wash on the scrap piece had filled me with such excitement. This setback felt like a significant defeat in our DIY quest for perfection.
Sherry’s Ingenious “Graywash” Rescue
Ever the optimist and problem-solver, Sherry bravely (or perhaps, as she’d admit, a little foolishly) stepped in to salvage the situation. Her idea was to “graywash” the overly red boards using some leftover Benjamin Moore Shaker Gray paint, heavily diluted with water – a ratio of about 5 parts water to 1 part paint. The thought was, if this attempt failed, we could always sand them down and start fresh. But if it worked, it would be a miraculous save.
She applied the watered-down paint just like a stain, brushing it on and then immediately rubbing it off. This technique proved incredibly effective. It dramatically reduced the intense redness without obscuring the beautiful wood grain or those charming old cracks – elements we cherished, believing the inherent roughness of the reclaimed wood offered a lovely contrast to the sleek polished nickel brackets. This unexpected “graywash” not only saved our shelves but added another layer of depth and character to their finish.
Embracing Imperfection: The “Family of Wood Tones”
Are the shelves an exact match to our stools or our floor? No. Did they achieve the precise color we initially hoped the vinegar/steel wool technique would create? Also no. But the truth is, our cutting boards, blinds, stools, and floors aren’t all the exact same color anyway. We realized it was time to dial back our obsession with perfection and embrace the natural variations. We began to think of it as a “family of wood tones” coexisting harmoniously within our kitchen – the shelves simply being another related, yet distinct, member. Once we released the pressure of achieving an identical match and stopped scrutinizing every shade, everything came together beautifully. The diverse wood tones create a rich, layered aesthetic that feels organic and lived-in, contributing to the unique charm of our kitchen.
Installation: Securely Hanging Our Reclaimed Beauties
For those curious about the practicalities of installation, we prioritized security and stability. We utilized heavy-duty anchors on one side of each shelf, ensuring maximum weight bearing capacity. Fortuitously, the other side of each shelf aligned perfectly with a wall stud, allowing for an exceptionally strong and secure attachment. This combination guarantees that our shelves are firmly mounted and ready to display anything from our heaviest glassware to our thriving plant collection.
Regarding spacing, we meticulously planned the layout to ensure both functionality and aesthetic appeal. There’s a generous 18-inch gap between the countertop and the first shelf, mirroring the same spacing we have between the counters and the upper cabinets on the opposite side of the room. This consistency creates a balanced visual line throughout the kitchen. For the space between the two shelves, we initially considered another 18-inch gap, but it felt oddly expansive and empty. We ultimately settled on a 13-inch gap, which provides ample room for Sherry to arrange and rearrange her decorative items without feeling cramped, offering both accessibility and visual comfort.
Beyond the Shelves: Further Inspiration and Resources
In the end, our reclaimed wood shelves have proven to be a truly fantastic addition to our kitchen. They bring an invaluable sense of dimension and interest, infusing our home with a touch of “old barn” charm that we absolutely adore. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, they bring sheer joy to Sherry, who frequently rearranges them, finding endless creative possibilities in their styling. And as a personal victory, Sherry proudly points out that three of the plants featured in the original kitchen reveal post are still thriving today – a small “post-Christmas miracle” as she calls it!
If this project has sparked your interest in more shelving ideas and DIY projects, we encourage you to explore this comprehensive post featuring 16 DIY shelving ideas, offering inspiration for every space and style.
For a dynamic view of our new kitchen shelves “in action,” you can catch them in our downstairs house tour video, appearing around the 2:00 minute mark. It’s a great way to see how they integrate into the broader design of our home.
Note: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you might need to click through to the original post to view the video content.
To dive deeper into our kitchen transformation, you’ll find all the detailed kitchen sources here, including where we purchased items and the exact paint colors used. Discover how we completely reconfigured the layout, witness the extensive gut and rebuild process, and get organized with our tips on how we organized it all, complete with a video tour of our drawers and doors. We also transparently shared a comprehensive list of all the mistakes we made so you can avoid similar pitfalls. For a broader overview of our home’s aesthetics, explore a page full of all our house’s paint colors and a room-by-room source list. Happy decorating!
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