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hey there! I'm monica 

I pride myself on making amazing style and design accessible for everyone, regardless of location, budget, or ability! My design philosophy is rooted in authenticity + attainability - If I can do it, you can too! My work has been featured in countless publications, but I take the most pride in homeowners that have been personally inspired by my DIY ideas and have tried something in their own homes!

learn more about ME + MY BIZ

 

Remember when Monica and I used to be obsessed with all things barnwood?  Well, we’re going way back in the archives for this post because we never shared how Monica made these DIY Barnwood Shelves last summer!

 

 

 

Monica and I sort of had a love affair with barn wood, and maybe that’s because we have an endless supply (my father-in-law has a barn)! We’ve put it to good use in our homes. You probably remember some of these projects? 


#1 Barnwood Artwork #2 Wooden Memo Board   #3 Barn Meets Beach Coffee Table  #4 Striped Shore Frame
 

 


This project could not be any easier, but the affect is so charming and so beach-cottagey. All you need are brackets (ours are from Lowes), screws and a piece of barn wood! 

 

Monica originally made this shelf for our very first Nate Berkus show challenge, and they’ve held up amazingly well! Just cut your board to size using a chop saw, make marks on the wall where you want the brackets to go (after leveling, of course!), and screw them into the wall and then into the board.

See? I told you it was a piece of cake! But wait! You don’t have barnwood laying around your garage? We’ve got you covered! We figured out how to recreate that beautiful aged barn wood look with paint, glaze and a sanding block. We shared this technique once before, but it’s so awesome that we thought we should share it again! Here’s what you’ll need to do:
 

 
 

 

We used a very dry brush to paint Benjamin Moore’s Beach Glass on the wood. The key here is not to cover up all of the wood, just brush it on randomly. We are not aiming for perfect coverage here! Then, we wiped on Valspar’s Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha, focusing on the cracks, bumps and holes in the wood. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it away. Sand down any thick paint spots and then brush on one coat of a water-based polyurethane. We recommend water-based because it seals the wood and because it doesn’t alter the color of the wood. Just to prove it to you, take a look at our fake barn wood next to the real thing:
 


 
 


Pretty close, wouldn’t you say? We wanted it to look a bit more solid colored, but if you want a more rustic look, you can sand it down even more to reveal the wood beneath. So, now you have no excuse not to bring some barn wood- real or not!-into your homes! 
 

 

 

 

 
 

Design fads come and go, but we’re pretty sure that barnwood has something timeless about it, and you’ll always find at least some of it in our homes.  
 

 

 
 

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The comments +

  1. Ally says:

    I’ve just discovered your blog. Drooled over your barnwood dining table and coffee table. I’m considering ripping apart my grandpa’s old homestead now, so I can duplicate. With my bare hands if I have to.

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