DIY Rustic Wood Shelving

I looked for shelving to go up on the wall over this hutch for wine glass storage. I couldn’t find anything that I truly liked, the color I wanted or shelving that fit my vision of this space. My motto is if I can’t find what I need I’ll make it myself.After

Before

Materials required: 2 shelves

2 – 2x6x8 rough cedar (you will cut each piece of lumber into 2 – 36″ with 24″ left over)
4 brackets 12″x8″ (I could only find white in this size and I wanted black so I spray painted with flat black paint)
Wood Glue
2 – 65 grit sanding block. (For a smoother texture use a finer grain sanding block or paper)
Wood stain in the color of your choice. (Minwax classic grey 271)
Polycrylic clear satin protective coat
2 paint brushes
Old cloth for stain clean up
Optional* wine glass holder racks (Ikea – white only I spray painted flat black)
Wood screws 1.5″
Anchors for hanging shelves (Strap toggle anchors)
level

Tools required:

Chop saw or hand saw (If you don’t have these items most hardware stores will cut a few small cuts for you when you buy the wood) Just have your cuts dimensions ready.
Drill with drill bit (smaller than the wood screw you are using)
Matching drill screw bit to wood screw

Cut or have the cedar cut for you in four 36″ equal pieces. Align two of the cedar lengths together choosing which side you would like face out and up. I put the best edge out and the best side of the cedar where it would be seen. As the top shelf the bottom would be visible as it was higher. The bottom shelf was to have the wine glass racks hanging from it and the top of the shelf would be more visible.

Give a quick sand of the two edges to be joined with a 65 grit sanding block. Place a thick ribbon of wood glue along the sides of the cedar edges to be joined together.Place the two edges together and make sure your ends line up evenly. This is why your first four cuts need to be cut the same 36″ size. Some of the excess glue will come out once pressed together. Remove the excess with a damp cloth before it dries. Otherwise the stain will not penetrate that area.Now if you have clamps, this is where you use them and clamp the wood tightly together. I did not have mine with me, so I improvised by placing the extra lengths of wood and heavy items on the top of the edges of the glued wood. I am not drilling and sinking screws to hold the two pieces together because the metal bracket will be screwed into both the front and back piece of the wood. Most of the weight of my items being placed on the shelf will be supported from the back of the shelf so the wood glue and bracket screws will be enough support. Using the 65 grit sanding blocks sand the shelves. Remember this is really rustic looking wood. The finished product will look less rough once the polycrylic goes on. Continue sanding until all sides and edges are finished to how rustic or smooth you like. Remember if you want the wood to look less rustic buy a premium cedar and finer sandpaper from the beginning.
If your choosing to used this color like have here is how I did it. I have used this stain color lots of times. Sometimes I shake it to get the full tint, but this time I wanted less grey. When I dip my brush into the can that has sat and not been shaken, I stay close to the top trying to disturb the excess color at the bottom of the can. If this worries you then just shake the can and rub the excess grey off right away. However the look will be much more grey than this. Use the excess pieces of wood to do a test for color if you are not sure. I stain the entire project like using a brush.Keeping old clothes close by to quickly remove excess.
After I finish staining, I then dip my brush to the bottom of the can to pick up the excess grey tint and dab, rub and remove excess here and there on the wood. It gives the appearance that some of the wood is a little dryer and closer to an aging barnboard look.Not quite there yet. Add a little more.This is the look I was going for. Now let the stain dry for the required amount to time for the kind of stain you are using. I let this dry for the day.
Polycrylic clear satin. Perfect for clean up. There is a couple of tips when using this product. On this type of rustic project it’s pretty easy pease just slap it on as you can’t see the brush strokes. However if you are using this on a smooth shelf do not go back over your brush strokes. Paint it on in an even stroke and keep going. Do not go back over it. Don’t ask why.. Just believe me.
Rustic project… Slap it on.. Let it dry… Now you are finished and ready to hang on the brackets.I added wine glass racks to one of the shelves. I purchased these at Ikea. They came white and I spray painted them flat black along with the brackets. You can find similar racks at Home Depot, and many online stores. Or make wooden ones, I didn’t have my router otherwise I might have made them out of cedar. Measure and mark where the racks will go on the inside of the shelf brackets.
Pre-drill the marked holes for the screws for both the brackets and glass racks.Place the racks in place and screw tightly in place with the wood screws. You can touch these up with black paint if you like. I didn’t because you can’t see them once installed.Measure and mark the spots for the anchors of your choosing. Add the anchors according to the directions and screw the brackets in place. I chose these heavy-duty anchors, as my shelves would be holding wine glasses, vases and wine bottles. Maybe a little overkill, but now I have no worry of them falling.
Add the shelves on top of the brackets line up with the holes you predrilled.
Add the screws.
Finished!!