Shutter Repurposing

I have a good project for you today! I acquired a box of ten small shutters two weeks ago at a yard sale. Actually to be honest, I purchased two of the shutters at the yard sale and then was seriously remorseful that I didn't buy the whole box. I'm a little embarrassed to say I tracked down the homeowner through a friend and retrieved the rest of the shutters the following week. Totally worth it. 

Shutter project #1 used four shutters, which were completely brand new, unfinished wood. The final project was to be two little shelves to hold some of my favorite things. I started off by forming the shelf shape with some Gorilla wood glue and nails, and used some metal corner reinforcements to stabilize them. 

Then I began painting them using a white chalk paint. I have heard so much about chalk paint and really wanted to try it. It's claim to fame is that you don't need to prep your surface before applying the paint, and it's really easy to distress. 

I found a small jar of the chalk paint at Home Depot, and it was barely enough for this project. 

I wound up needing three coats of the paint to get the coverage I wanted. Shutters have a lot of little nooks and crannies, so this wasn't my favorite part of the project. 

Once completed I let them dry overnight. Today I finished this up by attaching hangers to the back and distressing the finish. To distress I just used a coarse sandpaper block to rub away some of the paint, focusing on the edges and corners. I wanted them to look weathered, but still attractive. I'm pretty happy with the final product! 

I was hoping to find some decorative metal brackets to use as support on each side of the shelves, but I had trouble finding something small enough. If I wind up finding them, it will be easy enough to take them down and attach them. 

Still have six more shutters to play with in the future! 

Side note: this morning I found a roadside treasure I am so excited about. I've been on the look-out for a gossip bench/telephone table ever since I saw one in an antique store a few months ago. If you're not familiar with it, a gossip bench is basically a chair and side table combined. Sort of looks like one of those one-armed desks in college lecture halls. Prior to cordless phones and cell phones, the house phone would be stationed at this bench and this is where you would sit to make your phone calls. Most of them have a couple little shelves, which I presume would have been used for a phone book and some note paper and pens. 

The point is, I found one!! I didn't get a good picture of it yet, but I will soon. Right now it's in the back of my car. Aside from desperately needing a paint job and reupholstered seat cushion, it's in really good shape! Didn't see any serious knicks, and everything seems intact. I have to figure out where it will live in my home and then decide on colors.  That's a future post. 

By the way, just want to say thanks for being interested in my blog! I'm really impressed by the number of page views it's gotten within a week. ❤️