A Shutter and a Shelf - Part 1

I have been wanting to learn how to refinish things - furniture, shelves, etc. I want to be able to get a good deal on something and then make it my own. So, I asked my sister-in-law to show me how to do it and she was happy to help. She's very talented! Tammy and I hit some yard sales and found my first projects - a shutter and a shelf.

The shutter was FREE, which is always a great price! I wanted to refinish it and use it in our guest bathroom which has a beach theme.

First, I sanded it. I used a sander and then finished sanding by hand.

I was going to paint it white and then distress it, but I decided to leave it the way it was after sanding it. My husband really liked it that way and I agreed. So, I just stained it using Early American. I stained the back first, for practice, and learned not to leave it on very long. The back is a little darker :)

I decided to spray paint the fixtures that had been on it. I looked at new ones, but I thought that these turned out nice.

I used Rustoleum Hammered Brown spray paint.

Tammy made a wonderful sign for me to hang on it. She shows how she made it here

I took a white shelf that I had and distressed and stained it to hang under the shutter. It actually turned out better then I thought it would.

Here it is finished and hanging in our guest bathroom.

I'm very happy with my first project! I can't wait to work on the next one :)

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