DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Shelves

This project was inspired by Shanty 2 Chic and her $20 shelves (and a friend who had just made similar shelves and promised it would be a simple project).  It turns out it was a simple and inexpensive project and I love how it turned out.  Pottery Barn sells similar shelves for $35-$55 that look like this:

Gorgeous.  But expensive.  Especially since I wanted four of the 3' ledges at $45 each!  We followed the tutorial over at Shanty 2 Chic but we had Lowe's cut the 2 – 1×4′s and 1 – 1×2 for each shelf down to 3'.  After Matt assembled the shelves for me I stained the shelves with a Rust-Oleum Dark Walnut (I purchased a 1/2 pint at Lowe's for about $5).  Later that evening after the stain dried (it dried really fast!) I used some leftover paint (Benjamin Moore Arctic Blue) from painting our laundry room.  I let the paint dry over night and then the next day I sanded the paint to distress the shelves so the dark stain would peek through.  I love how they turned out!

The best part? I can rearrange to my heart's content without having to patch nail holes and rehang picture frames.

Thanks for stopping in!

xo
Steph