Shanty Ballard Inspired Shelves

March 2, 2011 By
Hey Guys!!!
I hope you all had a great weekend!  Both Ashley and I spent ours in Dallas at NCA Nationals.  Ash is a competitive cheer coach and just happens to be the coach to two of my girls :-)  We had a blast.  It was long though and I am surprised Ashley is still walking.  Our gym took home 5 National titles with over 750 teams there… Woohoo! Way to go Ash!
I started this project last week and finished it today so I thought I would share.  I originally saw Miss Traci’s Ballard inspired cafe shelves long ago and fell in love.  I just didn’t know where I could put one.  However… My new curtains brought me a bit of inspiration :-)
Here is how mine turned out…
Now I will kind of show you how I did it!
For this shelf I used a 4 ft 1×10″ piece of pine from Lowe’s.  I used my miter saw to cut it a few inches short of the space I was filling.  I think mine was 36″.
There are many brackets at Lowe’s and Home Depot.  These were the ones I chose to go with.  I loved the size of them.  They are big and a bit longer than most of the others.  They were about $6 a piece and I decided to use 3 on my shelf.  Since I was just building one I thought it would give it a bit more presence on the wall… Know what I mean?

I used a little Gorilla Wood Glue on the 1×10…

And attached my brackets using my brad nailer.  Can I just say that this might be my very favorite tool?? It would definitely be a toss up with the saw and hot glue gun but it’s for sure in the running.  Mine was only $44 at Northern Tool and it makes me so happy :-)
There it is attached… Like 46 seconds later…. Whoop!

At this point I had my shelf built and needed to add the trim.  I used my miter saw for this part but I do realize that many of you don’t have one.  Traci gives an awesome tutorial on using a cheap hand saw and  even cheaper miter box to make your own HERE. Super easy I promise!! Check it out!

My final step after trim was painting it.  I also shantied it up a bit using a 3M sanding block with 120 grit.  Once my edges were sanded I used a little stain to make them stand out a bit more.  You just use a foam brush to apply your stain to your sanded edges and use an old t-shirt or cloth to wipe of the extra.
I hung my shelf up and added a locker basket with a couple of towels.  I was so excited to find those at a decent price!!  I love the old antique ones but not for $30 a pop.  I got mine on Amazon here…
See the shantied edge??

I then added another recent revamp to finish it off for now.  I know I want something else up there but that is in the works :-)  For now… Here it is.

Hope you like it! Make sure to check out Traci’s great tutorial as well!!
Happy Wednesday!
~Whitney

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18 Comments Filed Under: Knock-Offs
  • Brittany

    Love it! So cute. All of your projects are great!

  • Holly @ Roller Coaster Life

    Love it!!! Wow I like the cheap basket too!! Thanks I will be ordering some of those!!

  • Traci@ Beneath My Heart

    Ah, Whit!
    You are too sweet!
    I saw your tweet about cafe shelves and came over for some inspiration and saw your shout out to me!! Thank you so much!!!

    I love the way your shelf turned out. Especially lovin' the three corbels! And the color! And the shantiness!

    As always, great job!

    And thanks again!

    xoxo
    Traci

  • Lisa

    So pretty – love the color – and how you just whipped that out and nailed it all together in 46 seconds!

  • Jody

    So handy with tools you are! You make it look so easy. Thanks for the inspiration.

  • Jodi

    I love it and the color too; plus you made it look so easy! I am so envious of women who can use power tools; I am such a chicken!

  • Dana

    I love that thank you for sharing and inspiring! You definitely make it look easy! :)

  • Bee happy

    It looks great, well done! It could be a picture from a book :)

    Bee happy x
    Have a delicious day!

  • haley

    love the shelf…love the color and the wire basket…great job!!
    please visit my new blog…
    thanks, Mariaelena

  • Jenn

    I just have to know – what's the color on the walls? It's so perfect!

  • Lori Katies Rose Cottage

    Whitney ~
    I LOVE it!!!
    And I love the color too!!

  • A

    I know this is random but I love your walls. What kind of texture is that??

  • Erin

    Nice!! And I miss you. Seriously, we need a date soon or I just might die.

  • chikkaboom

    We've been loving your blog! Were having a little contest for one of our handmade charms- check it out! Thanks for the inspiration!

  • Annalea

    I seriously love. that.

    And I also seriously need to get my dh to show me how to use our brad nailer. I've got a beautiful frame all cut, but I can't bring myself to mess it up trying to assemble it without a little instruction first.

    Your shelf looks GREAT on that wall!

  • http://goingalittlecoastal.blogspot.com/ Anita @ GoingalittleCoastal

    These look great. I love the color! I made a couple for my laundry room in yellow. :)

  • http://CoopDeVilla.blogspot.com Patty

    Oh, I love everything about this lil’ shelf. I recently learned how to use a table saw, so I can trim my wood to fit too. Now, the brad gun… There’s one sitting in my basement… I am such a chicken. But anyway, I think I am off to make a shelf today. I never thought of using Gorilla Glue either. Great post. Thank you.

  • Rachel

    LOVE this little shelf! Can you tell me what paint color/brand you used on the shelf? I want to paint a little desk that color and make a matching shelf like you did! Thanks :o )