DIY Rustic Corbel

Hey there! I have been trying to come up with a cool accent piece to go in the corner of the walkway between my living room and kitchen and I came up with this easy and FREE Rustic Corbel! Whitney and I were driving through Dallas, looking at old homes that had been restored. I kept noticing these pretty wooden corbels on the front of the homes, right under the roof.  I’ve seen them salvaged and resold at flea markets for a pretty penny but of course, my mind goes directly to my scrap pile in my shop! I went home and built my own with scraps – for FREE!  Here’s how! I decided to make mine with 4×4’s because my space was so big.  If you have a smaller space or you don’t have any 4×4 scraps, you could make this with 2×4’s!  I cut one 4×4 @ 24″ and one at 20.5″.  Then I used my saw to cut a 45 degree angle on one half of the end of each 4×4.  So, you will start the mitered cut at 1.75″. I used my Kreg HD to drill 2 pocket holes in the flat end of the 20.5″ piece. Then, I attached the two pieces using HD pocket hole screws.  If you don’t have a Kreg HD or a Kreg Jig, you could just make this with 2×4’s and attach with wood screws. Here she is so far!  Easy 🙂 Next, I measured from the inside of one 4×4 to the other (making a diagonal) and cut a 2×4 to fit.  My measurement was 20″ long point to long point and both ends are cut at 45 degrees not parallel. I attached the 2×4 with wood glue and my Ryobi Airstrike 16 gauge nailer and 2 1/2″ nails.  If you don’t have a nailer, you can use wood screws or finishing nails. To finish it, I wanted to go with a distressed, chippy paint finish to resemble a salvaged corbel.  So, I applied one coat of Varathane Early American stain.  Let it sit for 5 minutes and then wiped it with a clean cloth. After it dried, I applied a thin coat of Vaseline over the spots that I wanted the stain to show through the paint. I pretty much went over all of the edges. Then, I painted it with 2 coats of latex paint.  This is my trim paint (Ivory Lace by Valspar) but you can use whatever paint you like. Once the paint was dry, I used my Ryobi Corner Cat sander and an 80-grit sanding pad to distress the entire corbel.  You’ll see the paint flake off where the vaseline was applied. That will give you the chippy look! To hang it, I used 3 1/2″ spax screws and drilled them into both mitered ends, at a diagonal, into the studs behind the wall.  I used two screws on each end.  Then, cover the screw holes with wood putty and paint. That was it! I love the character that the corbel adds to this spot!  I may add a few more around the house and change them up a bit 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by! ~Ashley Questions about the other things you see in these rooms?  Check them out! Console Table Coffee Table Plate Rack DIY Mirror Floors Fan