DIY Rustic Modern Weathered Barn Wood Bookshelf

A DIY rustic modern weathered barn wood bookshelf that is super easy to make without barn wood! See how to makeover a laminate oak bookshelf with this step by step tutorial. 

So, what do you think of this weathered barn wood bookshelf?

I am calling her rustic/modern because me being me, just had to add a splash of color to go along with the rustic barn wood!

Of course, you don’t see the weathered barn wood yet… take a look at her from an angle 🙂 

I don’t know why I have been addressing this bookshelf as her… I started doing that even before I actually decided on pink…

Let’s just say it was meant to be… I can’t imagine her in any other color!

Yes, she is kind of similar to the Emerson buffet I built last year where I cut each little board and stained it a different color and nailed it on.

Guess what! It isn’t even remotely as time-consuming…

This entire project took me about 2.5 hours…

Want to know the secret? Well, here is a bit of a backstory on that…

Last year at a conference, I met representatives from Aspect. They make Peel and Stick Tile! You have probably heard of peel and stick tile before but they had just introduced a new version – in wood! Aspect Tile Company graciously provided 30 sq ft of peel and stick tile to the conference attendees. When I saw the grey peel and stick tile in Weathered Barn,  I just had to pick that!

Of course, the tile can be stuck on the wall and used in so many ways, but I wanted to create furniture with it…

Especially since finding real weathered barn wood can be a challenge in a big city. Plus I love love the ease of use.

After a bunch of ideas and one canceled project, I noticed the old laminate oak bookshelf I had picked up from the Facebook sales page for $5. It had been brand new in box and even though, I had no need for it, I just couldn’t help myself. (Big Surprise!)Now, you could totally build a bookshelf from scratch. It is super simple and easy, if that’s what you want to do. But I already had this bookshelf waiting for me.

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How to Make a Weathered Barn Wood Bookshelf –

1. The prep – Start by cleaning up the bookshelf, if needed, to remove all the dirt and grime. Give a quick sanding to the bookshelf with a sanding block and wipe off all the dust with tack cloths.
2. Paint – Paint the insides of the bookshelf using the chalk style paint. You can buy any of your favorite brands or make your own. I used my favorite recipe and it always works wonders. I needed 2 coats to get the full richness of the pink. Then I added one more coat for good measure. I followed that with a couple coats of wax.
3. Apply tile – The peel and stick tile is super easy to attach. It sticks really quite well to the surface. It can be easily cut with a miter saw. I also used my BladeRunner X2 to make the parallel cuts.
4. Top edges of the tile – Cut tiles at a 45° to create a clean edge. on all the sides.
5. Add trim – The side view of the tiles isn’t very nice and needed to be covered. Use a 1″x2″ board cut to size and attach it using super glue and finish nails.
6. Add bottom apron – For the bottom apron to blend into the rest of the bookshelf, attach a 1″ x 4″ board using super glue and finish nails.
7. Stain trim – Stain trim to match the rest of the weathered barn wood tile. You have to be careful at this point to not get the stain onto the freshly painted insides. If I were to make this again, I would definitely stain before attaching.

This bookshelf now looks like a custom piece and is a far cry from where it started… the ripped moldy yellowed box that it came in… (yes, there is a reason I didn’t show you a picture of the box)

Look at that weathered barn wood…

Another advantage of the peel and stick tile is that the bookshelf barely gained weight! I can’t imagine what would happen if the bookshelf was indeed covered up with real barn wood.