Reimagining a pair of old wood shutters
I have had these tall, old, wood shutters in my garage for awhile. There were a couple of ideas percolating in my brain but nothing bubbled to the top until just recently.
These shutters had been stored in a barn and were feeling the effects of that. Cobwebs, dirt, a little bit of mold. They also still had the old nails embedded in the sides. So first step was a simple cleaning and then removing any extras not needed for my new plan for these two.
After cleaning and making sure I wouldn't accidently stab myself with old nails or splinters, I got my sprayer out and sprayed front and back. Because the original color was (albeit faded) red, it took two coats of the Country Tan I selected for the base color. I admit I also had to do some touch ups with a paint brush just to make sure all was covered completely.
I'm liking what I see so far!
I wanted to make these into bedside sconces so needed to find the "right" sconces. I found these on sale at Wayfair.
These can be either attached using electrical wires or via a plug in. While I chose using the plug in, it is still possible for the new owners to electrically attach them to the wall next to the bed.
So how did I do that?
As the base of the sconce is round, I wanted a hole big enough to put the wires/electrical cord through so it hangs at the back of the shutter, not the front (too messy!). I drew a circle on the shutter in the area where I wanted these to hang. Using a smaller hole saw, I attached it to my drill then drilled the circle out that had been drawn.
The sconces were then screwed into the shutter, making sure the cords/wires were all through the hole and out the back.
If these were going to be bedside sconces, a shelf was needed. I had some L brackets left over from when I added shelves to my living room, so I screwed those into the side lengths of the shutters. Adding thick wood shelves to the L brackets (making sure to screw the L brackets to the wood) really makes these shutters start to stand out with a bedside table effect.
When I'm in bed, I usually watch TV, work on my computer, and/or read (Don't be like me!). What about having a place to put all of these thing instead of leaving it in the bed and rolling over on them during the night? (especially if you have night fights like I do. I wake up some mornings and the "there appears to have been a struggle" is real). So I added some wire baskets to the bottom large enough to hold a laptop, books, magazines, and even the remotes! Yay!
I am really pleased with the end result. The sconces can be adjusted to shine in a variety of ways, there is a shelf to hold your phone, a drink, and your alarm clock (which is really my phone these days).
Then additional storage right below for bigger items. #winning
Final view in a real bedroom: (kitty on the end of the bed is not for sale!)
Hope you love them as much as I do. If you're interested in purchasing these, they are for sale! Please reach out via comments below.
~~kathleen