Turning Barn Wood Into Home Decor

Ashley Samuelu with Emiliejayne’s Front Porch explains a few easy craft and furniture projects you can make with naturally-distressed wood that has its own character and charm.

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Turning Barn Wood Into Home Decor

Make the old new again with reclaimed barn wood in your home décor. Studio 5 featured a few easy craft and furniture projects you can make with naturally-distressed wood that has its own character and charm.

Tips for choosing barn wood:

• Go for character. If it’s got spots of wear, or knots or moss, you want it. Imperfection is personality!

• Let the wood speak. Sometimes by looking at a piece of wood you’ll get an idea for how it can be used.

• Buy a little more than you think you need. A little extra material gives you the flexibility to change plans or fix an error. Barn wood is hard to find in a pinch, and you’ll be glad you have reserves from a similar batch.

Word Plaque

Start simple with a barn wood word plaque. These are so popular now, and easy to make. A light paint wash makes the backdrop for our 2-plank plaque, with the word “Italy” stenciled in dark paint. Rusted hooks are fun and functional.

Barn Headboard

Weathered wood takes the shape of a barn with this rustic twin-size headboard. Designer Ashley

Samuelu used a discarded twin-size headboard as a framework. For a creative twist, our headboard features a unique slide-on side shelf to hold a lamp or books. Use boards in any width for the main body of this project; ours is four barn wood planks, each 11-inches wide.

Finished size:

Width: 45 ½”

Height at peak: 66″

Height at side: 40″

Loft Door: 19×19″

Seasonal Hook Plate

Use weathered wood as a backdrop for a creative seasonal hook plate. Leave some rough, rustic edges of the barn board to give the piece charm and character. Add a set of wrought-iron hooks you already have, and change out seasonal decorations!

Finished size:

Width: 23″

Height: approx 38″

Barn Wood Hutch

A little woodworking skill will take you a long way in building this barn wood shelf unit. Its relatively simple design is highly functional and very economical!. A versatile piece for many rooms, a barn wood hutch can be a showcase for collectibles, an office storage space, and a cute kitchen rack!

Base Finished size:

Height: 35″

Width: 50 ¼”

Depth: 19 ¾”

Top Finished size:

Height: 40″

Width: 48″

Depth: 9 ¼”

Rustic Benches

Rest easy on barn wood benches that add a touch of whimsy to the porch or garden. You can get creative with style and structure, but here are a couple of sturdy benches that are easy to make.

Green bench finished size:

Height: 18 ½”

Width: 34 ¾”

Depth: 18″

Red bench finished size (bottom):

Height: 17″

Width: 38″

Depth: 12 ½”

Finished size (back only):

Height at tallest point: 47 ½”

Width: 38″

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All of these finished ideas and more are featured at:

Emiliejayne’s Front Porch

3497 So. Highway 89, Bountiful, UT 84010

(801) 397-0038

www.emiliejaynes.com

Emiliejayne’s is the hippest kind of consignment shop, a mecca for decorators and designers looking for fun stuff and a dash of creative whimsy.

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