Easy and Inexpensive Farmhouse Kitchen Shelves - No Saws Required!

Save TONS of money and DIY these easy (saw and cutting-free) farmhouse kitchen shelves. No special skills required, just paint and stain!

I recently decided that the wall in our dining area needed a change. We had a set of botanical prints up on the wall for what seemed like forever, and I was ready to change things up a bit. Don’t worry: the botanical prints will find a new home somewhere else in our home!

Now I’m just kicking myself for not doing this sooner. These shelves were so easy to put up, and I saved a TON of money by going the DIY route!

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Here’s what you’ll need to make these DIY farmhouse kitchen shelves:

4 wood corbels – like these ones or these ones here
hardware (optional) if your corbels do not come with screws
wood stain – I used a combination of golden oak and dark walnut.
paint brushes
hard wax, a small tea light will do
white chalk paint
medium grit sandpaper
2- 1 x 8 x 6 select pine boards
power drill
screwdriver – if your corbels are like mine, you have to use a regular screw driver, since the corners are too tight

Tutorial

First, stain the wood corbels. I like to use a combination of golden oak and dark walnut. The staining does not need to be perfect, since you will be painting over the wood anyway.

Once the stain has dried, wax the wood. Take a votive candle or other hard wax, and rub it firmly across the wood. Focus on areas that you want to look more distressed, and be generous!

Apply a coat of white chalk paint. Let dry completely.

Using medium grit sandpaper, sand the corbels. Focus on the areas where you applied more wax, along with areas where the paint comes off more easily. If you want a more “chippy” distressed look, you can scrape away paint with a putty knife.

Here’s the finished look:

This process is so easy, I can’t believe it. I honestly think it took me longer to measure and hang the corbels than it did to paint them! Just remember to be generous with the wax for the best distressed finish possible.

Speaking of hanging: Here’s a PRO TIP (sorry I didn’t photograph it). Drilling the pilot holes for the hardware with these corbels can be tricky. You can’t just make pencil marks. Try this instead:

Take small bamboo kitchen skewer (like for kabobs) and dip the tip in black paint
Place the corbel against the wall, on the pre-measured spot where it belongs.
Slide the skewer through each of the holes until it touches the wall.
Remove the corbel, and you will have 4 tiny black dots where your pilot holes need to be drilled.
Too easy!

Then add stained select pine boards for shelves. You’re good to go!