How to Fake Reclaimed Wood Shelves With New Wood

Lora
by Lora
7 Materials
$20
2 Hours
Easy

Learn how to make beautiful weathered wood shelves from basic unfinished wood shelves. It's an easy way to get the look of reclaimed wood, for less!


We used these gorgeous shelves in our Modern Farmhouse bathroom renovation. The reclaimed-look shelves added rustic warmth (and a ton of extra storage!) in our main bathroom.

Step 1: Lay the unfinished shelves on a surface that won't get damaged by wood stain.


Step 2: Fill a bowl with water. Gather your favorite wood stain and several rags.

Step 3: Dip the rag in the stain. Then, before applying the stain, dip the rag in water to dilute the stain.


Step 4: Rub the rag across the wood following the direction of the grain. Don't worry about even coverage. The purpose of the diluted stain and uneven coverage is to create that reclaimed look. (In other words, you want the stain to look like it has weathered over time.)

Step 5: Finally, apply additional coats if you would like the color to be darker, but still keep it uneven in coverage.

We hung the shelves in our bathroom, in order to increase storage in a small bath. Check out the full bathroom makeover to see more.

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2 of 13 comments
  • Pamela Pamela on Jun 12, 2020

    Hi ! Your shelves look beautiful !

    I was making a wall pantry and needed a couple of wider shelves that would match the 3 old pallet wood shelves , I already had . I found a product , really a stain , called a wood ager accelerator.

    It came in both in gray or brown tones .

    It was easy , and had no fumes and washed up with soap & water !

  • Kyralee Kyralee on Jan 07, 2021

    Your shelves look great! I love the contrast of the natural wood to the painted white supports.

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