Style Secrets: Upcycle an old pine shelf

Style at Home’s Becky shows us how to upcycle an old pine shelf into a striking feature. With a lick of paint and some bright paper you can transform a dated pine shelf into a fashionable piece you’d be proud to hang in any room.

Step 1: Lightly sand the shelf surface

Step 2: Wipe away any dust with a cloth

Step 3: Paint the shelf with a bright pop of colour. We have used Napoleonic blue paint.

Step 4: Allow the paint to dry

Step 5: Once dry, use sandpaper to lightly distress the paintwork and achieve a rustic farmhouse feel

Step 6: Wipe clean with a cloth again

Step 7: Coat the shelf with a clear wax and leave to dry

Step 8: Pace the shelf on hardboard and draw around it. Make sure to mark the inside cavities too

Step 9: Cut the edges with a knife

Step 10: Smother the lower half of the hardboard in glue

Step 11: Stick down some colourful paper with a 1-2cm overlapping edge and trim the excess paper

Step 12: Apply glue to the top half of the board

Step 13: Stick down a contrasting paper with a 1-2 cm overlapping edge and trim the excess paper away again

Step 14: Glue the back edges of the board and stick down the overlapping paper

Step 15: Allow the paper to dry

Step 16: Secure the hardboard to the back of the shelving unit using fine pin nails

Step 17: If you want to hang the unit then attach small hangers on the back