Garden Shelf Project Using a $5 Door

I am always looking for thrifty projects and new and innovative uses for easy to find materials I may have around my house. I found a great use for old doors by way of a FaceBook page called Flea Market Gardening (FMG). FMG has some really great pictures of projects regular folks like you and I can easily make. The pictures of projects posted on that page are amazing not so much for the pictures but for the ideas and ingenuity that they display for others to see and be inspired by. Such was the case when I was cruising through a few pictures and saw a garden shelf using a door for the backboard. I thought how cool! My result of the project idea is on display above. I can't tell you how much I like it for the extra storage and staging area for plants on my porch.

I found the door at a Habitat For Humanity ReStore. These ReStores are great for salvaged building materials and furniture and what nots. My husband and I found a ReStore in Peoria Illinois and managed to make it over there prior to their early closing one recent Saturday. It was lucky for me that this particular store was having a sale on all of their doors. Doors were just $5! I purchased two for my two new garden shelves (one for the front porch and one for the back at some point). It was a miracle we could fit the doors in our little car but they did fit and everything made it safely back to Tennessee. I also purchased some glass blocks for .25 each!!! Usually you find these for $2-3 per so they too were a bargain. I haven't figured out what I'll do with them yet but I am sure I will sooner or later. If you haven't already shopped in a Habitat ReStore you really should check them out as they have great buys that can be either used for projects or to fix up your house.

A recurring theme in my garden is that of red, white and blue so it was a no brainer for me as to how I would paint my new garden shelf. I have posted on my flag pallet before and will show my windows too at a later date, but just wanted to say the red, white, and blue worked out perfectly in this case for me. I painted all parts with leftover paint I had on hand from the flag pallet project. Painting parts ahead of time really gives a more professional appearance to your work and makes the job of painting much easier because there is no need to be really neat and use painters tape.

The supplies I used were: four deck pickets, six skirt boards for the two shelves (three for the top shelf and three for the bottom shelf), and the two shelves. I glued and screwed two legs to the door in the proper location, put on the sideboards and added the two front pickets, then proceeded to add the rest of the skirt boards by gluing and screwing them into the proper positions. When all of that was done I stood the door upright and added the two shelves. I must say though I had a problem with it all in that even though the two front legs were level with the bottom of the door the whole shelf leaned forward a bit. I had to compensate by adding two cleats under the front legs. On the next door shelf I make I will most likely set the front legs off from the edge of the bottom of the door by at least 1/2". This whole project took me just a few hours and the total cost was $5. While in the creative process I contemplated adding stars to the blue part of the door but decided not to and I am glad I didn't. Instead I added some S hooks, used cable ties on my garden hand tools and hung them up on the door shelf. This has worked SO well for me as I now have the tools handy right where I need them so they are more likely to be put back where they belong and I am more likely to find them.....

in the garden....

P.S. I posted a completed picture of my door shelf on my professional page on FaceBook. I like to use it as an outlet that compliments this blog. I post timely tips and interesting bits about plants and things going on right now. Some of those things you may or may not see on this blog. But, if you are a fan of this blog (and we hope you are!) you will also be able to get updated urls for all posts on this blog as well. So, if you are not yet a fan please go like my page so you too can be in on the fun in the garden.....thanks!

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden