Transform Your Favorite Vintage Frame Into A Functional Shelf With A Simple DIY

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In the world of DIY, the act of repurposing an item is alchemy of the highest order, and one of the coolest objects to hack is a vintage picture frame. Certainly, it still can house your favorite piece of artwork, but wouldn't it be more fun to turn it into something unlikely, like a shelf? While it may not hold a set of encyclopedias, it might be just the thing you need to change up a picture gallery or create a spot to stash small items, like a collection of spice jars.

The frame you'll repurpose makes or breaks this project. In light of that, finding a stand-out vintage frame should be your first order of business. If you don't already have one, take a trek to a local auction, garage sale, or antique mall. Keep in mind that the shelf will only be as large as the interior of the frame, so unless you want a tiny shelf, try to stay away from frames that are smaller than, say, 8 by 10 inches.

The project also requires wood glue, large clamps, a measuring tape and pencil, spray paint of your choice, like Rust-Oleum Specialty Metallic Gold Spray Paint, a saw or utility knife, a drill and screws. Though not required, you may want to consider buying two different colors of spray paint if you'd like to turn the frame into a more colorfully distressed item. For the best results, be sure to buy colors in the shabby chic color palette if you go this route.

If you want to keep this DIY shelf project budget-friendly, consider a size like a 12-by-14-inch frame. Choosing this size allows you to take advantage of the cheap 2-inch by 18-inch craft wood pieces you'll find at Dollar Tree. Craft the wood into a four-sided hollow box shape, with no cover and backing, and then glue the shelf inside the hollow box. How many shelf dividers you put inside the hollow box depends on what you plan on storing. For example, spice jars are usually about 5 inches tall and 2 inches around, so your interior shelves need to have clearance that's a bit over 5 by 2 inches. You can use wider pieces of craft wood if the items you want to stash on the shelf are bigger than 2 inches across. In that case, you could get these larger craft wood from onlytak, and cut it down to the size you want with a jigsaw or a skill saw.

Additionally, your repurposed picture frame can become more than just a fancy shelf. It has the bones to become a shadow box for your treasured keepsakes. For this, you'll need to add a back onto the shelf. You'll also want to glue a block of glass in the front of the piece, so the box remains closed. Finally, shadow boxes often have little compartments, which house smaller objects, like coins. You can make compartments out of the craft wood. You'll just need to configure their arrangement to suit the items you'll show off in the box.