7 Easy Barn Wood Projects for Beginners

The movement to repurpose stuff is in full force, and that’s a wonderful thing for the planet because it reduces the amount of new resources we demand from it. Wood, with pallet wood and barn wood being the main source for fashionable used lumber, has certainly been a big catalyst in this repurposing bonanza.

Pallet wood is a great source of lumber for doing all sorts of building projects. It is abundant, often free or cheap to ascertain, and comes in manageable pieces. It can look very cool when reorganized into new tables or cabinets or walls, anywhere lots of wood is needed on the cheap (or eco-conscientious).

Barn wood, however, comes in a myriad of shapes, sizes, and conditions, from massive beams to wide boards to rustic lumber past its prime. For many, particularly those into history or antiques, these pieces of wood are remarkable, even objects of found art. There are all sorts of simple projects for beginners who want to use beautiful bits of barn wood.

1. Rustic Cutting/Charcuterie Board

This is a great project for an off-cut piece of wide, 1-inch barn wood siding. It looks even cooler if one of the ends of the boards has some funk to it, a live edge, or severe weathering. A good size cutting board needs to be at least 10 inches wide and maybe a foot long. But, small cutting boards are handy as well.

To make the board just sand it down well with rough grit sandpaper (60 or 80 grit) and smooth it down with finer grit (120 or 180). Then, wipe the board clean with a damp rag, or even some soapy water and/or vinegar. After it dries, rub it down with olive oil.

2. Drink Coasters

This is an awesome project for old pallet wood or barn wood. All that’s needed are some offcuts or a short piece of 1×4 or something similar.

Cut the pieces into squares (however many coasters you want), sand them down to a smooth finish, wipe them clean, and oil the wood once it has dried.

3. Bathtub Table

This is a fun, easy home addition when there is a nice wide piece of barn wood, maybe 30 inches or more, lying around. Again, pieces with ends that aren’t squared off but are ragged and characterful are even better.

Sand the board well then wash it and allow it to dry. This time linseed oil is probably a better choice than olive oil for making the wood more water-resistant.

Set it across the tub with a soap dish, bath bombs, book, glass of wine, and whatever else sounds good for a relaxing soak.

4. Coat/Hat Rack

Easy to do it with a nice chunk of 1-inch barn wood, making a coat and hat rack is as simple as putting some cool hooks into the board. It’s worth looking at antique and salvage stores for unique hooks or nails for this purpose. Screw or nail the board full of hooks to the wall and that’s a coat/hat rack.

To kick the project, a couple of barn wood triangles and another nice board could be added to the original board to put a shelf above the coat rack.

5. Number Sign

Clean up and nice piece of barn wood, either stencil your house numbers on it or find some old metal ones at a thrift store or salvage place, and hang it up by the front door or on the front porch as a number sign.

6. Featured Wall Hanging

A beautiful beat-up piece of barn wood, especially a nice section beam or something thick, can be cool just hung up on the wall like a piece of art. A piece with some nice marks from the sawmill or worn-out holes from old bolts is nice. If it is thick enough, by default it’ll make a narrow shelf, but the point is just to appreciate a lovely piece of lumber.

7. Wall Shelf

For a proper shelf, just find a nice two-inch board however wide seems appropriate. Cut a couple of triangular pieces out of it to act as shelving brackets and mount the board on top of it. For a nice thick board like this, a couple of brackets fastened to the wall studs can span six feet without a problem.

Oh, once the projects begin they become addictive. And, the ideas just keep coming. For example, that coat/hat rack can easily be converted to a message board by attaching a few alligator clips along with the hooks or a towel rack if put in the bathroom. The point is to save those little bits and bobs of wood that you discover and find fun ways to make stuff with them. Give them as gifts if you’ve already got your own barn wood drink coasters!

Related Content:

• 5 Ways to Naturally Protect Wood From Water Damage
• Transparent Wood Could Be a Great Alternative to Plastic, New Study Finds
• 9 Cool DIY Projects to Do with Rope
• The DIY “Charcuterie” Board for Vegans
• Sustainable Artist Turns Old 19th Century Barn Into Art

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