Hey Melissa! I do all of our paintings. I was an art major. ;} Thank you so much!!!

Thank you Lynsey! So sweet. This is a tough question to answer…I’m sad oil painting doesn’t come with a few quick tips a-la bob ross…I’m afraid that would be a little too detailed ;} I actually do oils when I have time on the side-I majored in Art + design in college. Thanks so much-maybe I’ll share something like that in the future!

hey annie,

I think I would need to see your boards {the size of them} and your space before making that call, but if they’re as big as ours, I wouldn’t attempt anything BUT the metal on both ends-ours are bone crushing beams. so it just depends on how large yours are. Also, I did not treat the wood, as I wanted to keep the original integrity of it. However, if I ever change it to something else, I will cut down, sand, seal, etc. For now, it works for us as it is. I hope that helps!

I love your shelves so much that I have decided to model some in my home after them. I’ve yet to figure out a way to secure them to a wall though. The place we’ve chosen to put them is in our living room/family room and there is a doorway in the way so we can’t do the ladders on either side. Any ideas? I’ve thought of standard L-brackets that I could paint the same color as the wall, but I’m not totally settled on that. It seems like there could be a better option out there….. 🙂

Also, I noticed that you didn’t mention anything about sanding the boards. Did you do anything to the “frayed edges?” I’ve tried sanding the edges with some rough sand paper on a rotary electric sander, but it’s not doing the job. I thought that maybe after I applied the wax it would help to blend in the uneven surface on the face of the boards, but I’m not sure.

Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!