Pottery Barn Shelf Knock Off – A Pretty Happy Home

Update: Just found out this posted is being featured at Knock Off Decor. HAPPY DANCE!

Who loves Pottery Barn?

*raises hand* Me! Me! ME! ME!!!!

Who loves Pottery Barn prices?

*crickets*

Yeah. So, what’s a girl to do? Convince her husband to make something similar. Check and double check. (And for the record, I did help.)

Here’s how the Pottery Barn “Holman” ledge looks: (image taken from Pottery Barn website)

These gorgeous shelves at Pottery Barn are $69 plus shipping/tax for a 4 foot version. Say what???

Ours are 5 feet in length and were made with scrap wood we found in our garage when we moved in. SCORE! We did buy a half-pint of stain that cost $5.26 at Home Depot. We chose the Varathane brand of stain in Dark Walnut. It’s dark and rustic without being too red.

Below you can see how the hubby put the three pieces of the shelf/ledge together with wood glue and finish nails. We affixed the shelves to the wall with screws.

In order to figure out how high to hang the shelves above the couch, we did an unscientific “sit here and let me hold this above your head” test. Worked like a charm!

Side view of Pottery Barn shelf/ledge knock off

So what did I put on these shelves? I’m so glad you asked! Framed sketches that mom created in 1970 when she was in fashion design school in San Francisco. I found the sketches forgotten in a box and was suddenly glad my mom and dad were the type to not throw anything away!

Bonus points for noticing the paper hanging out of the back of the frame in the picture above! I ripped the sketches out of the sketch book, but couldn’t bring myself to actually cut them down, so they are just roughly folded instead.

What I love most about these sketches is that they are all signed by my mom! I know it is cliche to say that signatures are unique and personal, since that is kind of the point of a signature. But when you look at the signature of someone who has died, like my mom has, it’s a little strange… like a tangible piece of them is still here.

Incidentally, you are getting a first glimpse into one of the rooms in our home. It is technically the formal dining room. Since we aren’t the formal dining room type, we turned it into a piano/living room by switching out the brass chandelier for a semi-flush mount light fixture. The piano and jazzy new light fixture just didn’t make it into these pictures. Patience, patience. Eventually, I will get to it!

Another fun fact. When we moved in, this room was a not-so-lovely shad of Tuscan yellow meets baby room yellow. Didn’t know that was possible? It was.

This is the closest to white I’ve ever painted a room and I’m liking the simplicity.

I may add more “stuff” to the shelves over time, but for now, I like the impact that it makes in the room. I also like that the artwork displayed is something unique and special.