Rustic and Weathered DIY Project Ideas

I'm sharing some of my favorite DIY projects featuring that weathered, rustic, chippy look that most of us can't get enough of! There is a link to the tutorial for each of these projects.

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Hi friend, are you officially into summer yet? School ended here May 24, but to be honest, it hasn't felt too different! We are wrapping up Phase 1 of our big flooring project, which I'll be sharing soon. Today I rounded up some of my favorite DIY projects that have that rustic, weathered, chippy style that is incredibly popular right now! 

Here's a funny thing. When I was young, I liked shiny and new. The shinier and newer, the better! I didn't have a lot of stuff because shiny, new stuff is expensive!

Out with the old...Rae Dunn sale!

Since I discovered a passion for DIY, I have more stuff than I can handle! 😕 Most of it is old and weathered. Rustic, chippy and vintage. Our recent flooring install meant everything needed to be moved from a couple of spaces. I took the time to go through all the stuff and I got rid of a lot! I'm even in the process of "de-stashing" my large Rae Dunn collection because let's be honest...who needs 57 Rae Dunn mugs? If you are interested in purchasing any, you can view the items I'm selling here.

Pieces that tell a story

Now that I'm older, I love all the rustic, chippy and weathered things....hmm, wonder if there's a correlation here? 😏

I like old stuff and I cannot lie! 🎵😃

I enjoy adding these pieces to my home because they tell a story and they create a feeling of warmth!

Based on the projects you're pinning from my blog, I know that you love these things too! I know that you might have missed some of these projects, so I'm sharing them all here today, together in one place, to help you out! Some are quick and easy, others will take longer. Some of these project ideas are free and others are more expensive. So you see, there's something here for everyone!

Rustic DIY projects to make today

Without further adieu, or yacking, here are 15 of my favorite projects that will add rustic, weathered and chippy texture to your home! Click on the link in each title for the step by step directions.

Mini Barn Quilt Signs

These small black and white barn quilt signs were fun to make one afternoon using a scrap of wood I found in our garage! I distressed them heavily with my palm sander to make them look older. If you want to see a larger version, I made a huge barn quilt in red and white to hang on my in-laws garage peak!

Weathered Wood Pedestal/Cake Stand

I made this weathered cake stand recently using a chunky candlestick from Hobby Lobby as my base. I love it for so many things! The tutorial shows how I matched the raw wood top to the base using simple acrylic craft paints!

Chippy Spindle Candlesticks

I don't know why chippy white things make my heart pitter patter, but they do! 💗 These candlesticks are the result of chopping off the spindles from a destined-for-the-trash old chair with my Dremel Saw Max! It took just a few minutes to cut them off, and I used a fun trick to get the chippy look in minutes!

Reclaimed Wood Wall

This project remains one of my favorites ever! It took Mr DIY and I 9 hours to install reclaimed wood on two angled walls in our sunroom, but it was a fun project. We didn't fight. Or argue. Really 😍 And it hasn't fallen off, so that's a bonus!

Limewash a Thrifted Frame

All you need for this project are some old wood frames. Liming wax will turn them into things of beauty, no matter the stain color! This project includes a video tutorial.

Weathered Oak Dressers

These oak dressers from the early 90's were supposed to get the liming wax treatment I gave the frame in the above project, but I ran into a snafu. You can read all about that as well as my Plan B, which was giving them a weathered wood look using chalk paint and wax! Here's the before and after! 

Painted Drawers with Bun Feet

Sometimes you find really cute drawers at the side of the road on garbage day during your morning walk. And you bring them home. And make them cuter. And turn them into perfectly farmhouse little storage vessels that can hold pretty much anything!

Driftwood Nightstand

This project is an oldie but I still love it! I made a glossy white dresser look like weathered driftwood with just DIY chalk paint and a DIY glaze! You can use this treatment to transform just about anything! You can click here to see more of this guest room in our former home, including a large mirror that also got a driftwood paint makeover!

DIY Barn Doors

This project was a bit of a doozy and I didn't even do most of the work! But, these doors (which replaced a set of French doors) add so much warmth and style to our master bedroom, all Mr DIY's work was totally worth it! 😉 You can click here to see the full master bedroom reveal.

Quick Bookcase Update

Sometimes simple is all that's needed! Wanting to lighten my black IKEA Billy bookcases, but not wanting to paint them, I applied a rustic weathered wood removable wallpaper to the backs! Easy, inexpensive, perfect update!

New Furniture Feet

Sometimes all you need are new feet! New sofa feet! A little wood stain on our new feet made our sofa look so much better! This is an inexpensive upgrade with big results!

Faux Brick Wall

Another fun wall project! This faux brick wall added instant European farmhouse charm to our master bedroom makeover for around $100! The German schmear technique makes it look like it's been around for 100 years or so!

Faux Wood Clock

This faux shiplap clock is proof that faux can be fun! It's an IKEA hack and you won't believe what I used to make it!

Painted Brick Fireplace

Whoever invented paint needs a medal. Seriously! I am constantly amazed by paint's ability to transform! In this case, it was a dirty red brick fireplace that was crying for an update and makeover...and white chalk paint did not disappoint! This is one of my top viewed posts of all time. You really need to see the dark and dated before!

Farmhouse Floors

As I type this post, we are currently installing these same floors down the hall, in the front rooms of our house and up the stairs. We love these floors so much and cannot rave enough about them! They're amazing quality for only 1.97/sq ft and they add so much warmth, texture and style to our home! You can see where we bought the flooring and the installation process here.

And that wraps up 15 of my absolute favorite rustic and weathered DIY projects that we've tackled in the last 5 years!

Is there anything I missed? If there's a project you'd like to see please let me know in the comments. I may have already completed it or it may be on the horizon.

As always, please PIN THIS IMAGE for easy reference!

bringing beauty to the ordinary, 

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