Spice Up a Shelf with Cork!

 

I like cork. There I said it. Well, I do. If used tastefully I think cork can add a touch of "je nu sais quoi". Which literally means, I don't know what - but sounds great to us Americans. Perhaps I don't know the term I'm looking for but in this instance it looks great. For instance I have a Stainless Steel Tea Pot with a Cork handle. Looks Great! It also feels and looks more manly for some reason. To me anyway.

And we are going to use cork in this project. A project so simple I was hesitant to even post it. It's nothing new and anyone can do it. No real special tools required. A good sharp blade in a utility knife and a straight edge to cut along and tape measure is all you really need. Of course you need a shelf to put it on. And someone tossed out the shelf I'm going to apply it to. After I make the necessary repairs and paint it of course... 

I used self adhesive cork for this project. I don't know the exact brand but you can get some from Amazon, Walmart, Michaels or most hobby shops. It comes in a roll and you'll want to get a roll long enough or wide enough to cover the shelf or area you want to cover. You also want to look for the thickness you want. Below is one such example put out by Contact:

If you want to, you can also seal it once applied as I did. You can buy special sealers for cork. Or you can do as I did and use floor wax sealer and a coat or two of liquid floor wax. Heck you can even stain it!

So the shelf I'm using as mentioned was tossed. It was cracked and originally white... 

You've seen these types at the box stores for a fairly reasonable price. I simply made the repairs using wood glue and wood putty where there were dings and nicks.

IF you are going to paint it, make sure you sand it well and use something to degrease it before painting it.

Now I asked everyone I knew if they wanted it before I made the repairs and painted it since it was a simple repair. No one wanted it. Okay fine... So I decided to paint it black. I used Krylon Satin Black for the finish to match some other items I had refurbished, made or refinished.

Painting done, it's looking good... 

but, I want something with a little je nu sais quoi added. So cork it is...

And just a note here, adding cork would look great if it was painted white as well.

Now my roll of cork was 24 inch wide and I really didn't care if I had a seam in the middle since you're really not going to see it once the shelf was hung. I did get a seam by using two pieces. Take a look...

But also notice from a distance... you really can't see it...

You really only see it because you know it's there...

In applying the cork is simple. Its cut it to size, wipe the area you want to apply it to down with some denatured alcohol, let that dry. Line it up, peel the paper back as you apply it starting from one end working towards the other. Once applied use your hand or something smooth to smooth it out and press any bubbles out of it towards the edge. If done right, you won't have many bubbles.

Given it's a shelf and shelfs collect dust. I chose to seal it. This will darken the cork a tad. Again, all I used was some left over floor wax sealer I had from another project. Zeps I believe. And once that was dry, followed up with I think 3 or 4 coats of floor wax waiting in-between each coat for an hour. Again I believe it was Zeps floor wax. I wait longer than the required time between coats because the cork will soak up more wax than a hard wood floor or painted floor. Even after being sealed. I didn't add too many coats because I had high gloss wax and didn't want a high gloss but I did want to coated enough that when it came time to dust it off, it would dust off easily. And that's what I achieved. You have to look it over as you go and just use your best judgement on how many coats you want to apply. And the hardest judgement is deciding whether one more coat will do or will it push it over the edge for the look you want.

And that's it, you're done.

If you go with a floor wax finish as I did... wait 7 days before putting anything on it just to be on the safe side. In reality, you probably don't have to wait that long, but I did.

If your shelf doesn't have a raised edge like the one I used for the this project you can still add a border by simply cutting the cork a 1/2 or so smaller all the way around. Make sure you press the edges down good. In fact you can use a rolling pin from the kitchen if you have one to roll it out smooth and ensure it's stuck good.

Once done your inexpensive shelf will have that je nu sais quoi that sounds exotic and pricy and only those that understand a certain amount of French will know what it really means. And those that read this post of course...

and my shelf now matches the cork pin board I made from an old larger discarded one...

as well as a little end table but I don't have a picture of it. It was for the room above but the owner decided to go with a oak desk and I'll now have to make these things in white to match or go better with the rest of the decor. Just like a woman  to say they want everything in satin black to match the grey walls for a home office... you make it, then they change their minds on the color scheme and wood... lol

No worries, as these are now for my office or.. for sale as a set while I make something else for her.

Till next time.

Stay creative... and most of all, stay Happy!

cheers...