Collection storage on white painted shelving

Learn how to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving with a rustic take! Click to read the full tutorial and take the rusty junk collection tour!

Collection storage on white painted shelving

This is a classic story of what happens when one thing leads to another. And lemme tell ya, there are a LOT of others thanks to just desiring to clean off a table!

But it’s also a post for collectors or stagers… who require collection storage of some type!

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Collection storage on white painted shelving

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A messy collection of home decor that needs a new home. Let's organize!

The mess

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This office space downstairs is also connected to what I call my junk storage area. It’s a floor to ceiling shelving unit that lines an entire wall where I store all my antique and vintage collections for home decor staging.

The collections became total chaos after Christmas because well, that’s just kinda what happens when you’re super busy working on Christmas projects for a few months prior. Organizing just took a BIG back seat.

So in order to use that work table, it was time to funnel all the collections back onto the shelf.

Ikea Gorm shelving for junk storage along a wall gets purged and ready to revamp!

Time to gut and start over!

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But I couldn’t, because the shelves were too cluttered and unorganized. So that meant it was time to gut, clean and purge the collections big time so I could once again use this room!

In the picture above, I had already emptied 3 shelving sections, however that last remaining shelf is an excellent example of what I was dealing with.

But as I emptied the shelves, my gut said this wasn’t enough. Yes, I’d end up with an organized room again, but I wanted MORE.

And here’s why.

I never did finish painting this entire room white because of the shelving in the way. Moving it is a massive job because of the sheer amount of stuff on it! But since I was in the thick of it anyway, I decided to not overthink it and just DO. IT. NOW.

And then my eyes landed on the ugly dark carpet. I’ve detested that carpet for oh… 15 years or so? I just didn’t know what to replace it with, and the amount of stuff in the room always stalled the process.

So I did the unthinkable.

I moved the shelf away from the wall, painted the wall white, then ripped up a skinny strip of carpet under the shelving unit only, (I’m committed now I guess!) raced to the hardware store to grab some white floor paint, and smacked that paint on!

A wall and cement floor get painted white to brighten up this storage space!

Instant white wall and floor!

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Check. That. OUT!

From dungeon to instant brightness! I was and am madly in LOVE!

A cement floor gets painted in white to instantly brighten up this office and storage space!

1 gallon of white paint later, I had the beginnings of an all new floor!

The paint I purchase is from Canada only I believe.

Paint sources:

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Wall:

Ecologic Eggshell by Cloverdale Paint

Colour – white straight out of the can with 2 drops of white added (KX-2)

Floor:

Porch & Floor Acrylic Enamel Floor Finish by Cloverdale Paint

Colour – EX270 (closest colour on chart that matched the walls)

Shelving:

HP2000 Semi-Gloss by General Paint

Colour – white straight out of the can with 6 drops of white added

Ripping up an old carpet, and painting a cement floor white to lighten up a dark basement.

I’ve wanted white planked floors upstairs forever. So this is my way of getting those desired white floors… even if they are on concrete!

My plan is to eventually paint the entire floor downstairs… after I remove more junk out of the way!

But by doing the in smaller segments, it made the project MUCH more doable.

Plus, now I don’t have to move the shelving again. Ever.

Ikea Gorm wood shelving gets put together along a full wall for lots of storage and organization.

After I shoved the shelving back into place, I loved it!

Nearly.

But not quite. Figures!

Because I thought… wouldn’t it look nice if the shelving was white instead? The junk collections would really pop against the white walls, shelving and floor…

Why yes it would. So before I could talk myself out of it, I rummaged up the drill bit that could get the job done, and took the shelving apart.

Ikea Gorm shelving gets painted white to brighten up a storage space in a white office.

White painted shelves – check!

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Every piece was primed, then painted in a semi gloss trim paint for the durability I knew it would need.

Can you spell WHAT A DIFFERENCE that white shelving makes? Talk about pop!

My goodness… my little white room was becoming an actual reality all within a week!

You just have to be spontaneously eager is all.

Ikea Gorm white shelving braced with reclaimed wood for a rustic take!

Bracing the shelves with reclaimed wood

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To brace the back of the shelves, rather than use the metal cross bars that came with it, I decided to use reclaimed wood strips instead. Here’s how I did it!

  1. Measure where you’d like the support strips to go, then cut wood to fit.
  2. Measure with a square to ensure the shelves aren’t leaning.
  3. Attach with screws from the back of the shelves.
  4. Screw the shelving unit to the wall through the support strips. Try and land in a wall stud if possible.

Ikea Gorm white painted shelving gets braced and planked with reclaimed wood for a rustic vibe, ready to store!

Adding extra shelves

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Because I didn’t have as many shelves as I wish I had, I decided to stager the inner shelves I did have so planks of reclaimed wood could become the missing shelves.

  1. Create supports (painted white) along the left and right sides of the shelving unit so all shelves have adequate support underneath.
  2. Cut reclaimed wood planks to desired length, sand, then position into place wherever there’s a missing shelf.

The space was easily doubled and I think it looks kinda cool too!

And then it was time to move all my delicious rusty junk and vintage staging collections to create a little home decor store of my very own… 

Learn how to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving with a rustic take! Click to read the full tutorial and take the rusty junk collection tour!

The finished result!

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Boom! There it is!

Collection storage in white painted shelving on top of white floors and in front of white walls – check!

And what a junk store it is… let’s take a closer look!

Shelving source:

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This is Ikea Gorm shelving that is no longer sold. But Ikea has a really nice newer option with slightly slimmer lines called Ikea Hejne… that I used on THIS SHELF. I love it even more!

What I love most about the shelving is the fact that you can buy just what you need and built it any way you wish.

How to hack Ikea Hejne wood shelving right to the ceiling. Click to read the full tutorial!

But if you desire more room, I suggest to purchase extra pieces so you can hack the shelving to run right to the ceiling like I did in THIS POST.

IKEA use to sell ceiling extension kits but stopped for some reason.


Learn how to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving with a rustic take! Click to read the full tutorial and take the rusty junk collection tour!

Collections organized by type

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Shelves grouped and organized as galvanized goodness, clocks, rusty gears, vintage bingo cards, etc. makes it easy to grab an item by theme.

Learn how to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving with a rustic take! Click to read the full tutorial and take the rusty junk collection tour!

Baskets for smaller collection storage

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The wicker floor baskets were purchased from Ikea years ago but THESE on Amazon are sorda similar. Glad I hung onto them! They fit inside the Ikea Gorm shelving perfectly!

And make the most excellent junk bins I might add.

Care for a clamp or a rusty gear or 3?

Fun fact: the triangle bar is what my mom use to ring on the farm outdoors when it was dinnertime!


Antique Squirt crate with a collection of vintage soda pop bottles, part of a storage solution for collections.

The vintage pop bottle collection is now organized in a cool vintage Squirt crate, right where they belong.

Learn how to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving with a rustic take! Click to read the full tutorial and take the rusty junk collection tour!

Awhile back, I was gifted about 8 metal bins from a local hardware store. Sliding one inside the shelving fit perfectly, and became the perfect place to store long metal things inside, while hanging other stuff along the front.

Hooks, pulleys, whatever-you-call-its are now easy to find and grab!

How to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving! Perfect for collectors, store display or home stagers! Click to read the full tutorial and visit the rusty junk collection!

These antique typesetting blocks spell out Funky Junk!

I’m missing the last k so the cute little mouse gifted to me by Michael from Inspired by Charm a number of years ago does the trick! What a cutie, huh?

I’ll keep my eye out for an extra k at some point. But I will say this…

This collection storage on white painted shelving project became about SO much more than just storage. Each shelf is pure eye candy. It’s decorating… like my very own staged store!

Learn how to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving with a rustic take! Click to read the full tutorial and take the rusty junk collection tour!

Shelving supports store too!

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Even the shelving supports are not off limits for storing junk! Add hooks or screws and hang it up.

The cultivator is a gift I received YEARS ago from a blog reader. She sent me 2 just because! The other one is in my General Store rusty junk storage area in the workshop HERE.

Oh the stories all this wonderful junk has! Nevermind the lives they lived well before coming my way.

Before

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Collection storage can be really challenging.

How to hack Ikea shelving with reclaimed wood to create collection storage on white painted shelving! Perfect for collectors, store display or home stagers! Click to read the full tutorial and visit the rusty junk collection!

After!

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But once this room is complete, collection storage on white painted shelving in all white surroundings is gonna be even MORE epic than it already is!

Would you have had the guts to rip out a strip of carpet? I personally can’t wait for the rest to be out now!

Can you vision the finished result too?

Other storage shelving posts you may enjoy:

General Store rusty junk and paint shelf cubby in a workshop.

General Store rusty junk and paint shelf storage cubby

Take the tour of a rustic blog office desk built with sawhorses, ladder and pallet wood.

Ikea gorm shelving in the blog office

Learn how to frame a black wall with rustic Ikea shelving and basket storage in a bedroom.

Ikea Gorm shelving with basket storage

Visit many other unique shelving projects HERE

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Categories: All Cool Projects, DIY, Junk Drawer, Organizing
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22 thoughts on “Collection storage on white painted shelving

  1. Well, I must say, you could EASILY put your shelves with all their wonderful goodness right in your living room and call it one and done! I just love all the categorized mash-up of stuff. BEAUTIFUL!

    • Haha! Thanks Deb! I had actually thought the same thing once it was done. All that magical junk is too pretty to not look at it all the time! It’s like my own little store down there!

    • Wow – that project turned out beautifully and practical!! I love how you just plunged in and therefore had to keep going. I am going to try leaping before I scrutinize too much!

  2. WOW..you are brave to tackle all that. It looks amazing now; makes sense, organized, decorative, clean looking. Pat yourself on the back for tackling and getting a great result.

    • Thanks Eloise, it was a very BIG job to start. But I’m thrilled as it was long overdue.

      Which also led to another even bigger project which I’ll be sharing about soon too!

      I feel like this will be a big year for change… with the upstairs too, which I’m getting some quotes on! If ya can’t travel, may as well have some fun… haha

  3. So good you were able to do what you wanted for a long time. Not thinking, just doing does produce results. When I follow that way things get done. Very organized and put together so when something is needed, you can see it without needing to purge or move items around. There’s some good ideas in this blog. I have things here, there and everywhere and procrastinate choosing where to store all in one place. JUST DO IT! Thanks Donna!

    • Thanks Joanne! I’m thrilled with the result! I didn’t even get rid of all that much which shocked me. I guess it just needed a decent refresh!

      Yeah, storing on a wall full of shelving but in a way that’s pretty to look at too seems to work! Especially if it’s stuff you like looking at it all the time. haha

      I have another big shelving project I’ll be eventually tackling in the laundry room at some point which will be more challenging because I don’t really want to look at it all the time. Two very different takes for sure.

  4. Love, love, love your “junk” and how great it looks on the shelves. Sadly I sold a lot of my “junk” this past Fall, but my house, basement, & garage were overloaded. If I would have seen this before my rummage sales, I would have kept more. I have white shelves in my garage with labeled boxes, but you have inspired me to empty the boxes so I can actually see what I have. It would make me so happy just to look at those shelves every day, hope it does the same for you.

    • Thanks Luane! And I fully encourage you to showcase what you do have! Plus, you’ll eventually collect more anyway. And yes, now that the shelves are so much prettier, even the stuff looks prettier. Seeing it all displayed cute has indeed made that room a happy place!

  5. This is certainly a job well done! It looks just amazing! I don’t have all the beautiful “junk” that you have, but this has inspired me to reorganize my small amounts of crafts I want to work on. Looking at some spaces in our basement, they definitely can be put to better use, and freshened up with some paint! Our floors are concrete down there also, but in a 120 year old home, they have seen some wear and tear, lol! They haven’t been painted in a few years, so I think that might be a good place to start! They say work from the ceiling down, but the upper part is fine, so I think I’ll start from the bottom and work up! A good purge, a little work station and some shelves, and we’re all set. Thanks for the inspiration to get me organized while we’re spending all our time at home here in Ontario!

  6. Love the new shelves and paint and how you’ve displayed your stuff, I have a junk room too but its still a work in progress and my wall to wall shelves don’t look as cute as your, I’ll keep working on it I guess.

    • Thanks Jocelyn! If you look closely at my before, it was nothing to look at either. What made the impact was removing everything and starting over again. Ok, and the shelves turning white didn’t hurt! I love them!

  7. OKAY, so I’m just jealous now!

    You did a GREAT job and your collection of “treasures” is enviable.

    From one Donna to another, BRAVO!!

  8. I’m drooling! All of it! Just love all the white with the pop of reclaimed wood, and your collections are just yummy!
    Wow, another huge job accomplished! Good for you Donna.
    I’ve committed to purging and cleaning one room a week, and it feels so good!

  9. Donna, you never cease to amaze me! Love, love , love all the white and your rusty treasures! Thank you for continuing to inspire so many (especially me) with your unique ideas and absolutely wonderful blog!!

  10. #goals That looks so awesome. I have a storage unit that, while organized with bins on racks, would be so cool to actually put things out of the bins and on racks for quick visibility. Great job, and a great look as styled!

  11. Hello there! Awesome job! I am waiting for the same IKEA shelf, how do I do the reclaimed wood strips? Did you nail them onto the shelf and then wall?

    • Hi Mirto! My apologies for not being all that clear the first time around! I’ve just rewritten the post to better reflect the steps. The angled wood supports were attached to the back of the shelf with screws, then the entire shelving unit was attached to the wall through the support strips. It worked great!

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