DIY Letter 'A' Book Shelf

Jason and I decided to decorate Austin's room in an airplane theme. I had this great idea to get pictures that we could then blow up in black and white when we went to visit Kalamazoo's Air Zoo.

We knew Austin needed a new book shelf but wanted it to go along with the theme. Jason couldn't find a shelf or a plan that he liked so he hit the drawing board.  He drew up a plan and off to the hardware store he went.  He measured Austin's books and determined as long as the shelf was greater than 9" it would fit even his larger books.  He chose 1x10 basic lumber for the majority of the project.

He cut up the 1x10 and used his table saw to cut down some left over MDF for the center of the "A" as he ran out of regular 1x10.  Here is the basic product after being nailed and glued.

Then he primed it and painted it flat black for the base.  

In the center you can see a pack of rivets from Hobby Lobby. They will give the airplane metal a more realistic finish in the end.

Here the rivets are installed and some are already coated in black primer.

The Faux aluminum finish was done in a dry finish technique using three layers of gunmetal and silver paint. Below are the paints that Jason purchased from Hobby Lobby.

 

Below is a close up of the first part as an example which really achieved the aluminum finish he was looking for.

Then the layers were applied on the rest of the letter shelf.

 

Here is the spot where we had a small black table to house a few books, his lamp and alarm clock. We were using a small Thirty One bag for the rest of his books.

Here are some photos of Austin reading in his chair next to his new and improved book shelf.

I love the metal like finish and the rivets give it the 'look' to match his airplane theme

Hard to believe my buddy just started D-K in the fall and is already reading. I love his excitement for books now!

The size is perfect to hold lots of books. We also put his lamp back on top of the 'A' and the planes fly all over the room wherever Austin lands them next!