My picker found this shelf for me at a garage sale earlier this year.

This is one of the those farmhouse/country/rustic style pieces where I feel like you just have to go with that style rather than trying to change it.  So I decided to just embrace it by using the Out on the Farm transfer from re.design with prima.

When I pulled the transfer out of the tube, I was surprised to find that it had changed since the first time I used this particular design.  That was back in June of 2019 when I used just half of the transfer on this washstand …

At that time the complete transfer I had looked like this …

I had ordered another one of this design back when I was a content creator for re.design with prima, so I can’t say exactly how long I’ve had it in my stash, but this 2nd one looks like this …

So, go figure.  I guess they changed it.  Who knew?

Well, probably people who were paying attention knew, but clearly I was not paying attention.

I thought I’d share that little piece of info with you guys in case any of you weren’t paying attention either.  And by the way, I did find both versions of this transfer available from various vendors on Etsy.  So if you’re ordering one, that would be the time to be sure and pay attention to which one you want 😉

The one thing I wished I’d done differently on that washstand two years ago was to paint it in a shade of white that blended better with the background color of the transfer.

Not that it looked bad, but I would have preferred it to blend a little bit more at the edges.

However, that washstand came already painted and I simply added the transfer.  But this time around I chose to paint my shelf in Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy.  It’s more of an off white with a very grey undertone, and it ended up working beautifully with the transfer.

Before we go any further, let’s address the elephant in the room.  That is, putting a transfer on the inside back of a cupboard.

I used to be rather opposed to that idea.  I felt like it was a waste since you’d be covering up most of the transfer with items on the shelves.  But then I put a transfer inside my own cabinet out on my front porch …

And I loved how that turned out.  Also, the usually suppressed minimalist in me appreciates having less clutter on those shelves.

Instead of filling up the shelves completely, you can showcase just a few special items while allowing the transfer to peek through.

I think it works.

As you can see in my photos, after painting and then applying the transfer, I sanded the edges of the piece to give them a worn look and then I added a topcoat of clear wax.

All that was left was to add knobs.  Back when the piece was in its original wood finish I kind of hated those knobs.  To me they were just too ‘in your face’ because the white ceramic was a bigger contrast with that medium toned pine.  So my original plan was to change them out for something different, although I wasn’t sure what.

But actually, once the piece was painted I thought the knobs worked.

They don’t jump out at you quite as much.

And with that, there you have it.  A farm fresh shelf.

Perfect for a dining room, kitchen, mud room, pantry, laundry room, and so on and so on.

If any of you locals have a spot for it, be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supply the Sawmill Gravy paint, and to re.design with prima for supplying the Out on the Farm transfer.