DIY Upcycled Old Wagon Shelf with Nostalgic Charm

Do you have an old red wagon? This upcycled old wagon shelf will add charming nostalgic style to your home. Here’s the simple DIY to repurpose a childhood toy into a fun and unique home decor accent.

Sometimes project ideas brew in my head for quite awhile before they finally happen in real life. Maybe it’s because I have so many ideas, my (& Mr. Fix-it’s) hands can’t keep up? This cutie is one of them. Which makes it all the more fun to show you! Hope you are inspired by this DIY Upcycled Old Wagon Shelf with Nostalgic Charm.

Today’s project is part of our bi monthly Lifestyle of Love series, organized by Cindy at County Road 407. We’re a small group this round, because the busy holiday season is upon us. But I’m sure you’re going to enjoy all the fun ideas today. We’re focusing on wagons and carts.

If you’re visiting from Decor to Adore, I’m sure you enjoyed seeing Laura’s collection of vintage favorites and how she used them on her Thanksgiving table. I always enjoy her creativity. I’ll have the rest of the inspiration at the end.

DIY Upcycled Old Wagon Shelf with Nostalgic Charm

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Repurposed Vintage Parts: More Interesting Than the Whole

I’ve long had a philosophy that sometimes the parts are more interesting than the whole. Which translated means…if you’re not using something in it’s current state, but still kinda like it (and are sentimental about it), take it apart.

By taking it apart, you multiply the decorating, upcycling and repurposing potential! Yes, it’s vintage blasphemy to some purist antique lovers, but I don’t take it personally and neither should you;)

Which is how my childhood wagon came apart. Think I first wanted the wheels. I have a thing for old wheels. My collection is still growing. One year vintage wheels filled our Christmas decorated kitchen.

I repurposed the wagon seat as a display for vintage boxes with cute graphics. But I still had the idea in my head of turning it into a wall shelf. Here’s how we finally did it…

Repaint Wagon’s Words

The original words had been scrubbed off, but you could still see them. I grabbed simple white craft acrylic paint and a small brush and hand painted the words back on.

Seal Rusty Metal with Polycrylic

I had scrubbed the rusty metal surface with an SOS pad years ago. I had brushed the back and sides with my favorite poly, but I’d never gotten to the inside. You can see the difference it makes-the original surface is just bland. Once you poly that old rusty metal, it turns beautiful.

Mr. Fix it cut a couple shelves for me out of our stash of rustic barn boards. I sanded them and gave them a coat of poly too.

Adding Vintage Wire to the Shelves

I wanted the front edges of the shelves to have white vintage fencing, for added cuteness. I realized I was out of the scalloped edge type we made the Upcycled Old Garden Fencing Cloche‘s with. Mr. Fix it made 8 of them for Happy Girl’s wedding last summer.

A girl’s gotta get creative with the junk she has on hand. So I found a roll of this type of white wire. It would have to do.

Constructing the Upcycled Old Wagon Shelf

First Mr. Fix it cut a wire piece long enough to wrap around the front edge a little. This is just the top 5-6″ of the fencing. He drilled the first hole where the end of the fencing would be inserted.

Then to make sure each of the holes were the same depth, he did something brilliant…he wrapped the drill with a piece of electrical tape. What a handyman tip! I’d never seen him do this before.

He knew he had to stop drilling when he got to the tape. Then he could get each hole the same depth. Working alongside someone gives you apprentice-like knowledge;)

Once the fencing was put in, it was time to screw the shelves into the wagon seat. He put one screw on either side and two in the back of each shelf. We always use old rusty screws for these types of projects. Whenever we come across some, we add them to our stash.

Ready for the Big Reveal?

I couldn’t be happier with how this old red wagon shelf turned out. It is going to be fun to use year round for different seasons. And it doesn’t take up much space. It looks great in our back entry as a seasonal hello. I hung it simply by stringing jute twine through a couple of the existing holes.

I quickly popped some Christmas church sale finds onto the shelves along with cute wax battery operated pinecones. (find the pinecone candles HERE)

Such a fun project to finally see realized! If you’ve got an old wagon laying around that’s not being appreciated, or you spot one when you’re out treasure hunting, upcycle it! This would be adorable in a kid’s room, too. Or displayed in a nostalgic family room with old pictures.

For more of our Lifestyle of Love series, see HERE.

Check out our host, Cindy, at County Road 407’s post next; she created the cutest winter wonderland dessert table! All of the posts are also at the end.

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