Door Display...

In the shop, we had a credenza set up in the back room.  It belonged to William's grandma and it served us for many years.  In the old location, it provided much needed storage and display space that was behind glass.  Now that we're in the new store with tons of storage and several glass cases, we didn't need it as much and we weren't taking full advantage of the real estate.  We only had one display of pendants and a small box of beads set up.

When we moved into the new store, Diane Wilson was kind enough to gift us with two wooden doors.  With one door (and help from William's brother), we transformed it into our checkout desk.  I wanted to use the second door in a display, but didn't know how or really have the time to figure it out before we opened.  So we put it in the basement and promptly got distracted by running a store.

I set about reclaiming the real estate in the store and creating a new jewelry display.  I used scrap wood and a hand saw and made the rough shelves.

I had an old, heavy mirror that was taken from a sideboard.  I loved all the foxing and age speckles.  I knew I wanted to incorporate it, because I didn't want this display to look too new or too polished.  I was using an old door as the foundation piece after all.  

Once all the shelves were screwed in, I thought I was nearly done.  But I wanted it to be safe and it was definitely not safe just leaning against the wall.  Plus it'd create an unflattering angle when someone looked in the mirror.  So... I built a base and added brackets to the back.  

I used this chewed up, ratty brush to add the layers of primer and beige under-coat.  I wanted the paint job to have a lot of texture and look as though it had been a part of the original structure... painted and repainted over the years.  (You can also see that I decided to repaint the table-top in the background as well!  I figured that I might as well while I had the paint out.)

The original idea was to have the door floating, but with the brackets at the top for extra security, there was a natural shelf.  So I cut a board and put it on top.  I also added a piece of trim to the top.  (Not shown.)  I might add a light.  Eventually I'll place some hooks to hang necklaces.  Currently I am using it to display dozens of earring stands.

Even though it is pretty primitive, I still like it and think that I did a pretty good job.  I used mostly materials that were found around the shop and it provides some nice vertical display space.