Scavenger Chic

Fun and Junky Shutter Birdhouse

• By Joan
• March 30, 2017
• 10 Comments

At the end of  my rusty rake memo board and  shutter post,  I asked my very creative readers if they had any ideas for upcycling old shutters.  Since this is my 16th shutter project, the ideas are starting to flow a little more slowly.

My request did not go unnoticed. BJ thought I should make a shutter birdhouse and since I just happen to love birdhouses, I definitely needed to make that happen.

For supplies, two of the walls will be made from a pair of old interior shutters and for a little more shutter inspiration, I’m using some of the slats I removed from one of the larger exterior shutters as roof shingles.  What’s a project without pallet wood…the other two walls will be made from the wider plank pallet wood.

Lay your pallet wood next to the shutters and where the top of the shutter hits the pallet, that’s where you start the peak of your roof making the slope of your roof as steep or as flat as you’d like.

Center your peak and cut 2 pieces exactly the same.

I used a nail gun to attach the shutters to the pallet wood. Use screws if your birdhouse is going to be more than just decorative.

A couple more pieces of pallet wood, nailed to the peak of the roof, complete the base of my birdhouse.  It’s time to start decorating.

I wanted some decorative wood trim on the peak of my birdhouse and the easiest way to make sure it fit perfectly was to cut it myself.

Cut a piece of paper the same size as the peak, fold in half and cut out any notches like a snowflake.

Transfer the pattern onto thin plywood and use a Scroll Saw or jigsaw to cut out.

Cut all the shutter slat roofing the same length and nail.  I rounded the bottom edge of each piece. There is a better picture of the roof coming up.

I didn’t like seeing all the edges of my pallet wood roof showing, so I cut another piece of paper as a second pattern to cover up all the edges and transferred this pattern to another piece of thin plywood scalloping the bottom edge.

I nailed all my wood cutouts into place, adding a scrap piece of quarter round molding and another cutout for the peak.

The holes in the plywood were made with a drill.

On the back, I used a couple of shutter slats that matched my roof  to cover up all the cuts.

Any pieces of junk you have laying around are potential decorations for your birdhouse.

Paint as desired.

Better picture of my roof slats.  After all were painted, they were hit with the sander once again to see all those years of layered paint.

The base was a chunk of my mantel I showed you last week.

Don’t forget, if you need more inspiration for what to do with any shutters you may have lying around, check out my other shutter upcycles.  And if you have an idea on how to upcycle an old shutter I would love to hear from you.

Have a great weekend and stay inspired.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday,

Talk of the Town, Inspire me Tuesday,

Inspire me Tuesday,   DIY Salvaged Junk Projects,

Related posts:

When life gives you Shutters – Make a Cabinet! An Easy Project with Pallet Wood and Shutters Double Shutter DIY Wardrobe Junk Fish