Before & After | coffee stained wood

I love being able to have creative decor for my apartment & spending hardly any money on it. 

[The Process]

I knew I wanted a shelf since I have such a tiny bathroom & very little closet space.

I happened to come upon this new wood crate at Walmart for only $4.88. There was also a small chalkboard sign for only $2.47 so I figured I could at least test the coffee "stain" on the chalkboard sign first and it'd still be a little thing I could always find a use for. 

[Before] - getting everything prepared!

Directions:
Leave steel wool overnight in vinegar for 48 hours.

Take used coffee grounds in water (or tea) and use a paint brush to coat the new wood with several coats. It might soak through and you may not notice a dramatic difference. That's okay. [*Tip: You could also add the coffee grounds right away to the vinegar instead - then you'd be applying it all at once after the 48 hours].

[After 48 hours] Take the steel wool out of the vinegar and begin brushing it over the new wood. It'll be very dark & gray in color, but it'll dry lighter. Once it's dry you can choose to sand it down a bit to give it a nice finish (at your own discretion) or you can give it another coat if you'd like it to look darker. I preferred the lighter gray look (as you can see on the crate below). You could also paint it white first & then sand it down to give it a white rustic undercoat - which I think I'll be trying on another item. :)

[After] - Chalkboard Sign (stain looks slighter darker in a lamp lit room)

[Accurate color depiction in daylight]