Over the door shelf

A clever way to utilize some wasted space, either for extra storage or to use as a display area, is to put a shelf above a doorway. On Pinterest, I've seen people put them in the bathroom, above the door, to stash extra towels or baskets full of toiletries and such. I've also seen them in other parts of the house, too, which got me thinking about where I could put one.

I decided on the doorway between the living room and dining room. It's a very prominent place, as you see that doorway as soon as you walk into the house. So what do you think?

The Pinspiration on the left via This Old House, and my project on the right!

Here it is up close.

And here you can see it in relation to the living room and on through to the kitchen/dining room.

I was going to make my own shelf, but when all was said and done, I was able to buy a ready made and painted shelf at Lowe's for pretty cheap, maybe $30. It already came with the shelf itself, the brackets and all of the hardware and all I had to do was drill some holes and put it up.

I don't think it is drilled into studs per say, but I think I ended up drilling into the frame around the door. After doing all the proper measuring, it took a lot of muscle to get those holes drilled and that bad boy up, but I think it looks great!

I styled it with just one of the many horse heads I have around the house. I definitely have a problem buying too many horse heads! This one is from Target I pinned awhile back. It was just $24.99. Not sure if they still sell it or not.

The flask with the jockey and the horse head cork on top was a lucky find for $9.99 at a thrift shop. It's shaped like a horseshoe and has many of the popular race tracks written on it. Such a cool piece and I especially love it because my horse Ellie was a racehorse many years ago. 

The "Welcome" sign in the middle is actually nailed to the wall and is not leaning on the shelf itself. This sign is made of real horseshoes. I saw it on Pinterest awhile back and my mom ended up buying it for me as a surprise! I love it so much and this is a great place to show it off!

In the end this shelf was such an easy project that makes a big statement! I might just go ahead and add one to my master bath I am in the process of redoing. That reveal will come soon, I promise!