Today let’s DIY a French inspired breadboard from a thrifted cutting board. French breadboards are so beautiful to me and I was recently inspired to DIY one from a thrifted cutting board.
If you are not familiar with French breadboards, some of them date back to the 19th century. Some of the larger bread boards were used to transport bread to the table. Often families had bread boards carved with their family crest or a quote and they are so charming. When I see French bread boards I am inspired to create a cozy home. I would love to own an authentic French bread board some day but while I wait, I will DIY.
I am so inspired by the French breadboards that I see perched on a kitchen backsplash. They add so much character and warmth to a space. Since I would like to incorporate one of these French inspired breadboards into my kitchen I am going to try and DIY one. I am excited to share how I made a French inspired breadboard from a thrifted cutting board.
You can find vintage bread boards on Etsy but be aware that they can be a little pricey. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to own an authentic French breadboard someday. They are so lovely with their markings and character from years of use. Breadboards can add so much to a kitchen and they can also be very useful.
Watch DIY French Inspired Breadboard From Thrifted Cutting Board Here
Where Is The Best Place To Find Cutting Boards?
I find most of my cutting boards at the thrift store for very little money. The thrift store is a great place to find items that you can upcycle into beautiful items for your home. DIY and upcycling items is one of my favorite things to do. You can see some items that were DIY here and here. I also show you how I style some thrifted items here.
I was thrifting recently and I spotted this cutting board. This cutting board has the perfect shape for me to DIY a French inspired breadboard from a thrifted cutting board.
When you are thrifting, look at the shape of an item. You can always change the color of something. This cutting board had lots of potential but I knew it was going to take some work and imagination. The cutting board came home with me that day but I was not very inspired and it went into storage for a few months.
Where Do I Find Inspiration For Thrifted Items?
I scroll Pinterest, you can follow me here. But I also find inspiration by scrolling through different websites.
One day while scrolling through one of my favorite websites, Chairish, I spotted this old, French breadboard and I knew that I wanted to incorporate a French inspired breadboard into my kitchen. This particular cutting board is not available anymore but you can find so many others here.
Since they are an investment piece and are not in my budget right now, I decided to DIY this board. I knew that my thrifted cutting board had the perfect shape and I was inspired to try to recreate a French inspired breadboard from a thrifted cutting board. Here is where the fun begins.
DIY A Thrifted Cutting Board Into A French Inspired Breadboard
Someone put pictures all over this board with Mod Podge. They were STUCK on there! I tried to pull them off but quickly went to find my X-acto knife. If you do this step, be very careful since this knife is very sharp. I didn’t worry about the knife scraping the board since any scratches would create even more character.
Since I was not able to remove all of the pictures, I just put the board in some water and it loosened the pictures more. This worked well, but some paper was still left on the board. I took my board outside for the next step.
Sanding The Thrifted Cutting Board
The next step was to sand this cutting board with my electric sander. I used 100 grit sandpaper to remove the rest of the paper. I recommend sanding all of your cutting boards that you find at the thrift store. This process made my board look super clean and smooth. After sanding, I cleaned it up with soap and water.
How Do You Distress A Thrifted Cutting Board?
I’ve had this question asked so many times and this part is preference. You can distress a little or a lot. All you need to do is gather some tools. Since I wanted to add more character to this board and make it look more like my inspiration,I gathered some of my favorite tools to beat the board up a little bit.
For this part of my DIY, I used a hammer and a nail, a wire brush, a knife and a tool from Pampered Chef. With the nail, I put small holes in the board that resembles worm holes that are in the old, French cutting boards. After that, I ran my wire brush vertical and horizontally and to make grooves in my thrifted cutting board. This gives the illusion that my thrifted cutting board has been around as long as my inspiring French breadboard. You want to make sure to concentrate on the areas that would age naturally. I focused on the middle of the board. Just continue this step until you are happy with the outcome.
How Do You Make Your Thrifted Cutting Board Food Safe?
I wanted to stain my cutting board to make it look more like my French breadboard inspiration picture but I was limited to what I could use since I prefer my board to be food safe.
If you just want to use your board for display, you can just stain your board with your desired stain or dark wax.
I decided to use coffee to stain my board, so I applied two coats with a paper towel. Making sure to work in sections, I added coffee to the entire board. After the second coat had dried, it was not the color that I wanted so I tried another option.
I read that Balsamic Vinegar is a great, natural ingredient to stain with. This was interesting to me since I have never used this product for staining. I applied the Vinegar with a paper towel and it went on smoothly. I waited for that coat to dry and then applied a second coat with a paint brush really pushing it into the grooves that I had made while distressing it.
How Do You Seal Your Cutting Board?
I have not sealed my cutting board yet. Since I plan to use my cutting board for food, I want to make it food safe. This product is food safe and helps protect your wood so I am going to seal it with this.
Where Can You Display Your DIY French Inspired Bread Board?
I love to see cutting boards displayed in a kitchen, but you can use them anywhere. I leaned my DIY French inspired breadboard against my backsplash in my kitchen. Displaying your cutting board leaning on a backsplash is so beautiful and emits a cozy feeling in your kitchen. Cutting boards are also beautiful on a kitchen table with a vase perched on top. They can also serve as wall decor. I also love cutting boards displayed on shelves as risers or stacked behind a picture to add dimension.Serving food on cutting boards is a great way to incorporate style and function into your space. Before you serve food on your cutting boards, make sure that they are intended for food use.
What Are Other Uses For A Cutting Board?
Some people refer to a cutting board as a charcuterie board. “What is that?” you ask. Charcuterie is a French word that refers to a shop that sells pork products. When served in restaurants, charcuterie boards usually display meats, cheeses and specialty nuts in a beautiful and artistic way.
How Do You Make A Charcuterie Board?
Since it’s your party there are no rules when it comes to preparing your charcuterie boards. You can add meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts and condiments. Adding whatever you like to your board is a fun way to personalize your gathering but make sure that your cutting board is food safe and is designed for food.
Will You DIY Your Own Thrifted Cutting Board Into A French Inspired Bread Board?
So tell me, do you plan to be on the lookout for a cutting board to upcycle into a beautiful French inspired bread board? Do you plan to make it food safe so that you can try your hand at making a charcuterie board? Or do you plan to just display it for decor? I would love to know!
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