Book Shelf Makeover: Divine Heirloom White

Well, here I am again. A little more progress each time I come back here and visit with you all. I purchased this bookshelf on Craigslist for $60.00 a while back. It is solid wood with solid wood shelves. One problem, it was dark and dreary and didn't match any of my other furniture.

This shelf usually holds all of my scrapbooks and doesn't look like such a major catastrophe. This is how it has been for the last few months though...while the remodel has been in progress. Heaven help us, there may be an end in sight.

I started priming it before I took the "BEFORE" picture. That's me, all gung ho and stuff. I remembered though and here it is. I don't have a garage so all of my painting either happens on my front porch or in my house...somewhere, usually the dining room. Makes for fun dinnertime conversations and maneuverings.

I really like Zinsser's NVOC Bullseye 123 primer. It seems to give the best coverage. I put on about 2-3 coats. Those crenelations on the top of the shelf were really no fun to paint...just saying. 

I did remove the doors and the hardware and painted it with my Krylon Satin Nickle spray paint. I also added 2-3 coats of Heirloom White satin finish paint. To finish off any painted piece I always use Wipe On Polycrylic. It's easy to apply, doesn't smell very much and dries pretty quickly. Much easier than varnish and doesn't cause a yellowing over time.

Here is the bookshelf in it's finished state. My albums are happy to be home (I purged about 10 games in the process) and the shelf is back in it's rightful place in the living room/office/scrapbook area. It makes me feel so much lighter. I keep all of the children's extra school supplies (paper, pencils, folders, workbooks) in the cupboard portion of the shelf.

I hope that the projects that you're working on are coming along just as nicely.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully, some day, I'll get to start crafting again ;).

From Dull to Dynamic: China Cabinet goes Gray

 Here's where we started, back in 2011 when I purchased this bad boy from craigslist for $80.00. Well, it was $100, but we I talked him down. ;). And this is the way things stayed, for a long time. I've wanted to paint this darn cabinet for ages and I finally did it! 

Here's how the process went.

Remove retro chunky wood from front door panels. (We tried a pry bar first but that was digging into the outer frame. Next, I tried a chisel and that did the trick)

Ahhhh, already so much better.

I primed, two coats...ugh and DOUBLE ugh with these doors and the glass shelf holders

And then I painted...two coats. Not so bad on the lower part. That upper cabinet is a beast.

Next I had to decide if I wanted Earthy Gray or Heirloom White wall paper panels on the doors. I used a paintable wall paper from Lowe's. It comes in a roll and I cut it to size with and x-acto and a straight edge.

The gray won my heart. MMMMMM MMM YUM!

I painted the interior of the upper cabinet the same gray. Now, it's all put back together now and oh so handsome.

Time to finish up this room and get some window treatments now that my lovelies are all in school. Hope you enjoyed this makeover. I love the finished product. The process is getting easier too. 

Painting the bookshelf next ;)

Here is the shelf with the interior lights on at night.

Before and After

PS if you love this kind of stuff you should visit the BETTER AFTER blog. Tons of inspiration.

Earring Frame w/ Burlap

I made this frame in less than 20 minutes and for less than 2 bucks! I got the frame and the burlap at the thriftstore. The spray paint I already had. I'm lovin' not having to did through my drawer to find my earring matches.