Let me preface this by saying this was NOT a weekend project for me. However, if you are a normal human being without a tornado of a toddler and a newborn demanding attention, you can get this project done in a weekend easily. I am currently on day 6 as I have only been able to put about 30 minutes towards it each day during the week this week.
This bookshelf was one of those "just throw stuff on it for now" areas. When we moved in (almost 3 years ago), I had a few boxes unpacked as I wanted to organize the bookshelf and make it look nice. Then reality set in, and with a baby due soon after the move, it became what you see below.
This is reality, people. No magazine covers for me...
As you can see, it was chaos. A quick attempt at organizing with the bins at the bottom (to corral random toys). Some family pictures and mementos scattered here and there. Art supplies, dog toys, rice bins, coloring books spread over multiple shelves. And one mostly empty shelf that held a vacuum attachment. Ok, now I'm actually embarrassed with this photo...
Moving on-- we knew we had to update this built in. It's an amazing feature to have in our main living space, but it was doing no good hiding in the corner. Unfortunately, the layout of the room doesnt allow us to highlight the fireplace (more on that in another post), so in front of the bookshelf is Booger's rug and kid table. A lot of her items end up on this bookshelf due to proximity.
We had not painted it since we moved in, but we did paint the walls almost exactly one shade darker than the bookshelf itself, which made the shelves cower in the background. In order for it to really shine, we had to go darker than the walls. At first I was worried it would darken up the room, but I love it!
I emptied and washed each shelf to prep. However, as I painted the first coat, we noticed a LOT of imperfections that came out with the darker paint that we didn't see with the lighter coat. So after the first coat, I went through and scraped/sanded them off, filled with putty and sanded again to get smooth.
Phase 2- sand, fill, sand
At this point, I was on day 4 of the "weekend project". The first coat of paint only took about 45 minutes. It dried pretty quick, so you could totally get through Phase 2 in one day. The second coat took even less time and could easily be done on Day 2.
Phase 3- ready for organization!
After finishing the second coat, all I need to do is a few touch ups on the trim and finish the organizing!
Tip: when using painters tape, make sure you peel it off while the paint is still wet. If allowed to dry, you could accidentally peel paint off with it, allowing it to chip.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Weekend Project!
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