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I had this bookcase for a while. It was given to me by my parent’s awhile ago and it’s been probably used in every room in my house at one point in time. It’s a laminate bookcase that was originally brown. Totally never fit in my house.
A few years ago I had my husband add a wooden back with old wood laying around. It looks a little vintage up close and gives the bookcase more character than plain, MDF backing.
Its homes has been in my front foyer for years now. It holds our keys, rain boots and a catch-all for when we come into the house. It fits perfectly on the wall when you first walk in and isn’t in the way in our small foyer space.
Paint, choose something fun
We are eventually painting the interior of our house and I have started to redecorate, so it was time to paint my bookcase! I went to the store and got Valspar from Lowe’s in Snow Cap White and Bird Song Blue. I choose to do interior satin because I wanted it to be a bit shiny but not overly shiny.
My husband painted the bookcase black years ago in a matte finish. It wasn’t chalk paint but something similar. I didn’t prime the bookcase, just sanded the entire thing with a 100 grit paper. Just enough to create something for the new paint to hold on to. I wanted to keep the black under the new layer of paint for a more vintage look over time.
I wanted the blue to be an accent color, which is going to be an accent color for the interior house. I love this blue! It goes well with both yellow and teal and gray. All the colors I am using in our house. I choose to paint the back of the cabinet the blue for the accent. And then painted the entire bookcase white.
I ended up painting the entire thing with three coats. It covered it well and no chipping. As time wears on, it’s fine if the black begins to show through some, it will give it a vintage feel which goes with our house.
Add some accents, feet are great
I wanted this piece to be a bit more of an accent when walking in the door. So I wanted to add a few things to it. I found these feet on Amazon and I painted them the same white as the bookcase. My husband said we needed a thicker board on the bottom so support the feet, so my son and I added a 1-inch piece of wood; just nailed it on, so super easy.
I also cut a piece of the 1-inch piece bigger than the bookcase for the top. I wanted this to be an accent too I painted it blue. I attached the wood with tiny L brackets on the bottom of the board so you can’t see them at all.
TA – DA! The bookcase is complete and I love it! It’s so fun and looks amazing in our foyer. Below I linked some of the items which are currently on the bookcase. I like simple and because it’s newly painted I didn’t want too much on the shelves so you could see the back!
This project only took me a day or two to do. I did it all in my house, in the kitchen actually! I painted in one day and then attached the pieces of wood and feet the second day. My son even helped with the boards and feet. He loves to do things like that!
Have you done anything like this? Share with me below! And never be afraid to add character to a piece of furniture! Go for it!
Shop the shelves: Here are the baskets on the shelf. I love them! They are study, have character and are super cute!
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