Trimming Out a Bookcase

Monday, Monday.  So good to me...today.

I am feeling pretty on top of things today.  I have gotten ready for the day, eaten breakfast, sanded four chairs, and spray painted five chairs and a sculpture.  And it's only 10:08!  Now I'm feeling like I have earned the right to take time to blog...so here I am, getting to talk to you lovely people!

First, let me say that there are a few little changes going on around here that I'm pretty pumped about.  I finally have buttons at the top of my sidebar so you can easily visit my Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter pages.  Are you on Pinterest yet?  I love, love, love it.  A good friend sent me an invite last fall, and I have spent more time there than I care to admit.  Research, right?  Right.  I have all my pages set up to work together now, and will be posting new posts and updates through them, so keep up however is best for you!  You can also "Pin," "Tweet," or "Like" any post using the buttons at the bottom of each post.  Joe, my husband, is a computer guru--my computer guru--and he spent a couple precious hours of his Saturday helping me out.  I gave him lots of hugs.  Thanks, honey.

Also, let me throw out a quick "thank you" to the ladies over at Classy Clutter, who host their Saturday Spotlight linky party every week, and featured my Antique Distressed Dresser last week!  Thanks to everyone who visited, hope you found something useful :)

Alrighty, now on to the reason you came over here in the first place.  My sharp wit  bookcase!

I bought this plain bookcase a couple of weeks ago because I needed shelving for my booth in the shop, but it needed a little character.  It was a little like oatmeal, and I wanted fruity pebbles.  I used to eat those at my Grandparent's house growing up.  Yum.  It had some mod-podge going on, which is not my style.  So I scraped it down, and primed it in a warm beige.

Next, I took the backing off and applied a textured wallpaper (the same that I used on the Black Glossy Dresser).  I used wallpaper paste to apply it--just cut the wallpaper roughly to length, pasted the back of the wallpaper as well as the board it was going on, and smoothed it on.  Easy stuff.

Next, I used a dark brown wash (craft paint + water), rubbed it onto the wallpaper and wiped it off quickly, leaving the brown in the crevices.  I will go into greater detail on that process in an upcoming post...but it's not quite all done, so you have to wait and see :)

Now, here is where my picture-taking broke down.  Partly because Joe and I were busy getting it done, and partly because I'm not sure it would be all that necessary and helpful.  That said, it's pretty easy to tell where we placed the trim.  Here's a list of the cuts/trim we added, and we did it all using only three 1x4 pine boards (total cost for boards, $7.00):

1.  Trimmed the top down to a small overhang, instead of a large rounded top.

2.  Cut out an arched trim piece to go on the front facing (used a router, but a jigsaw would be better).  

3.  Front facing for the sides: ripped down a 1x4 in two pieces.

4.  Moved bottom shelf up 3 1/2 inches, put supports under it on front and back.

5.  Baseboard around bottom.

6.  Many, many short side pieces to cover up the screw heads that hold the shelves in place.

7.  Long side pieces along the back of each side.

That may seem like a lot, but with my fantastic hubby's help, he cut out all the pieces in one evening, and I tacked them on and got them all painted, distressed, and the brown wash put on all in that evening and the next morning!  Phew!  Not bad for about 5 hours of work :)

See this cutie little green lamp?  And the pretty wine glasses?  I'm loving the sparkle.

Here it is!  Doesn't even look like the same bookcase...which I think is a good thing.  Not bad for a $7 makeover!
    Before                                    After

Now I have lots o' storage in my booth, and am on to working on a table and chairs before the upcoming weekend!  That post will be fun, and it's coming up soon.  Hope you all had a great weekend!

I'm linking up to these link parties--check them out for some great ideas!