Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Chelsey’s Bookcases

My friend Chelsey has had these Grandma-bookcases (literally) for quite some time now.  Probably two years ago we talked about the “how-to’s” of painting them—but this year, she finally decided to just have me do the work!

house projects 028

The bookcases have some really pretty details on the doors and on the crown molding.  The right one is actually more of a “secretary” with a pull-down work surface.

Chelsey thought all the brown was bringing her living room down, so we went white!

She may not know it, but the white I used is the same color that is on the trim in my house!  When you find one that works, I say, stick with it!

chelsey 001

I will admit that this was NOT my favorite project.  Unfortunately, the main construction of these pieces is laminated particle board, and it did NOT want to be painted!  It took one coat of primer (which obviously wasn’t sufficient) and FOUR coats of paint to cover!

chelsey 004

I used a dark-brown glaze (antique walnut stain mixed with Martha Stewart glazing medium) to bring out the pretty details.  Plus, there was lots of “natural distressing” on these pieces already—the glaze makes it look like it’s on purpose!

…and I played with PicMonkey’s “Urban” effect for the following pictures!

chelsey 003

I miss Picnik—I felt like I was just starting to get the hang of it!  But PicMonkey is very similar, so that’s good—for me!

chelsey 006

Anyway, I think we brought Grandma’s furniture into the new millenium!

**********************************************

This project was featured at Decorating Insanity.

***********************************************

Linking up here:
Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday Elizabeth & Co.
Mod Vintage Life No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic 2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special The DIY Show Off
Primitive & Proper Thrifty Décor Chick
Decorating Insanity My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect {Primp}
Simply Klassic Sundays My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours It’s So Very Cheri
Common Ground {aka} design

20 comments:

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

They look great, Korrie! Your friend may not even recognize them! I don't know how you feel about the chalk paints that are out there, but this probably would have been a good candidate for it.

ANNE said...

Bookcases are such a pain to paint, but oh so worth it!!! Final product looks amazing.

xox

Liz Vickerman said...

what a transformation, they look great! nice work :)

Cassie Bustamante said...

aaah much better! not so heavy and old feeling!

Sandi @ The Primitive Skate said...

What an awesome transformation! You did a wonderful job! I Love them.

Practical Parsimony said...

Lovely!

SImple and Serene Living said...

I bet your friend looks at them and says welcome to the 21st century :)

Roeshel said...

Beautiful transformation, Korrie! Your hard work paid off. I bet your friend is thrilled! They're so pretty!

Gypsy Heart said...

Wow, what a difference! They look wonderful now. You have a ton of patience to do all those coats. I'm sure she loves them now.

xo
Pat

Danni@SiloHillFarm said...

That turned out so nice and looks so much better! That stuff is so hard to cover and you did a great job!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

Love grandma's funiture! :) it looks fabulous it it's new outfit!

great job!
gail

Michelle~Sugar House Creations said...

I was raised/taught not to paint wood, lol, but these are beautiful. I'm slowly getting out of my comfort zone with the paint brush. :-)

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

What a pretty and modern update Korrie!

Unknown said...

I can't believe it!! I have almost exactly the same bookcases. I will finally be working on mine next week. If you get a change can you share these at my link party Furniture Friday. http://www.decoratinginsanity.com/2012/05/furniture-friday-15-and-features.html
xo...mONICa

Pamela said...

Korrie that was the perfect update! They look great! Thanx for coming to THT!

Brandy@greylanehome said...

I love the new color. They look like new pieces.

Becca @ The Sassy Penguin said...

What a difference! They look great- wonderful job!

Rachel said...

Grrr! I'm so mad Picnic is gone too! Totally cramped my lack of photography fix it with Picnic skills!

Rory Fugerson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rory Fugerson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.