My camera has been returned! However, I have some stuff from my old camera that I need to post about. So more crappy pictures. Hoorah.
So let me show you what I made!
I have this cabinet that I love. It’s from the Isala series at Ikea, though they don’t sell it in this color anymore (Lilac). But I love the color. It looks like a grey-ish purple.
That is not actually lilac, though. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered what the color actually is. Before I reveal the color to you, though, let me give a little more back story.
A few years ago, before Zach and I were married, a friend of ours gave him an old Wal-Mart bookshelf. It cost him $10, but he gave it to Zach for free. It has served multiple purposes since. But it’s so ugly.
After we organized the office, it had to go. But before tossing it, I thought I could try giving it a new life. See, we really needed a shoe rack. And I always forgot to buy one. So I decided to upgrade the book shelf.
If you look on Pinterest, there are many ways to upgrade a cheap, ugly bookshelf. Most of them involve attaching molding or a new back. I didn’t want to put that much effort into this because even the shelves are starting to fall apart (really, I could just build a new bookshelf). So instead of “making it perfect,” I decided to settle for, “I can live with it.”
So I spent a week trying to match paint chips.
I brought them home, taped them to the cabinet, brought in Zach and my brother for opinions, and we finally settled.
The color of my cabinet is “Root Tooti” and it’s made by Olympic. However, I got them to mix it in Valspar for me. 😛
And I set to work. I bought way more stuff than I actually needed, though. In the end, all I used was the paint, drop cloth, a 3-inch Wooster trim brush (found in the painting aisle, next to the brushes), and a small brush for corners. I have read reviews that say it takes longer to paint with the trim brush…but I didn’t notice that. It took me just as long as it would have with a regular brush…except no brush marks.
So I cleaned the shelves, laid everything on the drop cloth, and got to work.
This was after only one coat of paint. Love the coverage of Valspar.
I debated on just covering the back in fabric or something, but decided to just paint it. I really didn’t feel like screwing with it more than I had to.
After three coats of paint, I had this. Looks way better, right? (That lamp was so I could see inside the book case. The lights in my apartment suck.
Since I didn’t use real primer, I was afraid I would accidentally scratch the paint off or something. Plus, I didn’t want to get it dirty. So I bought some plain black cabinet/drawer liner and cut it into the dimensions I needed.
So much nicer!
And now my shoes aren’t scattered all over the place! See?
I got the grey containers at Target, by the way. I LOVE the way they look against the paint. One is for me and the other for Zach. I keep our scarves, hats, gloves, etc. in them because I live in an apartment and I don’t have a mudroom. Maybe this winter I won’t have to dig through drawers trying to find them!
It also ties my room together beautifully, since my cabinet is on the opposite wall.
Why, yes, those are kitty collars hanging from the wall. 😛 My cats are indoor cats, so I only put collars on them when I take them to the vet or something.
I’m so happy with it! It could use a couple more upgrades, but I think it’s just fine for now.
I’m considering painting my old TV stand to match, but I get the feeling that would be too much purple. Not sure.
Anyway, LOVE!
Btw, who else is ready for autumn!? I have so much stuff I want to do this year, from baking to decorating to haunted tours and cornfield mazes. AH! I love autumn!
