Curbside Painted Bookcase For the Craft Room

Remember in September when my Year of Change project was to style a bookcase? I delayed it because I hadn’t actually finished painting the bookcase I needed to style. But this weekend, I finally wrapped it up. But before I get to the painted bookcase reveal, I wanted to let you know that I’m also over at Pink Peppermint Design today sharing details about our dining room. I’d love for you to stop by and check it out!

Now, back to the bookcase. I started with this little gem I found on the side of the curb at one of our neighbor’s houses. I liked that it was substantial and taller than your traditional bookcase. It was a little beat up and the finish was damaged in areas, so I knew it would be the perfect target for a chalk paint project. Because it was dirty and slightly damaged, I gave it a good cleaning and then very lightly sanded the whole piece. There were a few areas where I was a little more rigorous with my sanding, but nothing too detailed.

I already knew it would be perfect in my craft room, so I wanted it to include a variety of gray shades and somewhat mimic a faded driftwood color. And, since it was a little beat up, I decided it should be my first distressed project! I selected three colors from Country Chic Paint: Lazy Linen {the main frame color}, Rocky Mountain {the deep steel gray color on the backs and inner sides}, and lightly added Pebble Beach in some areas using a very dry brush for additional dimension and distressing.

Once the piece was fully painted, I lightly sanded areas where I added excess Pebble Beach and a little heavier on some of the edges so the deep wood-tone would show through. I then rubbed on some Antiquing Wax in areas to further add to the contrast. Once I was happy with the overall look, I added Natural Wax to the entire piece.

After this little project, I quickly decided that styling bookcases is not my forte. But for now, I’m happy with how it looks. Down the road, it will likely also store fabrics and other craft tools/accessories. But it was definitely fun to turn this curbside garbage into a pretty new piece of furniture for our home!

Also, a big thank you goes out to Country Chic Paint for providing me with the paint and wax for this painted bookcase project!

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