Bookshelf Reconnaisance

Today, I spent most of the day cleaning and painting.  To tell you the truth, it felt kind of nice to do something creative.  I'm not particularly an artistic person, but today I was really proud of my work.  Andy and I bought a dingy, old bookshelf and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

  My upstairs hallway was looking pretty barren.  It didn't have any decorations other than a large mirror and looked pretty barren.

 Boring, bland hallway with nothing in it.  No character whatsoever.

Enter cool furniture.

Things to know before you repaint a crappy piece of furniture.

1.  Make sure to wash thoroughly with soap and water.

2.  Next, lightly sand with a small grain sandpaper.  You just want to slightly roughen it...not take chunks of paint off.

3.  After choosing your base color, paint all the boring stuff like the corners.  Make sure ot keep your brush strokes nice and even.  Also, feel free to use a roller to make for a super smooth look.  

I've been smitten with the whole bird/tree branch things that's going 

on now.  I found a beautiful turquoise color and just went with it.

I found an inspiration piece online and just free-handed from there

on out.  Check out the cute birds and owl on the sides.

I think the key to a great piece like this is to fill the shelves with things that you love.

I've got random wooden puzzles, a cute little elephant statue, a glass bottle

that caught my eye at an estate sale, and framed pictures.

Andy and I have just recently realize that we haven't personalized our home 

at all.  It's filled with cool artwork and structural interest, but we haven't interjected

any pictures of ourselves.  We bought a cool collage frame at a local store and put in

some sepia-toned pictures of our wedding; it will hang over the bookshelf.

I'm so excited that things are finally coming together.

The one thing I recommend when decorating your house is not to be afraid

of doing your own things.  Go to an estate or rummage sale, find a piece that needs

some TLC and get to it!!!  I like to find inspiration on Etsy and model my

pieces of furniture after things catch my eye.  I'm also hooked onto

HGTV's Design Star which is amazing.

The finished product!!  Technically, it's not finished.  We need to add our

collage pics, a cool rug and some new doors.

Your homework....go repaint some furniture.  Be bold!!

Next up......crappy old vanity.  Wait 'til you check out the crazy stripes

I'm painting....think green, purple, and royal blue!