Writing has not been at the top of my agenda these last two and a half months since moving and I apologize. In between traveling for wedding showers and Proms, arranging our new home (thankfully all of our painting was finished before we moved in), graduation events, final wedding plans, helping the boy with his Marine recruitment (I’ll tell you about that later), and single mommin’ it while hubby is in Savannah for three months I’ve actually been having fun with a couple small DIY projects.
All of these projects have been fairly simple; mostly involving paint and organization. I don’t know about you, but that’s my kind of stress-free DIY and a great way to take a break from the craziness of teenage mom life!
My favorite makeover project was a bookcase that I have not loved for many years now. Before we moved I shared a picture of it on Instagram and asked opinions for making it over.
My monstrosity of a bookshelf that desperately needed a little TLC
Overwhelmingly the response was PAINT IT! Painting a piece of furniture is such an easy and inexpensive makeover when you are redecorating.
So, before unpacking the first round of books, I painted it.
Using Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White and waxes that I already owned, this midnight project (I don’t sleep well when hubby is gone) paired with Netflix took about three nights to complete.
I painted three coats of the chalk paint which is rare when using chalk paints, but the shelf had only ever been stained without a sealer. This caused the paint to really soak in! Who knew that made a difference?
After my coats of paint were completely dry, I used a soft cloth to apply a layer of clear wax and followed it with antiquing wax 24 hours later.
Using a soft cloth really made waxing the shelf easier in my opinion. I’ve never been able to master the art of waxing with a brush, but I like the look of the wax having been rubbed on and blended so much more.
I love to organize my books by subject or theme, so it only seemed right that this shelf should hold my largest collection of books; my cookbooks.
Our wall color in the den is marigold, so I am using accents with blue and white. For this shelf I used my English tea pots and plates for decorating.
I don’t like to cram books into a shelf so that it looks stuffed, so this was perfect for holding all of my cookbooks as well as a little decor to compliment them.
A glimpse of the 1940’s sofa that will also be in this room
Right now this shelf is in our den. The rest of the room is not really together as it houses furniture from the 1880’s, 1910, 1940’s, 1960’s, and a couple of modern pieces, so now I am tasked with pulling it all together! That ought to be a challenge and may actually involve rearranging a couple of rooms to make it all work. Many of these pieces are family heirlooms, so they aren’t something I want to paint. Hopefully it’ll all be together soon and I can share a finished room!
If you want a glimpse of all the excitement going on in our lives right now, be sure to follow me on Instagram or Facebook!
Until next time,
Fiddle Dee Dee by Jennifer Jones 
The bookshelf turned out very nicely and you have styled it well, too. Oh to have a bookshelf for cookbooks! Lots of bloggers would love that, including me.
Time has gotten away from me again. I had no idea that your kiddos were old enough to graduate much less marry. 👩🏻🎓👰🏻 Two will have soon flown the nest leaving two at home? Glad that you are centrally located so visits will happen from time to time.
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