Monday, February 4, 2013

The Mod Librarian Bookshelf

Every girl needs a shrine to her personal book collection. Or your collection of anything, really. But anyway, here's my first attempt to eighteenth century mod-out my bookshelf.

My bookshelf is from Target. It's fine. I'm not knocking Target furniture. In fact, like thrift shop furniture it's ideal for this kind of project, because if you mess up, eh! Jane would tell you to get over it.


To paint and distress this piece of furniture, I just Googled, like people do, and found this great website with very clear detailed instructions. So I won't bore you by repeating them. Anyway, the lady on that website was super helpful so thanks Shabby Chic Guru Lady! You've earned a Lizzie* Badge, which is an honor I made up just now.

Note that I sanded the whole piece before priming, but sanding the back inner wall and the flat tops to the shelves was really a social courtesy, as I don't think those pieces are made of real wood, and therefore they didn't really scuff up. But it was fine and the primer stuck without a problem, so even cheap-o furniture can be transformed!

After priming, I had to wait a bit, which is terribly hard for a Gemini, so I painted that little basket on the right as well. Then it was time to paint.

This is how the bookshelf looked after one coat of primer and one coat of paint, and I actually thought it was rather perfect. I liked that the brush strokes were a bit uneven (and that's a win for having no painting skills!) and let through some of the darker undertone of the original color, giving it that Provençal farmhouse, drinking-tea-while-playing-the-spinnet-look I was going for.

In fact, after stepping back and looking at it, I decided I only needed a little bit of distressing to finish it off, so I took my handy medium-grain sanding block and just scuffed up the edges and the corners.
Ta da! I realize that you can't see the distressing too well, but I will try to get a better pic when the light is better in my room and I can get all close and personal. This newly distressed piece is going in the corner of my room by my desk, and I'm tying it in with my favorite shades of mint green and robin's egg blue. But don't forget to add the books–they're what make the mod librarian the most mod.


*After Elizabeth Bennet. Obviously.

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