Revamped Bookcases

I've been eyeballing some awesome bookcases from my grandpa's house for a few months now because I knew they would be perfect for Elijah's room. They've actually been there my whole life, but they were covered by so much stuff/junk/treasures (or whatever you wanna call it) that I never noticed them 'til a few months ago! Anywho, my grandpa very graciously passed them down to me just in time for me to paint them before the move. Here is a pic of one of the two with the shelves already removed.

They look alright from far away, but they definitely had been abused over the years.

And of course Elijah had to get in on the action.

Once I was able to pry him off, I immediately got to work sanding and cleaning off the bookcases (in like, 94 degree weather!). I guess the story behind these is that they were display cases in a pharmacy, and when they closed down, my grandparents snagged them up.  Given how old they are, I probably should have worn a mask when I sanded, but I didn't, so if you don't hear from me ever again, you'll know what happened =)

I didn't repair any dings or that horrible corner where a chunk of wood is missing. Thank goodness for rustic style 'cause these puppies sure wouldn't pass as elegant, by any means!

Now, as for color, I wanted to pull out the green from Elijah's quilt, but none of the color samples matched, so I went ahead and did the color match at Home Depot. FYI, they can only use solid fabric (no patterns), so since the green is his quilt has dots, I brought a piece of scrapbook paper that was very close in color. I also went ahead and got the Behr Premium Plus Ultra because it has primer mixed in already. It does cost a little bit more ($15), but considering you don't have to buy primer, it's definitely worth it.

And in case anyone wants to know the color, here is the formula:

I left the shelves to paint last and I only had enough to do one side, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at decoupage.  While I was at my grandpa's, I picked up a youth hymnal book and thought that would be perfect. Just a tip for anyone who wants to try this, make sure to cut off as much dead space as possible. You can see the difference it makes in this picture:

After I finished, I was thinking it was a little stark, so I took some diluted brown paint to it, then wiped it off with a paper towel.

Whoo, look at all those air bubbles!

So here it is all painted with the shelves done:

It looked alright, but honestly, I wasn't happy with the color of the sheet music. It's kind of hard to tell in the picture, but it almost has a tinge of pink. I'm not one to just quit when I don't like something, so I had to come up with an idea. Later that night a light bulb went off. Old paper has more of a yellowish tint, so I pulled out my ochre acrylic paint.

I mixed it with a little water and did the same thing.

Don't worry, it looks a lot brighter in the picture than it does in real life! Oh, and you probably noticed those weird splotches. Evidently I'm a little messy and got decoupage glue everywhere, but I actually like how it gives it more character.

They all turned out a little bit different.

Once again, brighter in the picture.

I love LOVE how they look in the bookcases and I love that I have the option of the sheet music or green paint.

I'm not quite done with these bad boys, so you'll have to come back to see what else I do

=)