Paint

Painting Bookshelves

Painting bookshelves isn’t difficult if you have the right tools and paint. Today I am sharing tips and tricks for getting the job done.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dutch Boy. All opinions are 100% mine.

Several years ago, I painted our bookshelves black. The rest of the room is light, and although beautiful, the black always felt out of place.

The exterior of our home is “French Chateau” in style. I have slowly been trying to transform the interior to also reflect that style. Since many of the period homes used monochromatic color schemes, I wanted to paint the bookshelves blue.

The blue used on our bookshelves is Rustic Blue by Dutch Boy.

When I painted the bookshelves black, I used a paint sprayer. It was possibly a user error, but the sprayer did not provide a smooth finish. I also made the mistake of painting them with a matte finish and found it collected lots of dust.

This time around I painted them by hand, and it was very manageable as I broke the bookshelves into sections.

Supplies for Painting Bookshelves:

How to Paint Bookshelves

When painting the shelves, I worked in sections as I mentioned before. It is best to begin with the brush and paint all the corners, edges, and trim. Follow up with the roller for the larger surfaces. I allowed 24 hours of dry time before I returned the books to the shelves.

Platinum Plus Cabinet, Door & Trim Paint

This paint was fantastic to work with. I envisioned several coats since I was painting over black, but I was surprised that one coat covered most sections.

Platinum Plus Cabinet, Door & Trim Paint is a water-based alkly enamel that goes on silky smooth. The result is a luxurious, glass-like finish.

If you want to see more about how I selected the blue paint color for this room, you can go HERE.

The blue flows nicely with the rest of our home and is a beautiful welcome to anyone who enters our home.

I love the blue bookshelves and trim and how calm my office feels and looks.

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Paint

Paint Accent Walls & Bookshelves

How to paint accent walls and bookshelves with FrogTape

As I announced last week, I am participating in FrogTape’s Paintover Challenge. I was given a bucket of FrogTape and a $1000 budget to makeover a space. I’m sharing how to paint accent walls and bookshelves with FrogTape.

I am making over our home library which was previously ALL GRAY. I have always wanted a more exciting space, and I was inspired by the Luxe Modern design trend.

I began by painting the gray (and trim) walls an off-white. I used FrogTape to tape off the trim.

After the trim and walls were painted I began scheming about my wall treatment using FrogTape. I was inspired by a wall treatment I saw on a recent trip to Chicago (see more on that in this post), and I drew out a plan on grid paper.

Once I figured out a scale, I transferred the pattern with pencil onto the focal wall.

It was a little bit of a process. I first measured and drew out squares.

Once I had those in place, I created the diamonds.

I was then ready for the FrogTape. I taped a piece down the center (this piece will later be removed since it’s where I will paint).

Next, I added to strips of tape to either side and then removed the center piece.

I did this to all the lines going in the same direction and painted them.

Once dry, I removed the FrogTape.

FrogTape’s PaintBlock technology is amazing! It keeps paint out and keeps line sharp.

Once the first side was done, I repeated the entire process with the lines going the other way.

I did discover a little trick. I was using so much FrogTape, and I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss pressing any of the tape down. I ran a fine-grit sandblock over the tape to seal the tape.

The result was pretty impressive!

As in my inspiration wall treatment, I added medallions to the wall where the lines intersected.

I found these medallions on ebay for next to nothing and painted them gold.

I used my nail gun to adhere them to the wall.

I completed the wall treatment by adding organic dots along the geometric lines to soften the space.

Next up was the giant bookshelf!

I used Frog Tape to tape of the outside of the shelves as well as the ladder rung.

I used a rich matte black on the bookshelves, and it is gorgeous!

FrogTape left a perfect line and protected my marble floors and white ceiling.

FrogTape was also helpful in adding metallic paint to some accent pieces.

I can’t wait to show you the reveal next week!

UPDATE: Want to see the final reveal? GO HERE!

How to paint accent walls and bookshelves with FrogTape is a post written by me on behalf of FrogTape. All opinions are 100% mine.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Paint

Wagner Paint Sprayer

I have officially finished my biggest painting project so far, and I am so glad I had the Wagner paint sprayer to make the project easier. Since we moved into our home over three years ago, we have talked about building bookshelves in our office. Office Bookshelves | Wagner Paint Sprayer My husband comes from a long line of book hoarders, so we have a TON of books.  When we moved into our home, there were no bookshelves. For three years, the books have been hidden in closets, cabinets, lockers – if you opened a door on anything you were greeted by a stack of books. We originally planned on building the bookshelves ourselves but were a little overwhelmed and decided to hand them over to a professional. We hired the contractor who remodeled our bathroom to build the shelves. I sketched a plan for the bookshelves for our contractor, and he built most of the pieces in his workshop.  He installed them during one of my Home Show days.  I came home later that night to a gorgeous (but much more gigantic than I realized) wall of bookshelves. I was slightly overwhelmed and quickly contacted Wagner to see if they would partner with me on this project.  I couldn’t imagine how I would get a massive piece painted without a heavy-duty paint sprayer. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. I used Wagner’s FLEXio 890 paint sprayer and was very impressed.  I am all about storage, and I love how the sprayer all stores away inside the power box. I wanted the bookshelves to blend into the space rather than stand out more. I used Valspar’s Soulful Grey (formerly Valspar’s Woodlawn Colonial Gray).  My favorite thing about this sprayer is that I didn’t have to water down the (latex) paint.  It was WONDERFUL! The power cord and air hose are so long that I never had to use an extension cord (despite having to use a ladder to reach the top of the bookshelves). The only trouble I had was when I didn’t pay attention to the nozzle.  I eventually realized that I need to wipe it down fairly consistently.  Also, with the amount of paint I was spraying, I did end up need to rinse the nozzle a few times.  If you don’t stay on top keeping a clean nozzle, you can end up with splatters. Luckily once I cleaned the nozzle I was able to quickly fix (spray over) and fix my splatters. When the bookshelf was done (I primed one afternoon and painted the next), I rinsed off everything and put them away in the power box.  They are ready for my next project! Here’s a little video to show you how quiet but powerful this sprayer is: I’ll be sharing the bookshelves reveal very soon (and I’m excited to have room in our coat closet for coats)! Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Pinterest *This post contains affiliate links and is a sponsored post by Wagner. I take pride in reviewing only products that fit my brand and will be beneficial to my readers. And while this post is sponsored, all the opinions are my own.
Home

Barn Wood Fireplace Makeover

If you’re a fan of primitive or rustic farmhouse decor, then you need to check out this barn wood fireplace makeover.

 Fireplace Makeover with Paint and Barnwood

A friend of mine recently moved into a new home, and she wasn’t in love with her fireplace and surrounding bookshelves.  We completely transformed the area with barn wood and some paint. Here is a photo of the before:

Fireplace BEFORE makeover

She wanted to update it without doing any major renovations.  With my limited Photoshop skills, I came up with a plan:

Print

My suggestion was to add a mantel, install wood paneling on the back of the fireplace, paint the bookshelves gray, and add new hardware to the cabinets.

Here’s our after:

Making over a Fireplace

Inspire, a local company that specializes in unique construction and remodeling added old barn wood to the fireplace and created a rustic mantel to complete the look.

Adding Barnwood to fireplace

After the barn wood was installed, I painted the bookshelves and cabinets with Amy Howard’s One Step Paint in Selznick Grey.

Amy Howard Selznick Grey

I used the Matte Sealer to complete the look.

Amy Howard Sealer

We ended up using the same hardware, and I painted it using Rust-Oleum’s Metallic Spray in Oil Rubbed Bronze (affiliate link):

Painting Bookshelves with Chalk Paint

I also spray painted the fireplace screen and surrounding brass with Rust-Oleum’s High Heat Enamel Spray in black (affiliate link):

My friend went to a local store called Open Gate Design and Decor and had a blast shopping for the mirror and all the accessories.

Barnwood on Fireplace and Painted Bookshelves

Accessories for Bookshelves

Barnwood on Fireplace

It was fun to help transform the fireplace and bookshelves into a centerpiece for my friend’s home.

Painted Bookshelves and Paneled Fireplace

Fireplace Makeover Thanks for letting me help with your barn wood fireplace makeover, Kate!

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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Fireplace Makeover with Paint & Barnwood