Black and White Bookshelf

White bookshelf with black interior

It's getting there.

The interior and exterior will need one more coat of gloss paint. The shelves too.

I'll have to take my time with this part of the process, so there is a straight edge between the white and the black. A small flat brush will be used to achieve that and some masking tape.

The country-style doors which were on this piece will not be going back on - we're happy to have a plain open bookshelf.

It really is becoming an entirely different piece of furniture and I can't wait for it to be finished.

Painting a Pine Bookshelf - an interior colour

photo inspiration  found here

photo inspiration found here

Ok. For someone who is afraid of colour, I decided on black gloss acrylic (Dulux) to paint the inside of the bookshelf. I applied the first coat this afternoon, so there is no going back now.

And it looks good...well, it will look good after another two coats. The outside of the bookshelf needs one more coat of gloss white and then I have to undercoat and paint each shelf.

If the bookshelf was smaller I would've painted a more vibrant colour. I didn't want to suffer the inevitable painter's remorse on such a large piece. Black should remain relatively timeless and I will be less likely to tire of it.

I'll share some progress photos tomorrow.

Painting a Pine Bookshelf - continued

bookshelf inspiration from Design Sponge

Painting furniture looks easier than it is. I have a greater appreciation now of the bloggers who regularly do furniture makeovers (this is mainly directed to Sandy at Sandy's Place whom, I suspect, does one daily).

Yesterday, I applied the pimer/sealer undercoat to the pine bookshelves while Son #3 was napping.

Earlier that morning we had been to the Oracle (Bunning's) and picked up a tin of Zinsser primer. I have been told, with good authority, that this is the product.

And it would want to be at $33 for a one litre tin. Liquid white gold. I chose the water-based product purely on laziness - an easier clean up keeps me motivated.

Anyway, it went on quite well and it did cover the dark knotty spots on the pine. My painting technique leaves a lot to be desired but one can't be good at everything I remind myself frequently.

Patchy undercoat paint job

While at the Oracle I had meant to pick up some dark teal paint. Unfortunately, I had a commitment crisis and took some colour chips to deliberate over instead.

Colour. Again I am in full admiration for those people who can paint colour on their walls (and furniture). Tomorrow, I will be ready to commit to something.

I also applied the first coat of white paint to the outside of the bookshelf - a white acrylic gloss. The gloss is a slightly hardier finish with knock-about children stampeding through our house. It will probably need another two coats for it to look even.

The work on the bookshelf will continue tomorrow.

Painting a Pine Bookshelf

image from here

Painted bookshelf

Wow. Thanks so much for your advice about how I should paint my pine bookshelves. I definitely feel better about it after getting first hand advice. When I googled this, I read all sorts of conflicting information. Too confusing for moi.

I've already made a start on one of the bookshelves by removing the decorative moulding with a hammer and chisel. I asked Jason to cut some plain flat timber to replace the gaps.

This morning, armed with a roll of 80 grit sand paper I gave it a light sand all over; just enough to give the timber surface some tooth for when the primer is applied.

A good quality water based primer was suggested, so I shall see what the Oracle (a.k.a Bunnings hardware - Thanks Edwina. It's got a better ring to it) will have in store. Apparently, I can use gesso, Zinsser or Resene.

I will also pick up an acrylic white and a choose a colour for the interior. I'm still partial to teal blue or perhaps even black...

But Michelle from Paper Tree Designs suggested I could wallpaper the interior. Now that would look great with funky Florence Broadhurst paper like these:

Japanese Floral

Yvans geometric

above images courtesy of Signature Prints

However, I am getting ahead of myself already, since what I have to work with currently looks like this:

Pine bookshelf

I need advice about painting a pine bookshelf

We were given two bookshelves through a friend of a friend. And as you know, I can't pass up a freebie, even if it is kind of ordinary looking.

Country pine bookshelf

They are solid pine and are in great condition. We will use one in the back corner of the sunroom to store our books and the other one will live in our room beneath the house (aka The Gimp Room).

But the bookshelves cannot stay as they are.

I'm thinking of painting them white and I'd also like to paint the inside of the shelves a deep teal blue. I will be ridding the shelves of the ornate moulding on the top and the bottom, so they don't look like the country cousin to our retro/ mid-century furniture. Trust me, it will look good.

One problem though. I've never ever painted furniture. I've sanded and refinished a few mid-century pieces with Estapol and Danish Oil, but I've never actually painted anything other than walls (and a few canvases).

It's simple, right? Right?

Everyone seems to do this sort of thing in Blogtopia. So, what sort of paint does one use? Oil based? Acrylic? Is there a special primer I should use?

What are your secrets? I am all ears (or eyes, in this case). I need your furniture painting guidance. Please.