Do It Myself Bookshelf

BEFORE

I've gone garage sale-ing almost every weekend since I've been back from Dallas. Most of the time I don't find anything too grand and I usually end up buying more things for nieces and nephews and other relatives than I do for myself! Last week, I got this bookshelf at a garage sale that I didn't even plan on stopping at. It was $20 but I talked that lady down to $10. It's solid wood (so $10 is a GREAT deal) and a good size. I have a bookshelf that was my grandmother's bookshelf before she passed and I've wanted to re-do it for a long time but I've been terrified of ruining it. I decided that this little bookshelf was a good practice. If I messed it up, I would either learn from any mistakes or I would know to leave my grandmother's bookshelf alone! Well, I think it turned out awesome and I can't wait to refinishing my grandma's shelf!

AFTER




Well, I went to Lowes and got some spray paint (antique white) and some sand paper. If you notice in the "before" picture, the back of the bookshelf has two pieces of wood. The backing, although solid wood, was warped and made in two pieces. Lame design and I couldn't handle it so I also got a sheet of wood and had it cut to fit the back instead. I also looked at the wallpaper because I had seen many cute furniture refurbishes that used wallpaper or contact paper on the back. It was all super pricey and I would have ended up with WAY more than I needed for my small project! So, I decided to use FABRIC! Anyone that knows me knows that I have TONS of fabric so it was perfect. I had never heard of that done before (I know it probably has been done) so I was kind of nervous not having any tutorials but it worked GREAT! I used some Mod Podge to make sure the fabric was in place before I staple gunned the heck out of it!