The Twenty-Dollar Facelift

Finally, I am back to show the process of turning a dark Billy bookcase into a shiny star in the living room. Indulge me if you will, this will get longwinded…

This is what we started with:

So two weeks ago I decided to tackle the dark, heavy bookcase which would, in the end, help lighten the room up a bit. First thing’s first, remove all the CRAP from the bookcase. Make sure you give it a good wipedown with a damp rag, just to get the dust off. Don’t use dusting spray or any chemicals, as it might make the primer not stick as well.

After I taped off the doors, I pulled out the supplies I needed. Mine included some paint brushes (both bristle and sponge), some mini rollers, a drop cloth for the floor (since I was doing it inside, but helpful none-the-less), my primer and my paint. Oh, and gloves! Since the primer is oil based, it will be a pain to get off your hands, so just grab some latex gloves when you pick up your supplies!

By now you should have your bookcase lying down and ready to paint. Luckily the boyfriend had some cinder blocks in the back yard, so I used those to prop the bookcase up so I could get all around it without worrying about getting the floor.

Then it’s time to start priming!! I think I did 2 coats of primer and a third for touch ups. Mine wasn’t mixed very well — had I known when I purchased it, I would have had the paint counter shake it up for me. It’s a good time to warn about the smell and fumes. I don’t recommend doing this inside if you don’t have to. I was desperate to get it done (and stubborn!) so I went through with it — but it stinks to high heaven, and I had to take a couple breaks due to lightheaded-ness. That’ll bode well for future-me!

The primer didn’t stick as well as I would have liked, and that could have been due to the humidity or my lack of patience in letting it cure long enough. Regardless, the end result turned out decent enough.

Let me tell you — those doors were a pain! I almost said screw it, because they are double sided and the paint and primer kept seeping into the holes and just filling it up. Thank goodness for screwdrivers to clean them out later! (Invest in a powerdrill, kiddies!)

So I had 5 shelves and 2 doors to prime and paint. Hm.. How’d I do it? Well, initially, like this:

Books come in handy, yanno! ;) After that, I just lined them all up on a cardboard box on top of our dining chairs.

Also, make sure to sand between coats! It’ll cut down on the bumps and brush strokes you’ll have in the end.

I’d suggest giving at least 30 minutes between primer coats, an hour before painting and a half hour between paint coats. I’m sure elsewhere you’ll hear wait longer, but, well, I’m impatient, and that timing seemed to work out just fine for me.

In the process of redoing the bookcase I decided I wanted it farther away from the window, so it didn’t crowd that area as much. That really helped! Later this week I’ll show you our living room as it is today.

From far away it looks like a white bookcase, but up close you can see that it was painted, especially around the doors where some of the paint peeled off when I removed the tape.

But it’s made better by the sweet knobs the boyfriend spotted at Ikea in the as-is section for 2 bucks!

So what do you think? Much better, right? I would have loved to purchase a new bookcase, probably something like the CB2 kickstand bookcase, but this is much more economical — and we have a couch to save up for!!

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Here is a breakdown of my costs:

Primer: $10 for a quart — it was just enough, so if you have a bigger piece, get two quarts!

Paint: Already had on hand.

Brushes/rollers/sponges: $8

Paint trays: $2

Gloves: On hand already.

Painter’s tape: On hand already.

So for about twenty bucks, I repainted this bookcase, gave it a new look and helped lighten up our dark living room in one weekend! Hoozah! Stay tuned for an overall shot of the room to see how much it helped me lighten up the space!