Shelf Makeover

Have you ever seen the ecard on pinterest that reads, "whenever I start feeling spontaneous, my bank account quietly reminds me to calm down?" (Actually it reads a little differently, as you know, if you've ever seen it, but I didn't want to offend anyone.) Well, I can SO relate!  So recently, when I was dreaming of some little bookshelves, I knew I would need to overhaul one I already had for literally just a few dollars. I have a weird love affair with paint. It's a sickness, really.  Whenever I paint something, my mind begins to race with the endless possibilities of painting everything!  It can be a relatively inexpensive way to change and spruce up what you already have.  So, one day as I was leaving Trader Joe's (which is another love affair altogether) I zipped into JoAnn Fabrics to see if I could find some paint to add some life to a drab, particle board book shelf that I have had for decades.  I have read about the wonders of chalk paint, as it will cover surfaces without you having to sand or prep, and I wanted to give it a try.  But I was not able to splurge on the name brand chalk paint I see all over Pinterest.  But I found this:

It was only about $7.00 but I wondered if they had a coupon, so I got on my phone and quickly found this:

So my total was under $4.00!

I was so excited and raced home to begin my project.  Here's my bookshelf when I started.

I'm sure you'll agree that it needed a make over! It housed my youngest son's books when he was young, but now I'm using it in my living room so time for a different look.  I took the back off, which was flimsy cardboard and decided not to re-attach it when I was done.

After I had it apart, I used a damp rag to clean it well and that was it for the prep.  I put the paint in a plastic lid and used a small foam roller instead of a brush, because I didn't want brush strokes. And I just started painting.

Even though it was beautiful outside, I did most of the painting inside because I've learned the hard way that the wind can whip up and lots of little dust particles and bugs attach themselves to the drying paint.  NO GOOD!  I used this light grey color so it did need two coats but they dry quickly.  Here's another view as it was drying.

I'm really happy with how it turned out!  What a difference!  Here's the finished product in my entry way.

What's not to love about a $4.00 makeover?  
I would love to hear from you about your inexpensive makeover in the comments below!