Sunday, July 10, 2011

Painted Bookcases ~ Before And After

Woo, hoo!!! 

Can you see me jumping up and down because this project is finished???  Ok. truth... We still have a furniture base to put on and a few touch ups, but that doesn't pour a bucket of cold water on my enthusiasm.
I've been wanting to do build some bookcases in our youngest daughter's room for over a year now. More pressing things kept popping up. Then, we had our house on the market for 6 months. After we took our house off the market, this was first up on our list of projects to do.
And now they're finished

Woo Hoo!!!! Yay!

bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist
Because Mr. Fanatic is so wonderful and always building things for me, I wanted to make this project a little easier for him. I found some really outdated bookcases on  Craigslist and  thought we could transformed them.
When Mr. F. saw them he wasn't so sure and my daughter was really nice and didn't say they were ugly. 
I told them everything would be ok and they would look fabulous... at least, they did in my head.
This is the actual Craigslist photo... (hence, the poor quality)
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist

Here's a closeup of the top...
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


And a closeup of the gorgeous 5 piece mitered raised panel doors with applied molding. (cabinetry designer nerd alert!)
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist

I will post about how I designed and Mr. Fanatic built these puppies up on another post and the before and after in my daughter's room, but for right now I'm just gonna show you the after....


Drumroll, please..............................................






bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


These are actually free standing and not built in. Don't ya just love walls that are crooked?
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist




bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist

Happy daughter!
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist

love.
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


My daughter's special books from her favorite author...
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist



bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


Lots of storage below behind closed doors...
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


After we finished painting the bookcases white, I thought it would be fun to paint the backs a contrasting color. My daughter picked out the beautiful color, which is Valspar Nautical. I think it's perfect for her room.
bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist




bookcases, diydesignfanatic.com, upcycle, cottage, craigslist


Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

For Part 2 on  how to take some ugly outdated bookcases and give the a custom made look, click HERE

Pam 




61 comments:

  1. These are gorgeous Pam! I love the style and colors.

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  2. They are absolutely gorgeous I love them You have one lucky daughter Frances

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  3. They are absolutely stunning. I love them and they have such wonderful character. Her room is beautiful and these definitely add to the overall appeal. Beautiful. Hugs, Marty

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  4. They came out great!!! Love the turquoise painted in the background.

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  5. Beautifully done Pam! I love how pretty her room is and how they look like they were built for the space. Great job!

    Pam

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  6. you did a fabulous job. Actually, a super duper amazingly awesomely fabulous job!! They look so fabulous and really add to your daughter's (already pretty) room! Love them. Love the lighting, love the arrangements inside, love the cabinet doors, love the colors, love IT ALL!

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  7. One word.....awesome! You guys did a great DIY re-vamp! Bet your daughter loves them :)

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  8. I love them! Are these built in? Either way they look great!.............Bonnie

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  9. They're gorgeous! (so is your daughter!)

    I love the shape, the color - every detail!

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  10. OMG Pam!! They're GORGEOUS!!! I love the feeling of finishing a project too!

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  11. Wow, they look great! If the gap bothers you, get a piece of screen molding (not very wide and very thin). Painted white, and it's gone!
    Dropping by from Met Monday. I'll hope you'll come see the nursery I helped create for my first grandchild.

    Allison
    Atticmag

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  12. They came out so beautiful. That pop of color was the perfect choice!
    Had so much fun with you this weekend!


    Rashon
    www.ilovethrifting.com

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  13. WOW! Beautiful job!! I love it! Stopping by from something i whipped up.

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  14. Those are gorgeous. I love shelves with a pop of color and that is a lovely color.

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  15. They look awesome Pam! Great job. So nice to meet you this weekend!

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  16. Gorgeous! I love the color of the back of the shelves and the shelves are just beautiful. No wonder you have a happy daughter!

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  17. Visiting from BNOP. They definitely have that built in look. Love the color on the back. Nice work! Please stop by and enter my summer giveaway.
    http://www.thediyspot.com/2011/07/the-diy-spot-summer-giveaway/

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  18. I love how these turned out! They totally look like built-ins, yet this is something anyone can do. I have to admit--I did a quick CL search, but no luck. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  19. Love, love, love what you did with the bookcases. Funny too because we just painted out living room (or what we call the library) bookcases with a blue background too. I love the turquoisey blue you chose. My daughter is all hot and bothered to turn her room turquoise. You've provided some great inspiration! Thanks!

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  20. Beautiful Pam, love the colour you used... it turned out great sure your daughter will be the happy one
    http://craftaworld.blogspot.com/
    Love
    Farah

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  21. I love how these bookcases fill in the space beside each window and truly look built in. The nautical color that your daughter chose for the background is so pretty and looks great as a contrast to her display items. Great job!

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  22. OMG Pam these turned out GORGEOUS!!! They look beautiful in her room and I love the color she picked for the inside! Perfect accessories too! Martina

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  23. HI Pam! Oh, my goodness - these bookshelves are beautiful! I love them and the different color on the insides.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  24. They're fantastic! Wow, love love the transformation. I'm still on the look for something as lovely as those pieces of furniture so I can do my own transformation. Love the white and green you chose. Thanks for participating in Show Off Your Cottage Monday and bringing me here!

    Cielo

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  25. Love love love! And that color is so...perfect. Nice work Pam!

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  26. Those look INCREDIBLE Pam! I love the color contrast and the lights above. You did a fantastic job my friend!
    Vanessa

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  27. good gravy those are gorgeous! LOVE the colors! Enjoyed your I love thrifting post as well!

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  28. Nice job! There isn't a wall in my house that's straight or level -- or any other surface for that matter. I have been struggling with my kitchen for a while, and the "out of whack" elements are making me crazy!

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  29. WOW! That was amazing! I love what your hubby did to the tops too! The color of the background with the white is truly awesome! You do have vision!
    Excellent job! Kudos...Liz

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  30. Hello from your neighbors at BNOTP. I can't believe how well those bookcases fit your space. They look great!

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  31. i love it, and I really love those cat book ends, I think i need those!!! :)

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  32. BEAUTIFUL!! They are stunning! The color is gorgeous on the back wall.

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  33. Shut! Up! Those are amazing. I would have never had the vision to do that.

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  34. These are PERFECT! They look so nice in her room - and what a nice room! Great job!

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  35. Very beautiful! What a transformation! We went to some furniture stores today pricing bookcases! ♥ We may need to think outside the box! ♥

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  36. Incredible! I love how it all turned out, and I really like the accessories. Visiting from Tuesday's Treasures and following....

    ciao from Newport BEach

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  37. They turned out really great, lovely colour! And the room is beautiful too.

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  38. I actually gasp out loud those are so incredible. What a transformation. They absolutely look built in. I am so impressed. Thanks for sharing at my Sizzle into Summer party.

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  39. OMG! My daughter's bedroom has gotten a make-over every year for her birthday for the past 13 years...this year I decided to go to Miami instead...since next year is the big 16...and we are planning a blow out party for her...Until I read your post, I had no intention on making over her bedroom this year...You have inspired me! Your make-over is just beautiful.

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  40. Pam, this looks fantastic. What a pretty bedroom. I love the added color on the back of them. I know your daughter must love them. Thanks for joining the party!

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  41. This is soo great. What wonderful colors!

    www.whatyoumakeit-coley.blogspot.com

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  42. Absolutely beautiful !! The transformation is amazing ... thanks to your magic, they truly do look like custom, built-in bookcases. And, your daughter is quite the decorator, too, as that is a gorgeous color she chose for the back. Stunning room, too !!

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  43. What a gorgeous room! The bookcases look wonderful, especially with the contrasting colors. Great job.

    Nice to visit with you.

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  44. I thought I missed something! Wow! They are fabulous! I love the colors you used too. So pretty!

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  45. They look fantastic! I love the colours!
    Jo-Anna

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  46. Love the new look! The blue color is so fresh and makes a perfect background! Just love the look of this bedroom!
    Kathy

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  47. These are amazing~ I love how they turned out! The combination of colors are fabulous and you did a great job building them up!! Well done! Your daughters room is so pretty too!! Thanks for sharing this at FNF :)

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  48. Holy Cow Pam, they look amazing! They truly look custom made. Love the color too..you did a great job!

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  49. These are so awesome. I will be featuring it tonight at my Sizzle into Summer party. Please stop by and pick up an I've Been Featured button. The link opens at 8pm EST. Thanks.

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  50. These are seriously amazing and inspiring!
    I'm a follower of your site now - everything looks great!

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  51. It's just gorgeous Pam, I love it! I would say that is one happy girl :)
    XO
    Kristin

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  52. I am in love with these! I have been wanting to do faux built in cabinets in our living room for a while and you have inspired me to search for a cabinet I could use instead of building from scratch. I can't wait to read the tutorial!

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  53. Gorgeous and very inspiring. You've done a wonderful job with the room.

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  54. I audibly sighed when I saw the after! What a fabulous job, Pam! These bookshelves look like they are built-ins! Your sweet daughter is so grown up!!!!

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