Nature Shelf- In Progress

A few weeks ago I began painting these shelves that I have been carting from state to state for 6 or 7 years.  My Mom picked this up at a garage sale-- probably with my grandmother since my Mom wasn't a big garage saler on her own.  As I remember it, they went to a sale and some of the goods were in the house.  This shelf was on the kitchen wall, not for sale.  My Mom asked if she could buy it, and the owner offered it to her for $6.  My Mom then counter-offered $10, and it was sold.  (Is that how you remember it Mamaw?)  My Mom was into shabby things before it was cool, so I'm sure she was somewhat stunned with the pricetag on this item, as am I.  The story actually makes me a little sad each time I think of it.  I'm sure the original owner saw it as something of function and not beauty, and was thrilled with a little cash to go get something a little more bright and shiny.  I would like to go back and give them a little more money for letting me have this thing in my life.

I have deliberated about how to used it for years.  Over the changing table?  As a plate rack (see the holes I drilled in it for dowels on the before picture)?  I finally have settled on using it over a console table in my family room as a nature/seasonal display.

Before

I thought I'd share my simple way to repaint old furniture.  I started off with the techniques in an old Martha Stewart article called "Paint It White" and have evolved slightly from there.  Basically, I paint several coats of latex paint, sanding between coats with more refined pieces, and not sanding until the third coat is finished for more rustic pieces such as this.  Then, I sand lightly to reveal old paint and wood color.  Finally, I water down brown paint (craft paint is just fine for this step) and rub it on with a shop rag until it the paint color is muted enough for me.  Finally, I apply a paste wax such as Briwax, let dry for about 5 minutes and buff to a soft shine.

I chose a paint color called Hummingbird from Martha's Sherwin Williams line for this shelf.  These pictures are before I have waxed, so that you can see the detail of the brown paint.  The place where this will hang is a sort of dark corner, so I don't think you could see the paint detail over there.  I will post more shots when I get it hung.

PS- Since a lot of people are interested in my playroom, I will post photos of it in the next few days...

Comments

[Carmen]

Very pretty. Love that colour. Is it a robin's egg blue?

[Kelli]

Great reuse of a wonderful item.

[laurie]

a lovely piece and story -- i really like the paint color too!

[June]

I love the idea of a nature/seasonal display area--just perfect! The color is beautiful and the paint color name...Hummingbird...is fabulous.

[kerry]

that's a beautiful job courtney. and, the idea is wonderful. we have a nature table out on our porch but the bean has been wanting something inside as well. something like this might be just the perfect solution.

[Sarah Jane]

What a great shelf - the colour is lovely! Look forward to seeing pics of the nature shelf.

[kathy]

Thanks for posting the process of this. I have a couple of pieces I need to get to. I'm loving that color!

[Sandrine (alias Didine ♥ )]

Oh my god ! I can't believe ! It's toooooooooo wow ! I love this toyroom ! I'd like my son to have one like this ! YOU ARE AMAZING !! And you know what you gave me courage to transform my living room and sort of all Louis'toys :) Thank you so much :)

[lucy]

Beautiful! What a wonderful transformation, I love the way you've painted it. That's so cute that your mom offered them more than they asked :o)

[Rachel]

This is very, very, very off topic, but I love the picture of the apron you made that you have up in the header. Every time I come to read your blog I get excited about it.