seeing red

On my "to do" list for quite a while now was to update the little bookcase that was hanging out in my kitchen.  I have a few small appliances stored there and it's part of my "family communication center" I just made that part up. It is on the wall where I have our calender, weekly menu and chore chart and our french pin board. or whatever those things are called.

A while back I scored some red oops paint at Lowes, and my plan was to paint that baby red. I love the way the light blue and red look together, like here and here.  After painting the living room, I was left with two quarts of grey oops paint and had started to change my mind. I was wavering between the red and grey, but in the end, red won.

I emptied out the bookcase (duh!) and gave her a good wipe down. Once she was clean and dry (apparently the bookcase is a girl) I did a light sanding. The bookcase, I mean, she, is not real wood, but that partical board with the veneer siding, so I didn't go too crazy. I just wanted to make sure I got any leftover dirt and give the paint a little something to stick to.

boring old bookcase

child labor for the win!

2 year olds are the best painters....really.

after one coat

It took me two coats to get decent coverage. Mike asked me if I was going for the "old" look and let me know that he could paint it in two seconds with the roller. I was having fun using the brush so I just went with it. It does have a little bit of that "old" look, but I like it.  I let it dry overnight, and then kept it on the deck till the next night. It was still a bit tacky, but I figured I'd bring it in and get things set up. mistake. big mistake. big. huge.

I don't know what happened to the "wood" but it took a hammer and some serious strength to get those little pin thingy's that the shelf rests on back in. Getting the shelf in was another story. It was almost as if the case had shrunk but the shelf expanded. Very Alice in Wonderland.  I was finally able to get the shelf in, but not without some casualties.  The sides of the inside of the bookcase have some scratches where the paint came off. You can't see it a.) because I took these pictures with my phone and they are super dark and 2.) there's stuff on the shelf hiding it. I'm not very worried about it. This is a free bookcase and was just a quick fix to brighten up the room.

My command center!!

It looks so much better in the light (these were taken at night). I even got a complement from Mike on it!
The pop of color really cheers up the room. I'm on the look out for a few red accessories for the counter tops and maybe some dishtowels to really tie it all in.