laminate bookcase makeover
Taking a quick break from everything we’ve been working on for the vacation rental, here’s a recent weekend project from our own home. We moved this old bookcase out of John’s office when we revamped it and added new storage. While it sat in our entry hallway, waiting to be sold on Craigslist, it magically filled up with STUFF. (Seriously, how does that happen?? Sneakers, paint, a mandolin slicer…what a random collection of items.) Coming to terms with the fact that we probably *needed* that storage space, we decided to give the piece a facelift rather than sell it and lose the extra shelving.
First step was to pop off that hideous, shiny cardboard backing that still had folds in it even after years of use. To replace it, we had a super thin piece of (real) wood cut to size at Home Depot for about $9. I painted the new backing with a couple of coats of a Behr shade called Amphibian in flat. I chose the paint + primer variety, since this was before I discovered my lifesaving Zinsser BIN primer. (Side note: it took me about a week to choose that paint color. Seriously. I was completely overloaded with paint chips and decks from previous projects and just couldn’t decide. But I LOVE the final choice!)
The bookcase itself is made of…you guessed it, laminate. Laminate plagues my life these days. It got a light sanding and a few coats of satin white spray paint (Rustoleum Universal, which will stick to just about ANYTHING, even without primer. I’m obsessed).
A few storage baskets from Target and a couple of interesting decorative items finished the job. The silver birds are from Zone Maison in Montreal, and the vase was a clear glass piece I picked up at Goodwill for $1 and spray painted flat white for a pottery-like effect.
Our entry hallway is right outside our kitchen and living area, so this was a perfect solution to extend our kitchen and outdoor gear storage without making a mess of our hallway. We’ve got everything from tennis balls and golf accessories to candles and attachments for our KitchenAid mixer tucked away in there. Bonus that it bears absolutely no resemblance to its former self. 
Linked up at House of Grace, Coastal Charm, The Stories of A to Z, Decorchick, DIY by Design, A Beach Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick, Miss Mustard Seed and Remodelaholic
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THAT is AWESOME. I have the same bookcase and was just thinking “WHY can’t this just be WHITE?! It would look so much better!” Yours looks SOOO good, how many coats/bottles of spray paint did it take?
Thanks! It took about 4 cans to get everything perfectly covered, with 3 thin, even coats. Oh, and if you use the Rustoleum Universal (which I totally recommend for laminate), definitely do it outside and wear the oldest flip flops or shoes you have! This was the project that marked the debut of my “paint flops”…they were black when I started and now they’re speckled white and gray from all the overspray
A great transformation. Love that it is in white. It looks so much better. Well done. Thanks for adding your link to Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays.
Sarah, thanks so much for your comment! I’m a big fan of A Beach Cottage
I know this is late, but that just looks SO much better, I love the colours you chose and how you decorated the bookcase just completes it so well. Instead of being an eyesore, it now looks stunning!! Nice!!!