Bookcase, Before and After

Just wanted to show you a recent painting project that I think makes a big impact in our family room. We're not going to paint the walls but they're quite a bit lighter than I prefer. So I wanted to add some warmth to the room in another way. Sweet Shelly helped me paint (well, so did our husbands actually) because I am so inept with a paintbrush. Really, some people get all the skills. Others of us have none. I totally stole the idea for this new look from Shelly's house. But I don't feel bad because I'm pretty sure that the first time I went to her house soon after we met, I told her in no uncertain terms that there were about fifty-three things in her lovely home that I wanted to copy exactly. She could have ended the friendship there. But she didn't. So I'm assuming she feels complimented or something. Of course, she is moving to another state this month. I don't know what that means. But anyway, Shelly, I really appreciate the inspiration as well as the manual labor!

Here is the way-too-white built-in bookcase that I never really tried very hard to make pretty, before we worked the magic :

And Ta-da! Except for the few empty areas that will soon be filled with more books that I'm going to steal back from Joel's office, here is the finished product. After:

Oh yeah, I already changed up a few things since taking that picture, but you get the idea of how much of a difference the black paint makes. And here is another view of it from the family room, looking into the kitchen (I like the black and white contrast; it adds a little drama.):


Pay no attention to the two missing lampshades on the chandelier. They're broken but no worries. They've already been put on the honey-do list, and I have full confidence in his abilities.