Another Furniture Makeover

I friend of mine gave me this bookcase a while back. I love how it has that antique, distressed look. Unfortunately, when I put in my home something was not quite right. I left it like it was for a couple of months but every time I walked by it I kept envisioning how to make it better. I realized it was the color that was bothering me. It was too drab for my surroundings. So, I finally decided to paint it. (Notice the testing of colors on the side of the bookcase.)


I started out sanding it with a small block of hand sandpaper and then quickly realized this was too much darn work. My arm was sore after 2 minutes (of course, this is no indication that I need to get in better shape). So I decided to just slap on some primer.

After priming I gave it a very light sanding to make the paint adhere better. I picked out a turquoise color, Jamaican Sea, to match the colors in my living room. I applied two coats of paint. I wanted a distressed look so after the paint was thoroughly dry I sanded down parts of the bookcase to have a worn look, mostly on the edges.


I took Ralph Lauren's Faux Glaze Tint and added a bit of dark craft paint. I painted this mixture on the bookcase and then wiped most of it off. There were lots of grooves and crevices for the glaze to settle into, which made it look even more worn. Voila! This is the finished piece.

I apologize for the fuzzy pictures. I think it was because it was cold (more like friggin' freezing) in my garage and I don't think my camera liked that.