How I upcycled a bookcase into a faux Welsh dresser

       Given the time lapse between my last blog post and this one it’s safe to say I’ve been completing plenty more shabby chic projects to get my furniture all to match. As well as saving money this allows me to put my stamp on my home and I love knowing that nobody else has the same furniture that I do, it’s completely unique. My last blog on upcycling gave a pretty clear step by step guide to the processes involved so I’m not going to duplicate that here, instead I’ll give an overview as there were a few other neat tricks involved in this project that show how versatile upcycling can be.

The finished bookcase

     Many years ago, when we parted ways, I bought my then housemate’s old Ikea bookcase for the princely sum of £20. Age had began to show on the bookcase and I decided that rather than simply paint it to match my other upcycled furniture I’d repurpose it to make it suit my current lifestyle far better. Luckily my other half is more than a little handy with a tool kit so he created some rather nifty wooden doors from plywood and with a couple of sets of cheap hinges and magnets my bookcase became a faux Welsh dresser. By creating hidden storage underneath I can use the bookcase for more than just books as piles of untidy junk can be swiftly hidden from view. 

Open doors show the shelves inside

With the newly attached doors

     However, I wasn’t happy with just plain doors, I didn’t think that they matched the sideboard and also they looked a little too severe. So, while wandering around B&Q like I frequently do, I picked up a couple of cheap rolls of textured patterned wallpaper and cut out sections to make designs on the new doors. By creating matching panels on each door it gives the illusion of solid wooden doors, and it only took simple PVA glue to attach the designs. I bought a tester pot of dark grey paint and painted the wallpaper this darker shade, which meant that once the lighter paint had been applied over the top the darker grey, which had gone into the detail of the textured wallpaper, gave a sense of depth and age to the feature panels.

Strips of textured wallpaper made the border

Matching doors create symmetry

     I also painted some of the dark grey paint directly onto the edges of the wooden bookcase itself so that once distressed it would show through a little and give a nice contrast. As before the bookcase was sanded in advance and then the pale grey B&Q paint was used. Once two coats had been applied I distressed the paintwork with 120 gauge sandpaper, and everything apart from the bottom of the shelves was waxed with clear Briwax. 

The distressing at a distance

Gentle distressing visible

There's more wear on the edges

     I wasn’t entirely sure that the wax next to the pages of the books would be a good idea so I just polished the doors and sides of the bookcase, which are really the only areas that would get dirty anyway and therefore need the Briwax to protect the paintwork from absorbing dirt. The bookcase was completed several months ago and so far is standing up to busy family life very well.

Complete and in business

The very handy doors

     Considering that similar styles of bookcases brand new cost a small fortune I think my £20 second hand Ikea bookcase looks great, and the room feels so much brighter now that there isn’t a dark wooden bookcase looming over the dining table. Keep your eyes peeled for posts detailing further upcycling to complete the living room furniture!

All blog content and photos are Copyright of Charisse Sayers Proofreader & Copywriter www.charisse-sayers.com I welcome all feedback and would love to know your thoughts so please get in touch, comment, share, like and generally get involved!

How I upcycled my shabby chic table

     As my last post pointed out I have recently been enjoying a spate of DIY, redecoration and upcycling. I’ve always loved old furniture and buildings, and prefer reworking an old item to buying a new one. Much like buying second hand clothes, reworking old pieces of furniture reduces use of virgin materials and can be far more environmentally friendly than simply buying new every time.
     So recently, after a bit of a reshuffle in our living room, when it was decided to replace a bookcase with a sideboard, I took to eBay and found a local shop selling a gorgeous painted Edwardian sideboard that was the exact right dimensions for the space we needed it to fit into. Luckily, we won the auction (for a cracking price) and went to collect it a few days later.

The lovely sideboard (ignore the dog)

     Once home the sideboard looked great and made the rest of our mismatched furniture look a bit odd. So I decided to rework my existing furniture to be more complementary. I’m still in the process of the total transformation but my first item was a side table so that’s what I’ll be describing here. 

• My first challenge was to source some paint the same shade as the sideboard that would paint over a polished table without too much strenuous preparation and priming. With a little bit of research I found many suitable paints on the market but some were quite pricey. In the end I went for a pale grey paint from B&Q that promised to paint over nearly any surface.

A typical shabby chic shade

• Next I had to prepare the table. Following my experience with the blanket chest I knew that a light sanding would be a good idea, the only trouble was that the dark varnish created a horrible orange dust so ensuring my work area and I were well protected was a priority. After sanding I wiped the table down with a damp cloth to remove all dust and made sure it was fully dry and clean before painting.

• I removed the drawer and put the table upside down. I only wanted a single coat of paint on the underside so I did that first. I was quite happy with how well the paint adhered so that was great. Next I painted the drawer as, apart from the front panel around the handle, it also only needed one coat.

The lightly sanded top

Painting inside the drawer

The legs and underside painted

• I tried to get as even a coverage as possible and put two coats on the uppermost side and the legs. The spindly legs were surprisingly tricky to paint, especially to avoid the dreaded risk of drips, this meant being certain the paint had dried between coats.

An even coverage

The drawer close up

Fully painted

• Now to get to the fun bit! After being so careful with my painting it seemed counterintuitive to go at it with the sandpaper but it was necessary to achieve the shabby chic finish. I used a 120 gauge sandpaper sheet and tried to think where natural wear would befall, and therefore I was careful to add more wear on the legs and top. Again, this created annoying dust so I had to be careful in regards to protecting my surroundings and myself.

• Sanding complete I finished the table off with a good coat of Briwax clear wax. The tin didn’t warn me but my goodness this stuff stinks! I had to polish the table in the garden as the smell was so headache-inducing. However, it was worth the effort as the finish was great. The polish seemed to ‘seal’ the paint and also brought out all the texture of the brushstrokes in the paint, and heightened the variation of tones between the paint and the distressed edges.

Finished and looking good

     And there we have it, my first attempt at shabby chic. I’m really happy with the result and already have my next few projects in mind, so I’ll keep you posted as they progress.

All blog content and photos are Copyright of Charisse Sayers Proofreader & Copywriter www.charisse-sayers.com I welcome all feedback and would love to know your thoughts so please get in touch, comment, share, like and generally get involved!