Long Shelf Life

It is amazing how painting a wooden piece of furniture can give it a huge makeover effect. You basically get a totally new piece instead! Sometimes it is not easy to get the courage to start painting as you might be afraid that you can make things even worse. Still I think the result is totally worth the risk! And even if you don't get it right the first time you will definitely do the second - it is very easy to repaint the piece with a totally different colour! Here is my experiment with our old wooden bookshelf I previously didn't quite like (here is the before picture).

Image by Olga

This was my first attempt at it and I think I was lucky to get it right. I covered the shelf with 2 layers of white (on the outside) and red (on the inside) acrylic paint and used a stencil to decorate it. The stencil's shape is my favourite design that is used decoratively as well as symbolically - lily or Fleur-de-lis. You can also find this symbol in this post. The symbol has many meanings, historically used to represent royalty, and in that sense to signify perfection, light, and life (this doesn't have much to do with the shelf itself though.. :))

Image by Olga

I'm quite satisfied with the whole painting experience and with the result - it was great to give the old bookshelf a second life! I like how it both stands out from and matches the red walls of our living room.

Image by Olga