The Family Room: New Black Painted & Styled Bookcases

Hi, Friends! I was about to wish y’all a Happy Monday, but it’s already Tuesday. Hope you all had a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend. We enjoyed having our oldest son home from college from Friday until late Monday. His girlfriend was home from college, as well, and our family mostly enjoyed hanging out at home, eating good meals, taking the Weimies to play at the lake, and then finishing our weekend with a family dinner at the charming and delicious Bourbon Street Grille in Wesley’s quaint little college town. I haven’t had a second to complete a project or write a blogpost about one, because frankly, this month has been really BUSY getting our younger sons ready for high school, and Wesley prepared for college. It’s been fun and crazy, and I thought I would be an emotional wreck with my oldest going away to college, but he has fallen right into the college life making new friends, washing his own clothes, and loving his new found independence. And, the best part- he’s less than 30 minutes from home! A win win!!  Ahh, to be in college again….

One project I have been intending on redoing is the bookcases in our family room. When we bought our house almost 13 years ago, they were builder’s white. Over the years, I have tried different paint finishes from a flat solid color to a faux leather ( you remember the faux painting and various technique kits that came in a box, with all the required materials enclosed?! ) I started with painting just the backs of them over the years, but then got adventurous and painted the shelves, too. 😉 Years ago, when I had custom red floral Waverly valances and curtain panels in the family room and adjoining kitchen eating nook, the faux leather looked ok. But about 5 years ago, we bought white slipcovered sofas for the family room, and I started incorporating more tan/greige neutrals like burlap and linen, as well as black and white buffalo check in this space. Last Fall, I painted the bookcases and doors with black homemade chalk paint, and then finished it with clear wax, but never took the time to repaint the ugly faux leather interior.

I really liked the look of the black bookcases, and one reason I did it was to disguise the TV.  I really wanted to line the bookcase backs with a beautiful grasscloth, or other pretty wallcovering , but until I decide for sure, for now I decided on paint. Here are a few of my inspiration photos from Pinterest: 

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There’s just something about solid black bookcases that I find luscious, elegant, and beautiful. So European, so chic.  I shared my inspiration photos with my faithful Instagram followers and they loved the look, too. Glossy or matte paint: that was the question I asked them. Many said glossy, and I have to agree that is a gorgeous look, but in the end, I decided on satin black in the blackest black Behr paint I could find. Satin was a happy in between for me. 

Here are a few of the “BEFORE” images ( before I knew better, I should add!! lol )

Left side

Right side ( sorry for the blurry image, but you get the general idea! )

I had to convince my hubby, Mark, that the Bose speakers ( no matter how “well” they work or what “excellent” quality they still are! ) were outdated and not the look I was seeking. He had them hooked up so that the sound was really good when we were watching movies, but we can replace them eventually with something smaller…maybe a sound bar?! Thank the good Lord for new improved technology!!

The black chalk paint with clear wax always looked streaky and dirty in this space. Black will show every speck of dust, but I realize that and am willing to deal with that, as long as the paint finish looks better. ( Ask me about that again in a few months….) 

 I painted both bookcases, 4 doors ( fronts only), and 7 shelves ( backs and fronts ) with 2 quarts of Behr Ultra paint with primer in a satin finish. ( keep in mind if you are painting over a light color, you may need more than this, but the built in primer works fantastic! ) I got the blackest black hue so that there would be no blue or green ( or other! ) hints or undertones in sight!

 

And now……the AFTER!! ( the much- needed-better-late-than-never-after, that is )

And a little freshening of the existing hardware……

….with Rub ‘n Buff in Antique Gold

Coral from Home Goods

 

Shell box from Home Goods

A Dana Gibson for Stroheim promotional fabric booklet used as artwork

Old turtle shell borrowed from my youngest son’s room

Don’t pay too close attention to the eclectic mix of book titles…I used what we had mostly, and added a few new books. Guess we have very different tastes in books in our family! Sci-fi + design + cooking + environmental + religious/self help + all kinds of fiction 🙂 

 It made such a  difference and changed the overall look of the room just by painting the backs and shelves all black, don’t you think?! I “shopped” our house for different items or used what we already had in the family room, for the most part. I wanted alot of the accents to be gold or brass, so I repainted the dark wood color pineapples on top of both bookcases with a bronze acrylic paint from the paint section of a craft store, Rub ‘n Buffed some other pieces, and painted the dog statues in “Raccoon Hollow,” by Benjamin Moore in Behr paint. ( leftover from my oldest son’s bedside tables ) I also added a few more books in various sizes that I bought at a thrift store and bought the coral and pretty little shell box at Home Goods. Paint + a few new accessories really updated the look . I continue to tweak things as I notice them on the shelves ( like balance and proportion)  but overall I’m happy with the look ! I think the TV blends in pretty well, but as I continue to make changes to this family room, I may eventually want a little bit larger TV mounted over the mantle. 

I start with a new client Thursday, so I’ll be busy with that for a while, but I have a few fabric changes in mind for the family room ( when I find the perfect ones )  🙂 I also can’t wait to share Wesley’s dorm room with y’all, when a  few products I’ve ordered come in and we get those installed. I’m really excited in particular about the artwork, I’ll just tell you that. It’s SO cool and perfect for a guy’s dorm room!

 Thanks for stopping by today, Friends. Have a great ( short! ) rest of the week :)!!