Why Buy New Furniture, Repurpose What You Have

My daughter decided she wanted her room completely redone....and of course any opportunity I have to change or update something I am all over it. I let her choose her room color which ended up being Hot Pink. Then I told her to pick one thing from Hobby Lobby and we would design her room based on that. As hard as it was for her to pick ONLY one thing (she loves Hobby Lobby as much as I do) she went with a black metal horse drawn carriage wall hanging coat hanger. Nice taste for a 4 year old :) She has a ton of stuffed animals and little Hello Kitties and I really wanted her to have a place for them. So I found short bookcase shelf that I had in my office and thought this would be perfect only if it was black. We decided to save money and not buy something new. Instead we changed the color. We got a can of primer (depending on the size of your project the can size will vary) sand paper, paint brush, small paint roller, can of desired paint color and I used an acrylic paint sealer to finish it.

 First thing to do is use sand paper to remove the smooth surface but not enough to take off laminate or you will have uneven paint.  Just enough for it to be dull.  Take a towel and wipe it down to remove any dust from sanding.  (lol my daughter is in the background trying to be apart of the picture...she is so silly <3)


Using a paint brush paint two coats of primer making sure to get any drips or runny primer.  If you happen to notice it later than remove with a razor blade and re primer. Make sure to remove shelves before priming.  I let the primer sit for 24 hours each coat to let it cure.  This way it wouldnt scratch of to easily.   Then I used the small paint roller and added two coats of color.  The roller helps give it a thick layer and covers better.  If you want more of a wash look or vintage than you would use a paint brush.  Try to be careful when painting over the peg holes.  Too much paint will make it hard to insert peg or even at all.

After the paint set I used Acrylic Paint laqucer (already had it at home) and sprayed the shelf outside and it dries quickly.  The smell is strong so be sure to let it air out before you add items to it. When putting shelves back in you may scratch the shelf, if this happens do a quick touch up. Below is our finished product and we were very happy with it.  It offered alot of space and fit perfect in her room :)