sueb20, here are some pictures of the room - they're from a few years ago because the room is pretty dismantled to get ready for painting. (We're changing the white walls to a light mocha color.) The first is from the entry (at Christmas time), the next from the dining room. The curtains will most likely be replaced, not sure with what yet. Overall, I think we like a light feel, but with a lot of warmth. Does that make sense? We're also pretty casual people. I'm somewhat willing to experiment with these bookcases. They were inexpensive when we got them almost 20 years ago from an oak/office furniture store (think 80's waterbed!). Thanks again!

Select your lights quickly because the top fascia board must be large enough to support the backplate of the lights. Don't forget the lights need to extend far enough to light the face of the book shelves.

I use a damp rag rather than tack cloth. Brushes should be washed and keep for a good long time. Primer and paint are costly. You'll only need a single sheet of sandpaper for the job if wood is in good shape. I painted 30 year old oil finished oak plywood bookcases last year and am delighted with the results. A lot of coats and a lot of sanding but it's easy work as primer, paint and poly all dry very quickly and there weren't any tricky areas. Scrub them clean, sand lightly to knock down any rough areas and wipe off the dust, prime with the correct product which depends on what you are covering and sand/wipe again, paint with matte/flat paint 1-2 coats and sand very lightly then use a wipe on polyurathane. Do several coats of the poly sanding with 400 grit sandpaper and wiping down between coats. No tackiness [blocking] when you do this. It's the semi gloss and above that block. Satin and flat/matte don't do it as much apparently. I did satin on the kitchen cabinets and no blocking there either. Have to agree though. Wait and see if you want to do this in the new place. Maybe dark will work better. I was very happy with the way the book spine colors pop against the light gray paint I used though. And no blocking at all!

Actually Marcella, while I so appreciate your comments I think you’re not seeing accurate colors and that is throwing you. The sofa is cobalt blue and the pillows add a splash of color to lift the dark cobalt. The chairs are a very soft almost sea foam blue green and the footstool, while a bit large perhaps, came with the chairs and had the same greenish blue in the paisley. It also adds additional seating. As I said in my previous posts, we intend to swap the chairs for smaller yellow barrel chairs that swivel. The great thing about the painting is that it has so many colors in it that it allows for a very colorful palette throughout the room. Everyone who comes in raves about the use of color and the space feels very cheery in person. I was really only looking for feedback on the balance of the shelves and I think by bringing in a white or light stained oval table and new more colorful chairs we will be able to bring the color throughout the room to balance the colors from the shelves better. Also, the painting on the fireplace does not work behind the table - we need to allow space for people to sit close to the wall which is why we’ve had to hang the other painting a bit higher. We don’t want heads hitting it and it’s really too big for that space. The living area is very bright and cheery and the painting over the fireplace works - you’ll all just have to trust me on that one. The colors of the kitchen and living area are very compatible. We just to need brighten up the dining space a bit to pull it all together. I also put the large Italian vase with sunflowers on a small table next to the fireplace and can already see that putting the right objet d’art there will provide the balance I was looking for. I’m out of town but will post better photos of more of the space later in the week when I return.