need ideas for painting bookcases

14 years ago

Now that my rooms are finally getting fresh paint, the domino effect has begun...

My office has a couple of sturdy, utilitarian pine bookcases (4 ft. and 6 ft. tall). One has a light stain, the other none. They are rather homely, but I don't want to spend money replacing them. I don't think they're worth restaining (knots!), but I think they would benefit from being painted. That's where I could use some input.

My walls are BM Palace White (rich ivory). I don't think I want to paint the bookcases black. Should I go with wall color? Trim (warm white)? An accent color in the interior of the bookcase? Or something wild/random?

This is my office, a room that really doesn't get much traffic, so I'm not so much looking for a design statement, but to please myself.

So, bookcases stand out from creamy neutral walls? Or blend into the walls?

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Comments (3)

oceanna
14 years ago
A picture would really help us give you a good answer.

Just based on this tiny amount of information, I'd glue some of that narrow wood (or what is it made of?) trim that looks like rope up the front side edges. Then if there's a place for it, I'd glue some type of wood medallion or fancy trim to the top center. Then I'd sand the rest lightly, fill in the knot holes, prime it and paint it.

Hard to say what color without seeing your room or knowing your taste. One choice would be to paint it white and do some cute fabric or wallpaper on the inside back of the shelves. Another choice would be to introduce a jewel tone, like bright red, green, or blue. Of course, with any color you use, you can do a cute colored or patterned back. You can paint the inside back of the wood. OR you could cut a piece of matt board to fit the opening and decorate it one color/pattern on one side (winter?) and another on the other side (summer?). That way when you get bored you could change it. I recently did a whole thread on that... see this link...

Here is a link that might be useful: Pretty cabinet insides
Bunny
Original Author
14 years ago
Oceanna, thanks SOOOO much for your reply and including the link to the Pretty Cabinet Insides thread. From there I hopped over to the blog about the kitchen cabinet redo (red cabs). What a transformation!

I didn't really give enough info at this point, but the pictures in the PCI thread gave me some good ideas: 1) paint the entire bookcase the color of the walls; 2) make the inner back a different color/pattern; 3) keep the back wall color and paint the frame/shelves something different.

I think a lot has to do with how much you want to show off what's on the shelves. In my case, the shelves are laden with packs of DVDs, computer books, inkjet replacement cartridges, craft supplies, binders full of how-to projects. Not intrinsically pretty stuff, but that's what the room's for and it works for me to have it all out in the open and accessible.

I love your idea of painting some matt board for the interior to make it more easily changeable.

Also, the rope trim would make a huge difference. Any idea what it's officially called?
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Actually, if you take the back of for the panels, you could do the back in a painted finish and introduce a color there. Copper would darken over time and eventually could patina if it is not treated to prevent it. Copper and brass are often coated with a lacquer when the finish is intended to be preserved. You could probably just spray the panels with a clear polyurethane in the finish you want (gloss, satin or matte) if you want to preserve the as they are. You see tin ceiling tiles painted -- you could also do that in a color -- distress them if that look works with your room. Hybrid idea -- take the panels glaze them to age them (metal showing with some paint or stain coloring where the paint distressed would be mostly paint showing with a bit of exposed metal) , then coat them to preserve.
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To protect the resale value of your home (and just because it would likely be easier and less costly if you're doing this as a DIY project), you might cover the mirror rather than ripping it out. The mirror can become your family's buried treasure. s/ You'd first need to add a wider board atop your mantel to make it several inches deeper. Then add vertical boards on each side of the mirror and at the outer edge of the area above the mantel. Once you do this, you can add a new wall covering the mirror or create a door that doesn't look like a door -- one that looks like a wall. If you use wood above your mantel, you could also use wood with the same finish to create a pair of doors to cover your bookcases in a way that they don't look like doors -- doors that look like a part of the wall but hide hidden storage. You can hang art of your choosing on the doors that look like a wall.
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I might consider instead painting the cabinets the wall color. the wall color is also part of the trim around the fireplace and so to me instead of adding another color I would paint the same. also I would also try the tv placement on the right side too because of the curved wall on the left side. I would probably paint the mantel that color too. again, the trim around the fireplace to me dictates to use that color. there's a lot going on so painting it all one color helps relax the busyness. I would put a tall vase with a large floral arrangement or stems of some kind on the left side where the curve is.
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suero
14 years ago
Search for "rope moulding" or "rope molding"

need ideas for painting bookcases

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oceanna

Bunny
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need ideas for painting bookcases

Comments (3)

oceanna

BunnyOriginal Author

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suero

COMPANY

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CONNECT WITH US

Bunny
Original Author