How to Makeover an Oak Bookshelf

Some of you may have seen my recent video on styling my husband’s office bookshelves. What you may not have seen, is the “before”. Like all of the wood in our 1988 contemporary style home, they were the very popular “golden oak.” a total makeover. Well, as much of a makeover that we can do with no income. Fortunately, I have A LOT of paint. Painting is where we started.

I still had paint leftover from when we painted our living room 7 years ago. The living room walls are painted dark gray with white trim. I decided to do just the opposite in this room. I love the contrast.

Tools for Painting Furniture

I know a lot of people buy special paint, only buy such and such brand of brushes, go through several steps, etc, etc, but I don’t. Call me lazy, call me cheap, call me whatever, but it works.

This is what I used. Plus the can of eggshell, latex wall paint I already had. I think you can see the gallon sitting on the bottom shelf in the first picture. Oh, and I used a small roller and trim brush.

First Steps

I removed everything from the shelves, cleaned them, then painted them. I let the first coat dry overnight. Then I took my above-pictured sanding block and lightly sanded the shelves. I like the longer, fine block. Grabbed a damp rag, and wiped off all of the dust left behind. Then I did a second coat. Let dry overnight, sanded, wiped.

Yes, that’s all that I did. Well, then I added a little more character to them after Howard put his things back on the shelves.

I wish that I would have gotten better “before” pictures for you. Honestly though, it never really occurred to me that this could even be a “how-to” blog. When I started telling friends and family that I painted these built-ins, I can’t tell you how many people asked how I did it. If you can paint a wall, you can paint anything.

Wise Owl Products

My grandma painted her furniture to match her decor all of the time. Her home was always stunning. I carry a fantastic paint line in my online shop. I came across Wise Owl paint and products and fell in love. I’ve had some friends use it over the years and I finally took the plunge. I must say, I’ve never looked back! Wise Owl has completely changed our painting game for the better! See some of my more recent blogs for more info. You can check out everything we have from them in our online shop right here. Please let us know if you have any questions about the paint, products, or brushes! The One Hour Enamel Paint is great for a project like this and the furniture salve is wonderful for using inside drawers.