When we realised we were going to move, Ben mentioned that he was probably going to get rid of the bookshelf he had inherited from his parents when they moved a few years ago. I may have busted out the puppy dog eyes when he said that and walked over to give it a consoling pat. I liked that bookshelf, and we’d actually be able to use the trunk at the bottom now that Max’s record player wasn’t resting on the lid.
It was looking a bit sad, though. We hadn’t given it the best treatment, and said record player had left some scratches on the lid of the trunk, which were pretty obvious because of the stained finish. But I am a hoarder by nature, and I was going to have to give up my computer desk, so I claimed the bookshelf as my own. It’s nothing a coat of paint (or many coats, which is more likely) won’t fix. Or at least the paint will cover up the little things. I’ve decided painting it all white, with a bright teal-y colour on the back of the inside of each shelf (or maybe a different colour on each shelf?) is what I am going to try and accomplish.
The thing is though, that I’ve never done any of this kind of stuff. Either my parents would take over these things, or I just didn’t care enough to want to paint any of my furniture. Besides, my bookshelf at home came from The Reject Shop and was made of chipboard, so it’s not like painting it was going to make it look any better than it already was. So I’m kind of making this up as I go along. I mean, I read a few home improvement blogs, so it shouldn’t be that hard to extrapolate from what I’ve read these people do. I mean, it’s not rocket science, right? I figured I’d sand the thing back first. I was tempted to just pant the thing straight away because I am an instant gratification kind of person, but then I figured if I’m going to do this then I’d do it properly. It’s not like I have anything other than free time during the days anyway. So I went to Mitre 10, got absolutely no help from the people working there, grabbed some sandpaper in varying degrees of coarseness, and today decided to get to work. So far I’ve sanded the back of the thing and the sides, and my arm hurts. Also there is dust everywhere and I probably should have gotten a mask to wear so I didn’t inhale it as much as I have now. Ah well, hindsight is 20/20, no use dwelling on the past and all those clichés.
Scout has been very unimpressed by the noise and mess of the sanding and subsequent vacuuming of the dust. She has been sleeping/hiding behind the boxes I put on the bed “just for the moment” and giving me sneaky glares when I look over at her. I worry about how she’s going to deal when I start painting. Hopefully she doesn’t try and walk on it, because it would be just my luck to have to explain paint tracked on the carpet.
So yes, I am on my way to being a person who actually makes things how I want them to be, rather than dealing with it our of fear that I’m going to mess things up. After this I want to repaint the big white cabinet and give it some punches of colour like the bookshelf, and also paint my new computer desk and cover the laminated chipboard parts with material. One day we might even go get some proper wood to replace those bits. For ages I have had the mindset that I don’t want to make changes to the furniture we have, or buy certain things, because we’re renting and it might not fit in when we inevitably move to a new place. But recently I realised how defeatist that attitude is, when it should be that big a deal. I should be seizing the moment rather than regretting giving away something because I didn’t like its colour or buying something I didn’t love because it was a safe choice. Life is too short for living in the middle ground.
I just went and looked at the main blog I read and they had a post specifically about painting furniture and what to do. It seems my sandpaper is a bit too fine, but I don’t know if it will make that much difference, really. I just didn’t realise there were so many steps in the process! Sanding, then primer, then paint (thin coats! lots of them!), perhaps some sort of sealant for extra protection, and leaving it for ages just in case before putting the stuff back on the shelves. It’s going to take forever! I probably should have looked at that first, huh? I’ll make sure to do a proper before and after post when it’s all done so I can show off my new skills, I promise.