Yesterday afternoon, this bookcase in my front room became the victim of my office transformation.  It was black, plain, and looked like this.

This bookcase was given to me by and old friend and was brown when I received it.  I of course had to paint it, because let’s face it—-if paint were healthy, I’d drink it!

After careful consideration, I chose Paris Grey Annie Sloane Chalk Paint and went to town. It took a good two coats to cover over the black, but because this miracle paint didn’t require priming, it went pretty quickly.

I went to my paint cupboards and found an existing yellow that matched perfectly with my new pillows, and decided that it would be the perfect color to paint the back wall of the bookcase.

Because of it’s light color, it too needed 2 full coats to cover up the black.

Then I traced a stencil onto the back wall that I got from here. Emily gives you her template and everything, as well as a great tutorial for this project. After tracing it on the back wall over the yellow, I was ready to paint.

I chose a Martha Stewart Living Metallic Paint in Thundercloud from Home Depot.

This is how it looks in the process. I wasn’t too finicky about having it look too perfect because ultimately it will be covered by books, pictures, and other accoutrement and will simply fade into the background.

This is after I’ve staged it with my office paraphernalia.

It will look fantastic in the same room with my new pillows!

I’m loving the cooler colors. It seems to cheer the entire room.

Cost of this transformation—$0

(I guarantee that you too have projects just waiting to happen, and they don’t need to cost a thing!)

I made it to the fabric store yesterday.  Why do fabrics and textiles make me giddy with excitement??

Stay tuned for the upcoming projects that will utilize these fun new textural and bold fabrics.