Oh boy, have we had a busy few weeks! I need to update you on our herring bone project and I want to share my refinishing technique to make your own modern farmhouse bookshelf … but first I have to tell you about your little adventure! We took a last-minute trip to the beach and just returned a few days ago. It was a much-needed time of rest and family fun. We hadn’t been to the beach since October 2015 … before Harper was born! The kids thoroughly had a blast and were super excited when we surprised them with the news of our trip the morning of our departure!
Beach time!
The first day, Thursday, we arrived at the beach we ate a quick late lunch/ early dinner and hung out on the beach with the kids. My sister and family were with us as well. Little did we know the next two days would be RAINY. So glad we had a little time our first day to enjoy the beach.
Friday was super rainy and stormy, so we hung out at the condo we rented and played and tried to keep entertained. Saturday was raining again …but, while the kids were napping, we saw some light peaking through the clouds. We looked up the weather and it was going to be nice for a few hours!
So everyone woke up and headed to the beach about 2pm. We enjoyed fun for the afternoon/evening and were grateful to get some beach time!
Sunday came around and was our departure day, but we decided to do a morning beach outing before we left town. We stayed about two hours and headed back to the Atlanta area. It was a quick trip, but just perfect for littles. The rain wasn’t fun, but we made due and had a blast. I even let the kiddos jump in puddles since we were on vacation! Definitely can’t wait to go back again!
Herring Bone wall sneak peak!
As fun as the beach was, it’s really time I finish up my herring bone wall in my master. It is looking AMAZING! We grabbed our wood from Home Depot, cut it down into 2’ x 4” pieces and went to work. Laying the herring bone was tedious, but we did it in two days (with kid’s activities and toddler life in between).
We took about 45 minutes to cut all our wood pieces on a Thursday evening. Then on Friday, we laid the entire wall with full length pieces in the herring bone pattern. On Saturday, my husband finished up the wall himself with all the cuts to fill in the remainder of the wall.
As you can see, it’s looking rather gorgeous! Next, I need to prime and paint the wall. I decided on doing it solid white in the color of the trim. We’ll also frame it to give it nice clean edges.
The finished product will be showcased in my blog on April 26th … so be ready! Subscribe below so you don’t miss it!
Refinishing technique to create a modern farmhouse bookshelf!
In the meantime, as I’m updating the design in my master bedroom, I thought I’d tell you about a bookshelf in my bedroom that I refinished a few years ago. It started out as a plain wood piece a woodworker sold at a flea market. He built them so the new owners could take them and finish them. If I remember right, we paid $60 for it …. maybe $80, at most.
We brought the bookshelf home, and it needed some personality. I got my thinking cap on and decided to do a cotton white (from Sherwin Williams) on the outside with a gray gel stain on the inside. That combo seemed like it would look amazing and is the core to this refinishing technique to create your own modern farmhouse bookshelf!
Refinishing (really finishing) a bookshelf …
First, I wiped down the bookshelf really good and then used a sock to wipe on my General Finishes gray gel stain. It layered on very nicely! I did the entire inside of the bookshelf and all sides each individual shelf. Next, I wiped off any excess with an old t-shirt.
Gel stain works rather nice since it goes on quickly, with less mess than a liquid stain. Not to mention, General Finishes has several color varieties in their gel stain that are pretty cool! I really like their antique walnut as well!
Once I did the gray gel stain, I let the shelves dry and started priming the outside of the bookshelf. I layered on a nice coat of primer and was ready for the cotton white.
Foam rollers rock!
I ended up putting on four thin coats of cotton white with my foam roller. The foam roller rolls on the paint quickly and evenly. Each coat dried pretty quickly. As always, I used the surface paint version of Sherwin Williams paint for the outer case of the bookshelf.
Clearcoat to protect!
Now it was time to protect all the work I did! I used General Finishes Gel topcoat for the top of the bookshelves. I didn’t put any protectant coat on the inside of the bookshelf. Only the shelves (and the bottom of the inside since that acts as a shelf, too). I wiped on three coats with an old sock, with ample drying time in between each.
The outside of the bookshelf didn’t really need a clearcoat, and it’s been several years and is still in excellent shape. Choosing the right paint and properly cleaning and priming the surface helps a paint job last a long time, even without a clear coat to add protection. And this bookshelf has made it through two moves!
Once the clearcoat dried on the shelves, I placed them in the bookshelf and stood back to look at it. The color combination worked perfectly together and this is a piece that has fond memories for me. Not only was it the first bookshelf I finished, but I did it with hopes of a family in mind … and literally, a week after I finished it we found out we were chosen to be Harper’s parents and needed to run down to meet this stork drop baby.
If you build it, they will come …
My motto always was, and is … if you build it, they will come (like the movie!). I built a nursery, and she was here the day after I finished it. God’s timing is amazing!
Anyway, she was the original user of this bookshelf before I moved it to our master last summer. Now I use it to showcase a few framed pictures of my kids and some memories of doggies of mine that have passed on to rainbow bridge, as well as a few other knick-knacks.
And the technique of stain on the inside, paint on the outside really worked to create this modern farmhouse bookshelf!
What project do you have ready to refinish?
As you go about your day, whether looking at Facebook marketplace or an actual flea market or yard sale … stop in. You never know what type of piece you can get for a great price that you can refinish for your home!
Or perhaps you have a piece you need to refinish? Let me know in the comments below! And look for the herring bone accent all project reveal coming soon!
Be blessed!
