Decorative Domingo: The Bookcase

So, many years ago, I lived in Alexandria, Virginia, in a small apartment that I actually rather liked---as far as apartments went, it was a pretty decent one. But, as a rather bookish girl, I needed a bookshelf. Badly. As a rather broke girl, I needed it to be CHEAP.

Before. Obviously, I remembered to take the photo halfway into clearing off books.

I bought this piece-of-crap bookcase from Staples, for very little and free shipping to boot. I never loved it. But it was functional. And it came with me (ahem, us) to the DC condo, then the Bethesda apartment while chez Hofmann was being built, and then actual chez Hofmann, where it was a bit of a decorative thorn in my side for another 5 years.

After repainting the cabinet and Charlotte's dresser, I felt ready to tackle the bookcase.

I painted the cheapo particle board at the back of the bookcase with the same coral color we used to (re)paint the office. Literally, with leftover paint from the office. I definitely don't recommend latex paint for furniture, especially for something that needs to withstand objects (e.g., books) being set on it, as it is waaaay too soft of paint. But as background for the books, it worked fine.

Next, I once again opted for the Martha Stewart vintage paint. I had planned to paint it fully white and then distress it. But as I applied the paint, I felt like I was getting a good distressed look already . . . why do the extra work? So, I didn't. After the paint cured, I rubbed on a satin-slash-velvet finish to soften the the feel of the painted wood and provide some extra protection.

Once THAT cured, I was ready to put the shelves back into the bookshelf---something I was anxious to do, because the mess of shelves and stacks of books in my bedroom was making me bat-crap crazy. So, I put the pegs in place and prepared to slide in the first shelf . . . and . . .  nothing. Between the new layers of paint and sealer, plus the loss of the slippery varnish of the original, I couldn't push the shelf in. It was too tight.

Oh, hell no. I had come too far! As Emma observed me with some beagle concern, I fetched a hammer. These shelves MUST go in. And sure, I had to bang and swear and scare the dog even more, but I finally got all the shelves in. As you can imagine, some paint touch-up was required.

Next, I got the books on the shelf. I'm happy to report that several weeks later, the paint job is holding up fabulously.

After.

I'm sure there are those who'd argue that the original dark wood-like bookshelf looked better than my craft project. Well, whatever. This bookshelf sits in the sitting area of our bedroom. We have So Much dark wood furniture, and I wanted something lighter and not so freaking matchy matchy. The lime green chair (MOMMY'S GREEN CHAIR, we call it at our house) helps undercut this dark brown matchy-matchiness tremendously, but I wanted the bookshelf to be DIFFERENT. And it is. It has some country flair yet ties in the coral orange that I have sprinkled throughout our bedroom here and there. I no longer cringe when I see the bookshelf, and all it cost me was some time, $11 for paint and finish (coupons, people, COUPONS!), and possibly some therapy for the dog.

Okay, book time. I happen to work down the street from a large public library. Because its children's section is about 10 times larger than the children's section of our small town's library (but still within the same county system), I often peruse the shelves there for books for the girls. Yes, I can order any books in the library system to be delivered to my local library, but I have to know the book exists first.

In the publishing biz, we call this discoverability. But really, sometimes just a simple bookshelf is all you need to discover something awesome.

So, on my lunch hour, I found some books I knew my girls would like. The first is the The Baby That Roared, which I read to Lorelei that very night and she loved it. She's going through a monster phase, possibly because she loves to roar (what?), and this one has loud noises and a predictable pattern that delights the young.

Charlotte, meanwhile, has been going through a slug phase. Yes, a SLUG phase. Charming. Each morning, the little girl across the street and Charlotte count how many slugs they can find in front of our house. So, when I stumbled across Slugs in Love, I knew it would be a winner. I was right.

 What is Mama reading? I'm still working on my Jeffersonian books--The Women Jefferson Loved and his Notes on the State of Virginia. In the meantime, though, I read Longbourn, which is a delightful, non-crappy piece of fan fiction, taking on the servants' perspectives from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I loved how it showed the gritty reality of the time period (Elizabeth Bennett used a chamber pot, y'all) and the amount of WORK required to keep things clean and people fed sans dishwasher or washing machine or Viking range. The writing is strong and compelling. I loved it.

I also finished Sarah Waters's The Paying Guests.  Clocking in a just under 600 pages, it takes some time to read and I think some editing in certain parts could've tighten it in the second half. Still, I looooved Waters's The Little Stranger---more than this novel, I think, but The Paying Guests is still very much worth reading.