How To Paint Particleboard / Laminate Furniture

Remember these sturdy Broyhill bookcases I got on Craigslist for our schoolroom? Well, they were hiding a little secret....

While the front and the drawers were made out of real wood, the sides, shelves and backs were made out of what I like to call the fake stuff. Yup, there was particleboard all over the place!
After seeing this inspiring image....

I decided that painting those babies white and putting them on either side of the window was just the thing to do.  But what about the fake stuff?  I knew from the start that the paint job needed to be indestructible. It needed to withstand three boys and the constant friction of books and other school items for the next 15 years. ha! Yeah, I did NOT want chipping paint and since we were dealing with particleboard (laminated wood?) I decided to do a little research.  I combined the advice of different painting experts just to be on the safe side (I was scared remember :-) I bought what I needed and took the plunge.

Here they are after eight months of daily use, nary a scratch to be seen....

I was so impressed that I recently painted our dining room table using the same process even though it is made out of solid wood.  I did not even sand it beforehand!

Before

After

Here is the scoop on how I did it: 

First I cleaned the bookcases thoroughly with a damp cloth. I then applied two coats of this primer...

 

This oil based primer is key!  It allows you to prime without sanding or 'roughing up'  the particleboard beforehand.  The odor is strong so I only use it out in the garage with the door fully opened.  I would not use it indoors, especially if you have little ones running around. To apply the two coats of  primer I used a small foam roller similar to this one..

This primer dries quickly, in about 2 hours, but I waited 12 hours between coats as a precaution.  After all the priming was done I applied one coat of Olympic's Zero-voc, white, latex paint in semigloss.  It can be found at Lowes.

After the paint was fully cured I applied two coats of Varathane Floor Finish, waiting about 12 hours between coats. It was boiling hot and bone dry here in Texas when I worked on this project, so it took only three days for the paint to cure. If you try this project in a cool or humid climate you might want to wait a bit longer for the paint to dry.

I used the brand Varathane recommended by the talented Holly from  

Life in the Fun Lane . It has not yellowed the white paint yet and it is so easy to apply! I now coat all my painted pieces with it. 

 So with just a little elbow grease the bookcases, fake stuff and all, went from this..

to this...

and best of all they have withstood the test of time amazingly well!
I am more than happy to answer any questions in the comments section below so ask away.  If you want to see more of my makeovers go here or here or even here :) Happy painting everyone!

Linking up to Miss Mustard Seed.

Cheap Ikea Art Transformed!

Have you ever bought something even though your insides were screaming WRONG! for the space you had in mind?  I am usually a cautious shopper who thinks and rethinks every purchase but a trip to Ikea on Memorial Day (think throngs of shoppers, long lines, three boys and a Mr. who could think of a million more appealing things to do on a holiday etc.) found me at the front of the checkout line (finally!) with a cart full of Ribba frames and you guessed it, this piece of art, that I knew in my heart of hearts would be totally wrong for our home.  I stood there unsure of what to do as the cashier rung up the frames at lightning speed.  Just as he picked up the item in question I looked at the Mr., who, as if reading my doubt riddled mind, quickly mouthed in my direction "We can return it later.." and calmly proceeded to pay for the purchase. And just like that the deed was done and I became the reluctant owner of a cheap piece of art I knew not what to do with.

The nearest Ikea store is 45 min. away so it did not make sense to return it.  Since I really liked the overall size for the breakfast nook wall and the hanging hardware attached to the back was very sturdy, I decided not to throw it away and coated it with primer instead. After first coat....(I used two coats)

 I am really loving a quote by Albert Camus that really speaks to what our family has discovered while going through a difficult time in our lives (you can read more about that here).  I painted the whole board burnt yellow and used white acrylic paint for the lettering.  I first tried using a stencil but did not like the perfectly uniform look.  I wanted more of a free style so I lightly wrote out the letters myself in pencil and then painted over them with white acrylic paint.

I am by no means experienced when it comes to creating wall art so I was pleasantly surprised when it actually turned out to be something I wanted to display!

another angle...

If you want to see the print in living colah' watch the short video below.  My dear sister was visiting us from New Jersey and so the family gathered at my house for the weekend.  While reminiscing about our childhood my brother and sister decided to try a clapping game we loved as children .  Hilarious I tell you!  The print is in the background...

The primer I used was Olympic's No VOC Primer and the burnt yellow was a sample of Behr's Wild Bamboo with some brown acrylic paint I mixed in.  What items have you dramatically altered lately?
To check out our different makeovers with before and after pictures go here.

I am linking up to Boogie Board Cottage and C.R.A.F.T..  Please visit them for lots of inspiration!

Fireplace Makeover With Details and Before and After Pictures

Do you have a fireplace that is an outdated eyesore?  Here is how we updated ours without removing a single brick.

Before

 Before (realtor pic from our initial house walk through)

After

This project is a good alternative for those of you that desire to give your outdated fireplace a new look without all the mess that tearing it down brick by brick would create. My husband and I had never done a project like this before and neither one of us had any carpentry experience so if we were able to do it anyone can!

This post by The Lettered Cottage started the ideas swirling in my head. I drew some pictures and haphazardly :o) covered part of the fireplace with white cardboard so that my husband could kinda see what I wanted it to look like.

 

We ended up using..

about 10 furring strips
6' of Crown molding
6' of 3"x1" mdf
5' of 1"x 4" wood
liquid nails
6 concrete anchors
two 4' x 8' x 1/4 inch plywood luan (luan wood is a mid grade mahogany plywood)
lots of caulk
a bit of wood filler
a jig saw
a few carpenter clamps
primer
paint
and a drill
We began by attaching the furring strips to the brick facade with liquid nails (the painters tape was used to secure them to the brick while the adhesive dried)

 

Hubby also drilled two concrete anchors (pictured below) into the first and last of the furring strips for extra support.

While the adhesive dried hubby used the jigsaw to cut the 1/4 inch plywood luan facade that would be nailed onto the furring strips.

The facade he cut out was carefully nailed directly onto the furring strips.

 

The original fireplace mantle was made out of three sizes of pink brick that were stacked up on top of each other.  It was a pretty horrible sight...  

 

Creating a mantle without chiseling off the protruding brick shelf took lots of effort and I am very proud of hubby for doing such an amazing job. He started by attaching a 1"x 4" piece of wood to the bottom layer of mantel shelf bricks with two concrete anchors. He then attached a piece of crown molding to the second layer of  mantle shelf  bricks.  Lastly he attached a 3"x11" piece of mdf to the crown molding to cover the top layer of mantle shelf bricks.  The mantle that hubby ended up creating is very beautiful and was so inexpensive to make. Bingo! 

Hubby cut leftover pieces of wood into wedge shapes and used them to secure the crown molding to the mantel shelf brick. Hopefully the pictures below will help you better understand how it was all accomplished.:)

After the mantle was done we attached furring strips to the top half of the fireplace brick just like we had done to the bottom half. We cut the 1/4" inch wood luan and nailed it onto the furring strips.

 I then used wood filler on all the nail holes and caulking on all the edges.  I coated everything (except the inside of the firebox!) with Olympic's zero voc primer which provided fabulous coverage. I painted the area around the fireplace box with Olympics Flat latex Zero Voc paint in Black Magic and the rest of the fireplace in Cloud White (flat latex) a Benjamin Moore color. 

Before (on the day we moved in)

After

The inside of the firebox will be painted with black, heat resistant paint sometime before winter arrives :). You can find two more of our makeovers here and here. Please feel free to ask me any questions in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them.

Party Time! Please visit the following blogs for lots of inspiration

atthepicketfence   frenchcountrycottage thecharmofhome  houseofhepworths acreativeprincess, firefliesandjellybeans, aglimpseinside, fingerprintsonthefridge, chiconashoestringdecorating shabbynest,  mysimplehomelife, missmustardseed, addicted2decorating savvysouthernstyle.,  debbie-debbiedoos, dittledattle,

 between naps on the porch, hopestudios , The answer is chocolate

boogieboardcottage,  My Romantic Home,  Finding Fabulous for Less

                           

Making a Chalkboard For a Child's Room

This is what the boy's room looked like right before we moved in.

BEFORE

We painted the room Ash Mist in Olympic's No VOC paint and put in new flooring.  The room brightened instantly.  On one side I set up a spot for their toys and made a chalkboard to put on the wall.

AFTER 

 Making the chalkboard was quite simple really.  I already had a big picture frame that I bought at a garage sale for $5 and wanted to re-purpose so I decided to use it as the frame for the chalkboard.

To remove the backing and glass I first had to pull out many a staple from the wooden frame.  A simple little 5 in 1 tool hubby bought at the hardware store really made removing those staples a cinch.

 After removing the backing and glass I primed and painted the wooden frame.  The paint is Simply White by Benjamin Moore mixed in Olympics No VOC paint. While I was waiting for the paint to dry I took a piece of 1/4" plywood luan that I had leftover from our fireplace remodel and cut it down to size with a jigsaw (luan wood is a mid grade mahogany plywood). This was my first time using a power tool!  My boys watched wide eyed with wonder from a safe distance while I cut away.  The youngest exclaimed at the end of it all "You are the best mommy" with awe in his voice. The male fascination with power tools starts early I tell ya!

After cutting the luan plywood I painted it with chalkboard paint in the color 'Peapod'.  It was the perfect shade of green for their room and I was very pleased with the end result. This chalkboard paint is found at most large hardware stores and can be tinted in 12 different colors.

By the time I got to this stage my dear sister Stacy who lives in New Jersey (and blogs here ) arrived for a 2 week visit and helped me finish the project.  Here she is stapling the luan plywood directly onto the frame using a staple gun.

To hang the chalkboard on the wall we used this monkey hook that one of our local hardware store employees recommended. It was our first time using it and we were all quite impressed. It carries up to 75 lbs, is easy to use and makes only a tiny hole in the wall. My little brother hung the chalkboard for me, officially making this project a family affair during which much laughter was shared and many precious memories were made:).

Under the chalkboard are two trofast storage systems made of pine that I also painted Simply White.  Ikea sells the exact same frames in white but since those are laminate I was worried about sturdiness (3 boys!) and opted for the ones made out of wood instead. We have been using them for a year now and they are extremely sturdy.
Here are the trofast frames before I painted them. The boys were so excited that day to finally be able to organize all their toys in the different bins for the first time since our move! (the stools and the rug are are also from Ikea and can be found here and here )

 Before

 After 

I will be posting pictures of the other side of the room soon...
Checkout two more of our makeovers here and here.

Party Time! I am linked to the following  parties

A Creative Princess
Momnivores Dilemma

Type A Decorating

Tales From Bloggeritaville

sassysites.blogspot

notjustahousewife
creationsbykara
firefliesandjellybeans
fingerprintsonthefridge
The shabby nest