Mid-Century Makeover - Janice's Bookshelf

I’m nearing the mid-century mark.

Well, in 7 years, but still – that’s closer than I was yesterday.

So I’m wondering, when furniture is labelled as “mid-century” – is it really from the 1950’s – or is it from anytime prior to 2000, because if I had to guess, I’d say that Janice’s bookshelf has more of a 1970’s vibe going.

The entire unit was done in the yellow pine you see in the top cube and on the legs, but Janice took a stab at refinishing it herself…. and then dropped it at my place to finish up.

She did a great job, but missed a couple of what I deem imperative steps – being sanding and priming.

I had to take a step back on this bookshelf and sand out the top cube down to bare wood, and then re-stain and varnish it.

For the body, I felt it was important to add that ever-so-important step of priming the unit and lightly sanding afterwards to build a strong, long-lasting base.

From there it was just a matter of adding a bit of varnish to the stained section and a couple coats of paint to the remainder and voila!

The stain is a tad darker than the original, and once you’ve added a couple of coats of paint, the green came up slightly darker.

Janice provided the paints for the bookshelf, and it was something I’d never tried before – a mineral paint, which worked much like a chalk paint. Because of this chalky-type finish, and because this bookshelf would likely get scuffed over time, I decided to add a coat of wax to all of the surfaces to protect it.

This is my first three-tone piece and I think it’s absolutely gorgeous!

Janice, you are a true colour genius! I would never have done this on my own – but now I want to paint and stain everything in three shades of wonderful!