mammy harlequin romance shelf redo

My grandmother, Mammy, lived with us from the time I was 8 years old until she died at the end of my senior year of high school. She was a funny old lady who LOVED to gripe. Seriously. We all adored her, but she would pitch a fit in a New York minute….When you would tell Mammy that you loved her she always replied, “Thank you, darlin’ “…..Never I love you too….just one of Mammy’s things. Harlequin romances were another one of Mammy’s things…She loved them and had HUNDREDS of them. She had books and books and books and books and more books. My mama’s friends would come over and “check” them out from Mammy’s public library. When she moved in with us she had all these bookshelves built….There were 2 sets like mine and tons of other plain shelves without cabinets. They were custom built but inexpensive and finished in a light wood stain. Since those days it’s been a blue color and then the black shown in the picture below. It’s been in my kitchens, dining rooms, and bedrooms….Lastly it was in Hayden’s room gathering dust. Andrew and I decided it needed a makeover to a more substantial piece of furniture…..Here’s what we did:

Here she is before in all her glory….open back…..dull paint….boring doors…..

Andrew helped TONS with this project…..We LOVE to do projects together. He measured the doors and glued on cheap molding with Gorilla Glue….. Ignore that tacky hat on his cute head!

I filled in the holes with wood filler and sanded it after it dried. Try not to look at my old lady hands!

I used Behr’s antique white in a semi gloss finish. Believe it or not it only took 2 coats to cover all that dull black. I LOVE Behr paint! Here’s the top shelf removed with the first coat going on.

Insert lots of painting painting painting here…..

We bought 3 pieces of bead board from Home Depot for $9 a sheet. Andrew measured and attached it to the back of the shelves. Immediately it took on an entirely different look….. He matched the lines up PERFECTLY. I painted the bead board the same antique white after it was attached and touched up all the other areas.

And here is the after! Doesn’t she look amazing?!?!?! She fits perfectly in between my closet and bathroom doors. My only thought now it to glaze it with a brown glaze. What do you guys think? As is or add a little glaze??

We also added a piece of crown molding at the top to give it more interest. That $6 made TONS of impact. I liked the original hardware, so I just cleaned it up and reattached it.

Close up of the beadboard….

For all my childhood friends, what is that a picture of???

Close up of the door with new molding…..

Another before and after…..

I know we’ll enjoy this piece for many years to come…..Everytime I see it I remember my sweet Mammy and all those Harlequins that used to be stacked all over it!

Total Cost:

Shelf- free

Beadboard- $30

molding- $10

paint- $10

Not bad for $50 huh??