Bookshelf help

[Gabrielle C]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="69"] Ugly particle board bookshelf[/caption]

Hello Everyone,

I am inspired by the new dorm room makeovers and I was wondering if anyone had experience with a DIY with this particle board shelf. It’s terribly ugly, but I am a graduate student and can’t afford much else. I bought this on Craig’s list for $15 and was thinking of adding trim and possibly repainting it. The goal is to spend less than $15.

Let me know your particle board advice!

Thank you!

[Mr. Kate]

Hey Gabrielle!

Shelfs can be tricky, but where there’s a will, there’s a DIY solution!!

I’m not sure if you’ve seen Upcycl’d but I made over an old wicker bookshelf into a black and white colorblocked floral wonder. Maybe you could do some colorblocking like that with your shelf to bring some personality in!!

Another option is just painting the shelf, adding trim, or leaving it as is and composing what you put on it into a really awesome vignette! I know that you need your shelves to be functional, but with one or two cute decorative items and some sweet styling, it will really look special!

For your inspiration, I have a video on vignettes here and a blog post about how to style shelves (with some of my favorite pieces to shop) here!

I hope this is helpful! Let me know how it comes out!

 

XOXO,

Kate

[Greta Gatzke-Phillips]

I absolutely loved the dorm room makeovers too (and I’ve been out of college for awhile!). I think painting it is a great idea, or if you’re handy with decoupage, you could do a treatment on the top (or all over – I’ve seen a few ideas on Pinterest that look AMAZING). I also like the look of doing a bold color in the interior, and leaving the trim and sides simple.

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