We are in the process of updating the playroom for our kiddos and that meant we had an extra, super cheap bookcase that we could either toss or have some fun with…and I decided to have some fun!
We started with this very basic, cheap, white bookcase from Wal-Mart. We purchased a couple of these for the kids’ playroom a few years ago and this was the lone survivor. It’s not a bad bookcase…but it’s $30 and you get what you pay for! Still, it was in decent shape and I hate throwing things away that can be tinkered with…plus my office is in desperate need for some big organizing love. So it was worth a shot!
I’m going to go step-by-step with what we did and what items we used to give this item it’s glow up and I’ll include the costs so you have an idea if this project is worth it for you!
First, we added basic crown molding to the top of the bookcase. I didn’t want anything too fancy and chose a fairly simple option from Home Depot for under $9.00. I wasn’t able to find the exact one on their website, but here is something fairly similar. As you can see, Chen was PUMPED about using his fancy saw to make 45 degree cuts…
We first connected the molding with basic wood glue and then finished off with some small finishing nails. We had a little extra left over, so we added it to the bottom as well. Just added a little flare!
While he worked on that, I worked on filling the holes on the sides of the bookcase with wood filler. This white wood filler only cost a little under $8.00 from Home Depot and was super simple to use. Once it dried, I sanded it down a little to make sure it remained flat.
Next, we added some feet. Please don’t tell Chen, but these little guys were basically $15 a piece. Definitely the most expensive portion of this project! I had a hard time finding these in Home Depot…but they are typically in the crown molding aisle! We connected them with heavy duty brackets that are a little under $4 each. Because this bookcase didn’t have a flat bottom, we had to add some scrap wood we had on hand so that brackets could attach.
I then painted them and the molding a basic white. The bookcase did not want to be painted…at all but honestly, it all blended fine!
Now I could have easily stopped here and everything would have been fine. But, of course, I did not stop here! The last thing I did was add this peel & stick wallpaper to the back to really give it a POP. I’ve used RoomMates wallpaper for a couple projects and it’s super simple to use. For this project, I went with their confetti print because it’s super fun.
Last thing was moving it to my office, bracing it to the wall, and getting my books and goodies in their new place!
This was a fairly simple project and I’m pretty happy with the end results! It made me happy to reuse something instead of buying something new…a touch sustainable, if you will! I am slowly making progress in my office and it will eventually be the perfect spot to work remotely, finish graduate degrees, and, of course, blog! 😉
A estimated breakdown of the costs of this project:
- Crown Molding from Home Depot: $9.00
- Table Feet From Home Depot: $15 x 4: $56
- Heavy Duty Brackets: $4 x4: $16
- Wood Filler from Home Depot: $8.00
- RoomMates Peel & Stick Wall Paper: $28
- We already had the bookcase, white paint, sandpaper, scrap wood, wood glue, and finishing nails.
So, I spent roughly $117.00.
Which could easily have been spent buying a brand new bookcase…but I’m still glad I got to repurpose instead of buy new!