Trash2Treasure Tuesday // Repainted Bookcase

It has been a couple weeks since I last did a Trash2Treasure Tuesday, both because it has been so busy in the Melonas household and because we were working on several home improvement projects such as this one.

Many of you read my utter failure with trying to stain my bookcase. If you missed it, you can read it here. Well, I re-sanded it, primed it, and painted it. And I think that it turned out great! We originally bought this bookcase for $20 dollars. Now it is a decorative piece that is home to my husband’s seminary books!

This was the first piece of furniture that I have ever painted. Here are a few things that I learned about how to paint furniture:

• Paint with long strokes in the direction of the wood grain. 
• If you are going to stain, be sure to sand the piece very well so that you take off any finish or paint that is on there. Or simply start with a raw surface.
• I found it helpful to paint the hard to get places first. That way I did not mess them up or smudge the wide surfaces when I was painting the difficult spots.
• Choose a good paint. It just makes the job easier and you need less paint.

Now, if you are starting to get to know me at all on this blog, you know that I like to remind my readers of the theological perspective behind even the most ordinary things. As representatives of Christ, we know that our light is always shining even as we paint or stain. Here is the theological perspective on why I even do Trash2Treasure Tuesday.

For my husband and I, as a seminary student and a church secretary, it would be foolish for us to go out and buy a $200 bookcase (Although it would have been a lot simpler! And when I was wading in puddles of stain, it was quite tempting!) . But with $20, some paint, and some elbow grease, we can have something that looks nice and serves our purposes. The Lord has called believers to be good stewards of what He has given us. It is my hope and prayer that as we learn to be creative and attempt to be good stewards that we can be an encouragement to others to do the same!