Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Paint The Back Of Your Built In Bookcases

We’re back with the after pics of our freshly painted built-ins. As we mentioned in the last post, we went with an inky blue color with hints of green called Dragonfly from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line (color matched to Lowe’s No-VOC Olympic paint for the bambino). We only needed a quart, and since we used objects that we already owned on the shelves this entire built-in makeover only ran us $10.97. You can read more about how we planned the shelf placement here. Oh and here’s a poorly lit progress pic from last night, just for fun. Yes John’s shirt does say “Talk Nerdy To Me” on the back. I love it.

Painted Bookshelves0

But here’s what you really care about. The bookcases all painted! Picture us twiddling our thumbs while we waited for them to fully dry so we could put the shelves back on and load them up.

Painted Built Ins1

Of course by then it wasn’t as bright in our north facing room (hence the slight color variation from the last pic) but we LOVE it. It’s bold and high contrast and nothing that we would’ve have the guts to do in our last house.

Painted Built Ins2

We’re enamored with the color because it’s super moody and it reads as greener or bluer or darker or lighter depending on the time of day and the angle that you glance at it.

Painted Built Ins4

And of course all of my white ceramic animals (and other not-kid-friendly-so-I’m-glad-they-fit-up-there treasures) really pop against the saturated background color (which also makes the cabinets look crisper and whiter by comparison).

Painted Built Ins5

These two pics are probably the most true to life when it comes to the color (but of course how you see them really depends on your monitor):

Painted Built Ins6

Painted Built Ins7

Mr. Rhino (and his ceramic twin on the other side) likey. And we do too. Especially for under $11. In fact we love the color so much that we plan to work it into other parts of the house when we can (you know, to try to keep our whole house color scheme cohesive but not too “yawn”). We’re thinking it might be the perfect color for the base of the future island that we’d love to someday add to our kitchen – and would even work on a bathroom vanity. Should be fun…

Psst- Learn how we made those two fabric covered boxes on the right side of the shelf here.

Comments

  3. meaghan says

    love.that.color! feeling inspired…. I just told my husband that every post you write interests me. Don’t know how you do it!

    Reply

  4. Megan Ray says

    Gorgeous gorgeous color!
    If I were to paint one wall that color (an accent wall) what do you think would be some good color options for the remaining walls?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      White or soft silvery gray look really nice with it. You could probably do something super soft with more color like liiight gray-blue or celery. Just nothing too bright that might compete. Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  8. Jessie says

    Wow. Amazing job, you two! Where did you get those ceramic…swirly thingies above the doorway? I love them! And they seem like they were made for that spot!

    Reply

  9. 'Stasia says

    Beautiful job. I like your selection. We used this exact color in our teeny, tiny DC-kitchen. The color really pops against the white (painted) cabinets.

    Reply

  10. paige renee says

    I love the way this color looks in the built-ins. We have a small built-in that I would love to paint the back of – now I might have to try a similar color. I never would have thought to go as dark, but it looks great! :)

    Reply

  15. Lindsay says

    I absolutely love the color! Looks gorgeous and daring. I just started reading your blog a few weeks ago, and I love it,thanks for all the amazing ideas!

    Reply

  16. glo says

    You two are amazing! Sometime look at the Behr color “Cup of Cocoa” (my walls in fam room). What darker color would be good for the back of my white built-ins, similar to yours?
    Also,did John use enamel? Did he have to prime it first?
    Thanks,
    glo

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Glo,

      We just used regular latex paint (in a satin finish)- no priming necessary, but it did take us the regular two coats that we usually apply everywhere for an even finish. As for a darker color for you, I would just slide a few shades lighter on the color swatch or the color swatch wall at the store for something that should coordinate beautifully! Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  17. Kate says

    Hooray!! You guys figured out the threaded posts! I had already convinced my web dev bf to come to your rescue if no other nice peeps could figure it out. :) The new threads will save me much scrolling!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Kate,

      You’re so sweet to notice! Sadly it didn’t work so we had to scrap it. We’re trying desperately to get threaded comments to work in combination with paged comments but things keep crashing or not loading since we get so many contest comments. It’s a sad morning ’cause we went to bed thinking we had solved it and had to undo everything this morning. Wop wop.

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Harinee,

      You’re so sweet to notice! Sadly it didn’t work so we had to scrap it. We’re trying desperately to get threaded comments to work in combination with paged comments but things keep crashing or not loading since we get so many contest comments. It’s a sad morning ’cause we went to bed thinking we had solved it and had to undo everything this morning. Wop wop.

      xo,
      s

  24. Meghan, UK says

    The colour is fantastic – well done for stepping out of the comfort zone and trying something new, it really emphasises your ceramics beautifully!

    Reply

  27. Anita says

    Hey John,

    What finish did you use with the paint? flat, semi-gloss? We painted our hallway a bright teal in semi-gloss and sometimes it’s overwhelming.

    Reply

  30. Lori says

    I loooove the new color! I have the opposite issue with my shelving. It is a dark stain and I like it that way, but I would like to lighten up the back of the shelves. Have you ever used grasscloth on furniture? I have an extra roll that was used in our dining room and I think it would look really good, but I am not quite sure how to put it up? Thoughts?

    Lori

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Lori,

      We haven’t personally tackled that yet so we don’t have any advice other than it sounds like an amazing solution and maybe you could google around or even ask your local home improvement experts what they recommend. If you don’t want it to be permanent maybe you can wallpaper a thin piece of wood or even cardboard or foam core that you slip into the bookcase to create a new lighter “false back.” Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  33. Brandi @ GiveSomeHAPPY says

    Brilliant! When you think about it, you’ve made such a small change but the outcome is really quite dramatic. Love the color choice, beautiful.

    P.S. Sherry – I experience the same thing with my husband all the time, I stare at something forever and he walks over (takes literally seconds) and poof – it’s solved. :/ Gotta love it. John – Great idea removing those shelves.

    Reply

  34. annabelvita says

    This is a very tenuous question, but as I can see your desk through the archway I’m going to ask anyway… how are you getting on with your wireless printer? Can you print straight from camera with the eye-fi, or do you go via your computer?
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Annabelvita,

      We love our wireless printer! We print from the computer just because we edit things in photoshop (crop them, adjust the size, etc) before printing but it’s a pretty easy process. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  35. Vanessa says

    Oh I love the darker color!!! I thought I wouldn’t like it, but I do!! I love all the decorative pieces you have strategically placed in the built in!! Great job!

    Reply

  37. Julia (PawleysIslandPosh) says

    Hey! I love the newly painted built-ins! It makes me want to do something bold in my house.

    I’ve been searching for a rug for my sister’s new house and came across this navy and white one and immediately thought of y’all.
    Here’s the link, http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/the-american-home-rug-company-kinetic/beige/265AT077BGIY-36056.html
    It’s super cheap which I knew you’d like.
    Anyway, not sure if you’re looking for any new rugs or if you’ll like this one but thought I’d pass it along just in case!

    Reply

  39. Jessica Z. says

    Ooh, I love it! Makes me take another look at our built-ins and how we can make them more interesting . . . and also to consider a shade of blue somewhere in the house (we’ve stuck with a green/brown/greyish-tan/white color scheme so far).

    I’ve got a question about something you mentioned in the first post about the built-ins. You said you were thinking of baby-proofing the lower cabinets to keep sweet Clara (and certain items) safe. We will also need to tackle this in the next month or two to be ready when our little girl is mobile. We’d like to keep it stylish/unobtrusive (if that’s even possible). If anyone had suggestions, I figured it would be you guys! Is this a Babycenter post you’ve got planned? I’m sure you’d have lots of interested people since so many young parents follow you guys. Thanks for any suggestions you have!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Jessica,

      When we start the baby-proofing we’ll definitely be blogging about it! We just learn and share as we go, so we’ll be sure to do that when it comes to making the house safe for soon-to-be-mobile Clara!

      xo,
      s

  40. Laura Miller says

    Hi! I’m curious what you would have put in your built-ins if they were at a kid heigth? I have some at my house that are from the floor to about 5 feet high with 3 shelvs on oneside of our living room walk thru and then a ledge that is open to the ceiling. We have kids that are 2 and 8 months, so anything breakable or of value is out of the question and I don’t want it to be a display for their toys either, because we have a play room for those and the shelves are in direct sight of the front door too. I’m stumped! And should I paint the back of them too? Thanks!
    Laura

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Laura,

      It definitely depends on how touchy the kiddos are (we hear that some will throw things so they’re dangerous even if they’re not breakable while others might just paw stuff without taking it down and chucking it) but maybe just going for things like a wooden bowl full of round woven orbs (they sell those at Target) or a few decorative lacquered boxes or woven baskets (full of storage), pretty patterned fabric bins (sort of like the two square patterned fabric covered vases on the right side of our shelves) would be nice too. Maybe just walk around stores like HomeGoods, TJ Maxx and Target to see what decorative objects aren’t made of glass and go from there? Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  43. Katie says

    I’ve always loved a bit bolder of a color pallet so I am really enjoying your move toward trying more colorful punches. This really looks just stunning. Well done.

    Reply

  44. KBD says

    LOVE THIS! Looks so fresh and modern, yet very homey. I have been stalking your site daily to see the changes to your new home. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  45. LKS says

    I LOVE the color – it looks fantastic with your ceramic animals!

    My husband and I are about to embark on some major painting projects and would love to learn your technique for cutting in. We have tried taping but sometimes get slightly uneven lines (perhaps we just aren’t taping evenly enough or pulling it off too late) and have tried some edging gadgets that didn’t give very clean lines. I know you’ve mentioned your favorite tools for cutting in, but I’d love to hear about your acutal technique for getting nice straight lines.

    Love your blog and look forward to seeing how your new home progresses. Thanks :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey LKS,

      If you’re not having much luck freehanding things with a short handled brush, we definitely recommend Frog Tape. It’s green, and it’s a lot more bleed-proof than regular old painter’s tape. Of course it comes down to how straight you apply it, but if you take your time you can have near perfect results! Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  47. Dana says

    Wow, this is an example of a color I would love on a sample card but wouldn’t dare put on my walls. It looks really really beautiful, and goes great with your breakables…. but my favorite still has to be the mustache above the door. :)

    Reply

  49. Carrie says

    Gorgeous! Totally worth the risk. :) You’re definitely inspiring me to step outside my decor safety zone as well.

    Reply

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