Practice gratitude, and as always - see the potential.
It's also ok to mutter under your breath about the weight of that potential when you decide to pick up this shelf and start carrying it.
It sounded like a good plan, just carry it down a block or two until you reach a busy street. Even though it's evening surely a cab will go by.....
Yes, they went by, and didn't stop. Or they didn't see me waving. Or they didn't want to pickup a woman with a shelf on a random Tuesday night.
Who knows. I do know that I made it to the subway, yay for elevators!
I knew right away I was going to paint this shelf, to cover a little repair and to match the rest of my apartment. I used Benjamin Moore Decorator's White in a pearl finish.
Why pearl?
Because the hardware store was out of the glossier paint in the right size and base, and I didn't want to wait for a restock.
I dutifully, and reluctantly as always, sanded down the piece to rough up the finish. There are no photos of that step. I dislike sanding.
After the first coat of paint it was clear I would need a second. It was also clear that I wish I had a little roller, but they didn't have any good ones at the store, so again, I made do with a brush.
Here's the finished product, styled with some odds and ends. The floor lamp behind the shelf is also a freestyle find from ages ago.
Eventually this painted shelf will get filled with books, because really, if I only wanted a place for a globe and some knickknacks would I even need a shelf in the first place?
Happy freestyling and sidewalk finding!