Before photos:
front view sans carpet |
left side of library before photo |
outside view as you enter classroom before photo |
Thank goodness for Pinterest! (I LOVE that site!) Between Pinterest and another friend of mine I learned all about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. This is bound to become a new addiction. I went to Patina Home and Garden, told Tami (the wonderful owner of this store) what I wanted to do and she was just as excited as I was for my new project to do over my library and table. I left her store excited, and ready to get started.
Brush in hand I boldly took on the table first, mainly because it was accessible and off I went. I first stripped the table though with chalk paint you really do not need to do this. The table was in bad enough shape that I thought it would be better if I did. Before photos:
So over the course of two days I stripped, painted (two to three coats of paint -- I wanted it very bright), and then varnished the table. Here is what it looked like after it was painted:
I used Graphite for the top and the front of the drawer and Florence for the remainder of the table. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how this table turned out. Almost don't want to take it to school but I know I will love it there as well. Additionally, I bought these great vinyl dots from Amazon that I have seen in several places on Pinterest to add to the top of the table for the kids who are working there.
My next job was to go to school and remove all the books from the bookcases, and start painting! One of the great things, okay two of them, about this paint is that 1. you can use it indoors with little to no odor, and 2. it dries in about 20 minutes so you can complete your projects in less than a day. So, I cranked up the volume (using the sound system in my classroom hooked up to my phone) and got to work on those bookcases. I painted the back of the shelves Florence and the remainder of the bookcases Graphite. One of them I outlined in Florence as well but I have decided that when I go back in I will paint over that in Graphite as well. (Another great thing about this paint - you can paint right over it!)
Here they are as I left them after painting and varnishing them. (Forgive the piles of books that are in some of the photos.) What do you think?
I still need to paint over the trim on this bookcase so that it is all black and matches the other two. |
Now Ms. Fultz is a very creative teacher, and the book bins were not the only idea I stole from her. She mentioned that she had purchased chalk labels and markers for her bins and I thought "a-ha!" that is a great idea so I did the same! I purchased both the chalk labels and the chalk markers at Michael's, using a 40% off coupon and getting my educator discount of 15% off (everyday!) I was able to walk out of the store paying about $10. Not bad! You can check out her wonderful page about her library here.
Did you notice how I have learned how to add my blog button via Google Drawing to the images? |
In completing this library with the new bins I discovered that one book case is a little larger than the other two. This allowed me to place 6 bins on a shelf rather than five as on the others.
The books in these boxes belong to the school so I didn't really want to buy bins for them as they may not stay in my care. Additionally, the blue and purple boxes were just purchased two years ago. I decided to just replace the ratty old boxes on the bottom shelf with the new bins. I have three more coming in the mail soon in order to complete this shelf.
In the background you can see the coffee table with the dry erase dots. I need to add the clip art to the book hospital (on the right) so that it is an "emergency" bin.
Finally, I was able to go back to school, put the books in their new bins and label them according to their AR level (not really my choice, we have to have a leveled library), bring the table to school, and put down the freshly washed carpets. Here is the final look at the bookcases and part of the day table. (For some reason I always forget to take the photo of the finished table in the classroom but have finally added it -- see the photos at the bottom of this post.)
Now
I LOVE it and the kids do too! Let me know what you think!
I loved meeting you that day. You were so excited to transform the space for your future students and your passion was overflowing. It made my week. I'm so thrilled to see this blog post, I'm sharing it. xx Tami, Patina Home and Garden
ReplyDeleteThank you Tami! I could not have done this without your help and every chance I get I mention you and your store to others. I am sure I will have to find (or create) another project for chalk paint soon!
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