Lessons in Spray Painting

We have a wooden bookcase that I have zero attachment to--I bought it when I lived alone and just needed something to store stuff in. It's one of those build-it-yourself pieces of furniture that you can get at Target that's made out of compressed wood, so it's really high quality a piece of junk.

I forgot to take a 'before' picture, but this is the top of it...

I've had an itch to try my hand at "working with what we have" so I decided I wanted to paint this sucker so we could use it in our office. Well, paint doesn't stick to particle board. I was going to have to spray paint it.

I am not crafty. I have zero patience. This was probably not the best project for me. But I was determined to give this a try, good or bad.

Not too shabby, right?

I'm not going to kid myself into thinking this is amazing work, but I'm pretty proud. Having never done this before it was a lot harder than I expected, but I did learn a few lessons along the way:


1) Let someone strong move the furniture outside.   That thing was heavy, and Mike was not home to move it. Mistake #1.


2) Spray paint needs ventilation!   Thankfully we have a big yard and it was beautiful out, so I set-up shop in the backyard. I laid down a tarp on the lawn and just started spraying---I was not prepared for the wind blowing the paint back into my face. Next time I'll probably wear a mask!

3) Take off your wedding rings!!!   I did :)  Just a reminder.


4) Buy the extra can.   Even if you think you only need 2 cans, buy 3. I went through 2 cans and kept seeing spots I missed, so I had to head back to Home Depot covered in sweat and spray paint. Yes, I was that customer in line.


In the end, I'm happy with my little DIY project. I don't really think it was more cost-efficient since I had to spend $12 on spray paint when I probably could have just bought another cheap piece of furniture at Target, but I'm proud of myself for at least trying!