Comments on: diy wednesdays: shelf makeover

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:15:33 +0000

Hi,

I have these black IKEA shelves and would like them white. Can I simply prime and paint them rather than use the grass cloth?

Thanks!

By: conn

conn — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:54:39 +0000

Stell, Anu + Stella,
I just stumbled across your questions.
The reason I primed the black shelves white is so that i could get the stain to show up. It also made the grass cloth look dirty without it. Of course you do not have to prime the shelves. It’s all in how you would like the finished project to look. If you were to use something that was not as transparent or had a tighter weave, you would not have too. Or just buy the color shelf you prefer. I just had these black shelves sitting in the garage and decided to spruce them up.

Stella, sounds like what you did worked great. I’d love to see how it turned out.

By: stella

stella — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:36:49 +0000

anu – thats actually EXACTLY what I am using (burlap). as you might expect – because its bulkier – it is sucking the poly dry. so you’ll need several coats of it. good luck! also, figured that the priming (which i wound up doing) would help with adhesion. i actually sanded a bit before priming too. and instead of stapling, we glued the burlap down with some spray adhesive. worked like a charm!

By: anu

anu — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:49:11 +0000

I second stell’s question! Also wonder if another material besides grasscloth might work, like burlap? Hate to buy a double roll of wallpaper just for a shelf.

By: stell

stell — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:30:12 +0000

LOVE THIS PROJECT. looks great. I plan to do this for some shelves in my nursery. Just curious – is priming the shelves even necessary???

THANKS!

By: Parnell

Parnell — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:56:11 +0000

Congratulations! They look great. Nice work. Cant wait to see the rest. Aloha!

http://parnellcorder.blogspot.com

By: Harry

Harry — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:32:39 +0000

Thanks Conn — i appreciate your feedback.

By: leigh

leigh — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:22:02 +0000

ooh, i *love* this idea! what a lovely way to add a dash of island style to plain ol’ bookshelves.

mahalo conn & john for sharing!

p.s. derek & lauren – have fun during your holiday in the islands.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:01:11 +0000

Doh!

Just saw the link in the materials section. Belay that last request…

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:58:56 +0000

Does anyone have a good source for the cloth?

I’m in the midst of repainting an old dresser that had been stained with a “concoction” dreamt up by my brother-in-law. Despite all attempts to prep the surface, it’s looking like no paint is going to stick.

I suspect I could cover the surfaces with this cloth (a la Conn and John) and then paint the cloth.

Who knows? Maybe it will look even better done up that way!