Bookshelves Go Black

Bookshelf Before

Bookshelf After

This was another large job we did for a Grosse Pointe client. She loved this old set, but wanted an updated look with fresh paint. She had been to Africa many times and wanted the bookshelves, desk, parson's table and chair to match the decor of her room. I suggested she go with black and she agreed. I also suggested to remove the gold accent corners as these only dated the pieces.

Once we got the furniture home, it was a long process of sanding every surface prior to painting. She had chosen a Sherwin-Williams black, which in theory looked like it was a perfect match, but when thinned to be painted, the end result was purple! Yikes! Luckily we noticed it before Jim painted the entire set.

Desk After

Desk Before

Quick thinking was needed here as we'd already begun the painting process and couldn't delay. We ended up replacing the paint with a Home Depot Behr paint, which was absolutely perfect. Black paint is a great choice when you want to repaint furniture as it is classy and matches most decor, however, the down side is that it's difficult to work with since the absence of light makes it hard to paint all the corners, and this set had many of those.

It's also difficult to photograph black furniture since the absence of light also makes it hard to capture details. If you use a flash, you get a "hot" spot in the photograph. I took the "before" photos outdoors and the "after" photos at my client's home, which wasn't the ideal place to photograph, but you get the picture. No pun intended.

Chair After

Parson's table and chair

Parson's table after