No more 'shelving that idea'!

You see, we have this lovely old shelf unit in our living room. It is rustic, fashioned out of old floorboards, and we love it. But, like most things, I always look at it and think: 'Does it need a make-over, a make-under or a do-over'? I have toyed with the idea of painting it and giving it a shabby-chic feel for quite some time now, but every time I shelve the idea, thinking that it would be sacrilege to cover those aged wooden boards in paint. That was until yesterday.

Having conquered the battle of the bathrooms, armed with marigolds, 'Mr Muscle' and what seems like gallons of 'Scale Away',  I was on a bit of a roll. Feeling braver than usual, I decided that running the hoover around the living room floor just wasn't going to cut the mustard. I needed a slightly more invigorating task, and without thinking about it too much, I reached for the paint brush, a half a can of 'Pebble Grey' and set to work painting...and I'm glad I did...

After carefully painting the shelves, I had the urge to rough it up a bit with sandpaper. I just can't help myself! I like shabby things...

A few finishing touches...

So, I think it's turned out okay. Phew! I must admit, I felt a pang of panic with the first few brush strokes, but there was no going back! Have you ever decided to change something and regretted it, or wished you'd done it sooner? I would love to hear from you. Drop me a comment. Have you written about it on your blog? Do share it with us! I leave you with these words: 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Go on, you know you want to!