I was lucky enough to inherit this little bookshelf that had been hand made by my great grandfather.  Before I got it, it was used unjust about every room of my childhood home and repainted countless times. Most recently I painted the back of the shelves turquoise to accent the dining room in my college house.  When I moved to Nashville, the bookcase ended up in my bedroom. Turquoise didn't exactly match my grey and corral room, but I lived with it for over a year (exactly 13 months) before deciding to give it a much needed face-lift.

This is after one quick round with the sander.  

The plan was originally to sand it down just enough to smooth out 50 years worth of bumps and about 100 layers of white (and turquoise) paint. So I borrow/stole the sander my sister bought when we refinished her stairs and went to town. (First sign that I'm a beginner-- I started this in my bedroom. I quickly realized this was an outside activity. So while I was waiting for it to stop raining, I cleaned up the two inches of sanding dust that was now everywhere.)

After resuming the sanding outside, I discovered how beautiful the wood under all that paint was.  So, of course, I jumped on Pinterest to find an example of a white bookshelf with dark wood on the top and/or shelves. As with everything on Pinterest, there were about 1,000 examples. I found this one that was exactly what I was picturing in my head, minus the cutout sides (and the $300 price tag). 

I can't find the source of this picture.  If you know, help me out!

Fast forward through many hours of sanding. 

I used three coats of primer and three more coats of paint to cover up all of the turquoise on the back.  I used Glidden High Endurance Interior paint in Eggshell/Satin from Walmart with no color added.  It definitly looks more fresh and cheerful now! (Don't mind the cords.  I am searching for a solution to those that doesn't involve fire hazards.)