Our house has a loft with two built-in desks and some built in bookcases.
The desktops and cabinet door fronts are due for a paint job soon, as they’ve gotten dirty and they’re peeling in places. They’ll stay a nice creamy white, to match the trim work in the house.
With that project planned, I’ve been thinking that I should also paint the backs of the bookcases.
They bookcase walls are boring builder beige.
Yawn. Absolutely no drama or pop.
And I’d like these shelves to pop. But I’m stuck for what color to paint the backs.
I want a color that will pop off the vintage pottery collection I have displayed on the shelves.
You can see that I have pottery in a multitude of colors. And I also display some of my grandmother’s paintings on these shelves.
These built-ins are both decorative and functional.
Out of necessity, we have lots of books on display in the loft, though I will probably thin some of those out when I do this makeover.
We also have two desktop computers on the two desks in this space and necessities like a telephone, modem and other unattractive electronics. (Boo!)
What color do you think I should paint the backs of these bookcases? (I’m sorry for not showing you more of the loft. It was a wreck when I snapped these photos, and I was too embarrassed to show you the entire space.)
Do you think I should try a stencil on the bookcase walls? Or a pretty wallpaper? Or would that be too busy?
I really want your input.
Pretend you’re in the nail salon and pick a color!
Your vintage pottery collection is so lovely, Amy. You have some wonderful pieces! You probably aren’t going to like my suggestion, but here goes…I suggest that you add some beadboard paneling to the back and paint it a simple white. I assume that what you really want to catch the eye is your collection, not the back of the bookcase??? The addition of beadboard would of course add texture, but would also add to the vintage vibe of your pottery and vintage paintings. The collection itself is very colorful and eye catching. If you must go with a color, I suggest keeping it very subdued.
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Twitter: CreatvlySouthrn
says:
Hi Amy! Guess what! I was going to say the same thing as Suzy. White beadboard . Now if you wanted to do a stencil but it would need to be such a faint design. You don’t want. The backs to be too busy but the headboard will add some texture. Any color outside of shades of white will take away from your beautiful collection. Good luck! I can’t wait to see what you end up doing.
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I love Suzy’s suggestion of white beadboard…then again, a medium gray/charcoal would help everything pop!
Twitter: 3hines
says:
I was going to suggest a crisp white as well. And I love Suzy’s idea to add beadboard. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do.
S