Decorating around Mother Nature

I had all sorts of grand ambitions for the back room this past weekend. On Friday, I stopped by Ace Hardware after shipping my 103rd (!) Etsy sale for three more cans of yellow spray paint. And yes, the same cashier was there from when I bought my first two cans of yellow spray paint. She probably thinks I’m an addict. Little did she know what else I wound up buying over the weekend.

The initial plan was to spray paint the tall shelving unit (and hopefully not my feet). Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. As in humid 90+ degree weather, which doesn’t mix well with spray paint. The Rust-oleum can recommends painting when the temperature is between 50* and 90* and when humidity is below 65% to ensure proper drying. Throw in some rain on Sunday and I failed the weather-test all three days.

Since I was still looking to make some forward progress, I headed to Home Depot (twice) on Sunday for more materials:

A 4′ x 8′ piece of oak hardwood plywood at 1/4″ thick – cut to size for shelves and the table top – $27
Two cans of BIN by Zinsser primer spray paint – $17
Polycrylic water based protective finish in clear satin – $9
Assorted sanding paper and sponge – $8
Tack cloth – $3

The Vittsjo series comes with a mix of 1/4″ thick tempered glass shelves and 1/2″ thick laminate/particleboard shelves. The TV unit originally came with a glass top and the dark laminate/ particleboard for the bottom shelf.

The original plan was to swap out the glass for the 1/4″ thick plywood that would be primed and painted yellow. Since the 1/4″ wood doesn’t seem sturdy enough for our TV, we’re going to make the 1/2″ IKEA-provided shelf the top shelf. Sure, it will stick out a little past the frame, but it will give us more peace of mind. Both will be getting a coat of BIN primer (as recommended here) and then spray painted yellow.

Here’s the tall Vittsjo shelving unit with its new wood shelves and IKEA laminate/particleboard shelves. Once the tower itself is painted yellow, the shelves will also get the primer and yellow spray paint treatment. We don’t plan on putting extremely heavy items on the middle shelves, so I’m not too worried about them breaking. I tested some of the 1/4″ wood shelves with a stack of 4 cookbooks and they seemed to be holding up fine.

As for the entry table, I initially thought I would stain and then seal the wood. But after picking out the oak hardwood plywood, I’m happy with the wood grain and color of the natural wood. Therefore, I selected the Polycrylic crystal clear satin topcoat to seal the wood.

All of the edges of the wood shelves and tabletop need a good sanding so they fit perfectly in the Vittsjo pieces.

Overall, it feels like things are starting to come together, but it’s still uncharted DIY territory for me. I’ve been reading all sorts of things to make sure I’ve picked up the right supplies and have a general idea what I’m doing. I definitely feel my brain stretching through the creative process :)

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