Adding Metallic Lustre to a Painted Wood Shelf

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A lifetime ago I started working on the bedroom makeover.  And I know it is taking forever and I know that I’ve been working on other rooms as well but it seems I am finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. 

This shelf you see below is the last of the projects for the bedroom (all projects are listed on the bottom) before the small reveal… because it really is a small room – New York living folks! Today I’m sharing with you a simple makeover of a wall mounted shelf and a super easy way to add shimmer to that shelf. 

I honestly don’t remember where this came from but I have a stash of things that needed to be taken care of and this one looked like it could be a pretty addition to the bedroom.  With a little help of course.   

What I Used:

• Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Slate
• Olf Fashioned Milk Paint in Snow White
• Sandpaper
• ​Brush
• Daddy Van’s Decorative Wax in Farmhouse White (similar)
• DecoArt Metallic Lustre in White Frost
• Rag
• Round brush​​ for waxing

The How To:

I had already mixed the Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Slate and Snow White together to create this soft grayish blue color from a few days ago when I had painted the accent wall in the living room.  Keeping it in the fridge helps extend its life. 

So when it came time to paint this wall mounted cubby shelf I thought I’d use up the rest of the paint.  It took me three coats to cover up the wood. 
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    Once I finished with the painting I sanded it down a tiny bit to give it a smooth finish.  And then it was time to decide on the finish.  Now I had two white decorative waxes.  

If you look carefully on the right hand side of the photo you can see that the upper part is more subtle than the bottom.  I used the DecoArt Metallic Lustre on the top and the Daddy Van’s Decorative Wax on the bottom.
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      And what is the difference?  Why should I bother with two if they are barely noticeable?

    By looking at the photo below we can see that there is a shine to the whole shelf.  In fact the whole thing was waxed over using the Daddy Van’s Farmhouse white.  This makes the grey color shine. It also makes sure the milk paint stays put!  

​But on top of the shine there are areas of pure shimmer.  White light shimmer.  
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  ​Those are the areas that I have gone over with the DecoArt Metallic Lustre.  It gives the piece an extra bit of oomph!  You can see how I used it on this project I did last year!

Of course they only show up when the light hits them. 
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  Like here…
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  ​…and here!
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    It’s all in the details. 
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        The beauty of the milk paint is that you never know what surprises it has in store for you.  With the addition of the wax you can see more of the paint details. 

It is beautiful and imperfect just like the crooked partition in my shelf. 
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    The shelf is hanging on the wall now.  But which wall?
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      And how does it relate to the rest of the room?  The answer to this and much more is in the room reveal which will be next week.   Because repurposing and upcycling is great but you also want a room that looks at least a bit coherent!
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  Now if that isn’t a super easy way to add shimmer to a shelf I don’t know what is!  Join me next week as we finally put this room to bed! (pun intended)

Do you ever become nerdy like me and obsess over the meaning of words?  And really we cannot be technical and worry about the true meaning here, just the essence should be enough!
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Below are all the other projects from the bedroom makeover.