And if you’ve followed me for any length of time you know that my motto is “The Power of Paint”. The simplest way to transform something is with paint.
See the ugly below? It was sitting in my living room looking oh so ugly!! But I found a way to solve this problem! I’m going to show you how to paint cubby storage units the easy way.
One of the items that was taken out was this two piece cubby storage unit. There was simply no space for this in the bedroom so I moved it into the living room.
We have an open plan of sorts in our home. To walk from the living room to the dining area there are two steps. The rail is a divider that keeps us from falling over into the dining area. Those cubby units were going to be placed against the railing, to create a more defined space for the living area and also because we can never have enough storage in my house. After all this isn’t Texas, this is New York and all homes are tiny!
Below is an after photo. Don’t mind the mess, Tatou will get mad at you if you judge.
But first they needed a makeover!
What I Used:
After two coats it looked like this. I knew it would take quite a few coats to cover the black but as I was painting I changed my mind and decided to go with a grey finish.
I added a bit of black to the white and also a tiny bit of beige to warm up the grey and came up with my own custom color. Of course I could have just bought it like that but I really like to torture myself. This is a taupe grey which is also nice.
Actually in the spirit of decluttering, I am on a mission to get rid of all my paint cans so I just used what I had around. I got this idea from my friend Marie of the Interior Frugalista. She has even more paint cans than I do. Go check out her blog and you can thank me later. She is a wiz with the paint brush!
If you are working on a piece that is wood and you want to seal in the wood paint you can also use this sealer. My cubbies were laminate so there was no need for that on my part.
In fact I’ve also painted laminate furniture many times in the past, on this campaign dresser, this Ikea Malm dresser, using gel stain, on this Ikea desk, and these nasty bookcases. That was a lot of painting!
I painted the back as well because no one wants to look at an ugly backside!
Once dry it mimics the faux grain of the laminate. The color is grey, but depending on the light it can have a hint of blue, which works fine by me. If you know anything about me, it is my love of blue and how I’ve transformed the living room into a blue oasis!
Now I have lots more storage and a place to put all those books which get displaced from their normal spot on the bookshelves every time I get the desire to create vignettes for every season!
Oh the first world problems we have!
And that is my solution to my storage problem. You can see just how easy it was to see how easy it was to repaint these cubby storage units. I was really glad I could make use of these storage cubbies and in a way that fit in perfectly with the rest of the room.
Have you ever tried painting laminate?
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This blog is for entertainment purposes only; my DIY tutorials are not professional advice. Read my full disclaimer here.
I love it when I get your comments and I will try to reply to every one of them.
Well done! You made perfect use of those storage units and they do look much better now than they ever did before!
Marjan they were a horror before but still useful. The best option is always paint in my opinion.
Looks great. Don’t you just hate given up storage space? If you can make it work, then make it WORK! love it.
Oh my goodness, YES!! I really wanted to reuse this somewhere in the house but just needed to find the right spot.
perfect use of storage.
have a great day
Thanks so much Tanza!!
YES!!!! I’m a firm believer in the power of paint and those cubbies of yours do look so much better now that they’re got a new coat. Who ever invented paint deserves a medal. What would we do without it. Love the way you turned them on their sides against the railing. I’m not sure if you should pain the basket. The warm brown contrasts beautifully with the cooler greys. Mmmmmmm decisions, decisions 😀
Do you remember when I had them in the bedroom how out of place they looked. This was a great idea and putting them on their sides made all the difference. I’m really happy I found a spot for them. It makes the living room look more cozy too.
What a great transformation. I never get tired of the power of paint.
Neither do I Debra and there is always so much you can do with it, although most of the time I try to go simple.
I love these quick updates that give a living space some ‘pop’!
This was the black hole before the paint job. And it stuck out like a sore thumb!
You knocked it out of the park. Gorgeous and so much fun storage!
You can never have enough storage, now can you?
Hey! I just came by via Cathy’s 4M post because I loved the title of your blog and had to check it out! I can’t wait to explore more because I have a ton of DIY I need to do and can use the inspiration!
I am so happy you came by Kim. I am always looking to make my home comfy and pleasant but frugally because there is no need to throw everything out and start from scratch when you can paint.
This looks fantastic and I love that you placed it hortizontally on the floor. I am not sure I would have been that smart! LOL!
I think it was the railing that helped me with that idea Michelle. Lol!!
…a coat of paint makes a big change,
You can say that again!!
The bookshelves look SO much better now, and the way you turned them around is great!! I love that little basket on top and it looks great as is with the rest of the decor.
Katrin I was really glad to be able to reuse these cubbies. They were such an eyesore before.
Mary, the cubbies look great painted custom grey and I love your brilliant idea to stack and set them horizontally. Your papered boxes really look pretty and pop against the grey. Thank you so much for the mention 🙂 Don’t you just love seeing those paint cans slowly dwindle?
Slowly but surely they are dwindling. That means we can buy new stuff now!!
Mary,
Thanks for sharing the power of paint! It never ceases to amaze me how paint can transform and old piece of furniture or drab room and make it feel fresh. And it’s so cheap 🙂
Thanks,
Denise
Denise isn’t it a shame when we throw away perfectly good pieces of furniture just because they look outdated or out of style? I’ve been on a mission to keep all my things and just update them and this way I can also be friendly to our mother earth and my pocketbook. Thanks for stopping by!!
Your bookshelves look fantastic now Mary. Your idea to place them horizontally on the floor it is a brilliant idea!
It made all the difference Christina, otherwise I would not have been able to use them in the living room since there is limited space there.
Paint really is magic! It looks like a totally difference piece! I also love the color you choose Mary.
That color really makes me happy. It is soft and somewhere in between a blue and grey so it blends right in with the room.
Mary,
I LOVE how these turned out, and I especially love how creative you were, turning them on their side. Your storage area looks lovely and that little tip of covering the boxes with wrapping paper is brilliant! Thanks for sharing the inspiration. I want to scout my house now for something to paint.
I hope you do find something to paint Karen. When we moved back here the house was full of odds and ends and I was in no position to buy new so I started painting everything in sight. Slowly but surely, I’ve managed to get a unified look to each room and the house in general. We can never underestimate the power of paint.
Well done! I like the small storage boxes you put in the finished cubbies – looks perfect!
Thank you Carol, I was really glad to be able to keep it and it turned out to be more versatile than I had originally thought.
Nice transformation…the power of paint! Have a great week!
Shelley
That’s definitely my motto Shelley!
This is a fabulous upcycle! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
Thanks so much Cecilia I love it now.
These look great now, Mary! I absolutely love the gray color. I also love that you turned them horizontal. Brilliant idea! The power of paint really is a magical thing. 🙂
Yes paint is the best. I am so glad I was able to redo this because now I have tons of storage!
The power of paint, indeed!! I love how you flipped them, too. Genius idea!
Indeed it turned out to be perfectly useful once it was painted and turned on its side.
I absolutely love how these cubbies turned out! The color is perfect! Thank you for sharing at Celebrate It!
Hi Mary!
I love how your shelving turned out!! The grey is a nice soft grey and I like how you’ve laid the bookcases down on their sides. I was wondering if they were going to be standing up or not. 😉
Pinned almost every photo for you! <3 I am beginning to wonder about the lack of storage in our new house, especially since we haven't moved anything in yet and it only has 3 bedrooms. Charles is already talking about putting in a parking area on the side of the house since the garage is pretty small for two cars and no storage. I don't think the city will let us (it'll look ugly having cars invading the garden anyway).
Happily we have a few different storage bookcases and we can let a bunch of things go, including books...
Happy weekend to you,
Hugs,
Barb 🙂
Beautiful transformation Mary! Love how you turned them on their sides. Their perfect for storage and such a pretty color!