We painted the backs of our built-in bookcases last night — which, for us, is a perfectly acceptable form of “Date Night.” Since we wanted to share the results as soon as the paint dried and the shelves were back in place, here’s a quick look at the planning that went into the project and a few photos from the prep stage.
Before we rolled a single brush stroke, we roughly arranged the items we planned to display. That might seem unnecessary, but it made sense: the backing color can affect how books, ceramics and other decor look, and we wanted to be sure the layout felt right before committing to paint. We intended to showcase a lot of hardcover books and some breakables (including my little ceramic animal collection) because these built-ins are safely out of reach for a while. That makes them one of the few spots where fragile items can go with a mobile toddler roaming the house.
It turned out that many of our hardcovers were too deep for the shelves and ended up hanging over the edge like feet in shoes that are too small. To solve that, I tucked the oversized books into the storage cabinets under the bookcases, along with a few decor items that aren’t currently on display. We’re planning to add childproof locks to those cabinets so they won’t be easily raided during Clara’s curious phase.
After stashing the problem books, I began arranging some favorite ceramics and other pieces. I stepped back and realized the arrangement looked too crowded. John, who is undeniably the practical half of this operation, suggested removing one shelf in each of the four vertical sections to create a more open, airy feel. I thought he arrived at the idea in about half a second — and it worked. Removing those shelves added breathing room, and the spacing made everything feel more balanced.
Once we settled on shelf placement, we unloaded everything so we could paint the backs. Why decide on shelf spacing first? Because moving shelves around after painting would likely scratch the freshly painted back walls. We’d already experienced some scraping when we adjusted shelf positions, so we photographed the layout for reference and then cleared the shelves to prepare for paint.
We chose a deep, inky blue called Dragonfly from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line. The goal was to create contrast so my ceramic animals and other accents would pop against a dark backdrop, giving the room a bit of dramatic personality. It’s a color outside our usual comfort zone, but taking a design risk felt worth it. And it’s only paint — if it doesn’t feel right once everything is back in place, we can always refresh it. For now, we’re excited by the depth and liveliness it adds, especially when we envision the rest of the room and the adjoining office painted a soft, silvery gray while the trim and faces of the built-ins remain their current white.
Below are some of the not-great, nighttime photos we took during taping and cutting in. We took them mostly to document the process rather than capture perfect lighting. You’ll get a better sense of how the color reads in daylight once everything’s finished and the shelves are restocked.
… and here’s a shot of the cutting-in phase.
The blue reads pretty dark at night, but it comes alive in daylight — we can’t wait to share the finished look. For the record, I did most of the cutting-in while John handled the taping and rolling. That’s why you can see where the painted borders stop a bit short in one photo: I was waiting for the step stool John used to tape the top edge.
Update: See how our built-in transformation turned out in our follow-up post about the finished space.