Bookcase Bar Progress

Nope, it's not done. This is merely an update on an unfinished project, written perhaps so you won't lose hope (and I won't either). I took your suggestions into consideration (conveyed mostly over gchat, text message and in person) and chose to go with a more neutral color...a greige, if you will.

Now Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan only comes in 30 colors, but it has a really lovely finish and when you put a wax finish on it, it's even nicer. Or at least that's what they told me - I haven't gotten to the waxing yet. You can mix you own color out of their options, but I was worried it would look too shabby chic (as most stuff painted with chalk pain tends to) and well, I'm too lazy to add color matching to this already tedious process.

So I chose this guy. French Linen.

In the store, it looked much more beige than the other grey choices but I reminded myself of the difficulty I had with greys for the front room. What looks grey at the store looks lavender at home. And I finally realized that what looks grey at home looks beige in the store. So even though I hate beige and this paint wasn't cheap, I went with it.

And it's great. Perfect. It blends in so well with the fireplace stone and its a few shades darker than the front room so I think has a nice cohesion to it.

 (This photo allows you see the new rug in this room...along with our really nice collection of upholstered sofas.)

 The photo above is after like...2-3 coats. I bought the paint last Monday and I think I've painted for at least an hour each day since, but I'm STILL not done. It's a very thin paint so it takes multiple layers.

Earlier today, after another coat or so, I took this picture:

Ugh. I'm sorry these are so low-quality. But at least you get an idea of the color. And also, if I keep showing you bad pictures, you're more likely to be impressed with the final result, right? About an hour ago, after I took this picture, I painted over that white spot at the top, and finished all the other touch-ups on the actual built-in.

 Watching paint dry.

Now, I'm trying to finish all the shelves and the cabinet doors. This is hard. Why won't they just paint themselves? I just ran out of paint (which is why the only progress I can make in this moment is to write about it), so I need to go get some more tomorrow. Maybe I can really knock out the shelves tomorrow night. I probably won't have a chance to put the wax finish on until Friday, but if I can have everything painted by then, that would be ideal.

I won't have a chance to look for fabrics until next weekend. In the meantime I hope to present a clearer idea and options for the upholstery. And then you can give me your thoughts, again. I'll work on this and hopefully update soon.