Built-in shelf revamp

When we were first looking at our house deciding whether or not this was the one or not, I really disliked these built- in shelves in the dining room.

However I realised that they were very practical especially as our kitchen has only one overhead cupboard. Our kitchen is big, fantastic and I love it, but it doesn't have enough storage. See pic.

The convenient but UGLY built in shelf was here to stay to store our slow cooker, food processor, serving dishes etc.

So a year later, we have finally got around to revamping the shelves. They were made of timber veneer in attempt to match the timber floor (bleugh!) so just painting over the top wouldn't cut it. Here are the steps we took to revamp the shelves:

1. Remove shelves, cupboard doors, hinges and handles

2. Sand the laminate to 'rough it up' a bit.

3. Wash down

4. Paint with a laminate primer (We used White Knight brand)

5. Sand again using really fine sand paper

6. Wash down again

7. Paint 2 coats of final colour using gloss paint allowing 2 hours drying time between each coat. We chose British Paints- Infinity White and Rhino Gray

8. Reassemble

9. Decorate (My favourite part) More on that later.

This took us about 5 days all up, although my husband says it would have taken half the time if I didn't stop every 5 seconds to take photos. He's hilarious! As if I wouldn't take photos!

And here they are!

And here is the final result!

And we love it!

Just for fun,  I made a little video of me in my element adding my bits and pieces to the new shelf. I have never done this before so I hope it works. Enjoy!