Whimsical book table upcycle project

If you’ve been a Tracey’s Fancy reader for very long, you will remember the “brown to gray” transformation that took place in my home – like my updated entryway.  Like many of you, I had a home filled with decor representing an “old world” flair with browns and reds and gold tones.  

The farmhouse trend took over like gangbusters and I just couldn’t go there!  I have however….adapted to SOME of it…..by taking on a cleaner more streamlined decor with less clutter and a fresh vibe!  I have continued with my love of “WHIMSY” and incorporated a lot of black and white and gray into my decor.  

It is sort of the “base/neutral” throughout the house with pops of color in each room setting.  You can see a before and after of my dining room harlequin wall here…..and this harlequin wall is the look I was after for this little whimsical book table project.

* This post may contain affiliate links. I could make a commission at no charge to you if you purchase my recommended products. Please read my disclosure here and my privacy policy here.

This brings me to this little side table that looks like a stack of books that I picked up at my local Hobby Lobby.  

• 

• 

I painted one of these book tables over two years ago for my granddaughter’s baby nursery.  You can see it here.  I painted each book to represent a princess fairytale.  There are so many directions you could take this book table project!  

I purchased one back in the “brown” decor days….and have had it hidden behind a chair in my family room to hold the entertainment monitors and routers and you know….the eye sore hub of all things electronic that need to be hidden inside a wall!!!  Well I decided to stop hiding it and turn it into something whimsical that I could show off!

Here it is before…..after I ‘d already cleaned and primed it.  It is originally a dark brown faux leather.  You can see my You Tube video of how I prepped the piece up until this point HERE.

This project is small but required quite a few products that I will share with you at the bottom of the blog.  So gather your Dixie Belle supplies and let me help you make something small with a big personality for your home!

I cleaned the entire piece using White Lightning cleaner.  I then primed the piece with BOSS white.  If you are new to painting and confused about HOW to clean prior to painting, WHAT to prime with or even WHEN to prime…..you will find all your answers right HERE!

I then laid out the products I felt inspired by.  I wasn’t sure which colors I would use for sure….but I always like having a color palette to pull from. 

I also work better with inspiration and this time it came from the furniture transfer Dark Romance by Redesign and the Somewhere in France script transfer. 

And can we talk about this harlequin paper????  I found it at Home Goods and it looks just like my harlequin wall in my dining room…..so I knew I would use it as well!

I decided to use the amazing wrapping paper on the largest drawer – which I’m calling #4.  This led me to choosing a black and white strip pattern on drawer #2.  I chose the second largest drawer (aka #3) for the placement of my favorite design transfer ever…..Dark Romance….and that left drawer #1 (feeling like The Dating Game here) for the Somewhere in France Gold Script Transfer!

So lets do this:

• removed drawers….painted #1 & #3 with one coat of Caviar and #2 & #4 with one coat of Flea Market Decor Aged Ivory.  
• painted entire body of table with Caviar.
• painted the sides of the table that look like pages of the books (#1 &#3 with Mason Dixon Gray and #2 & #4 with Aged Ivory).
• painted stripes using my standard stripe technique on drawer #2 using 2″ painters tape and Caviar.  You can watch this on the included video below at the 24:00 minute mark.
• decoupaged the paper onto drawer #4 using an iron on technique that I’ve never done before….and you can watch that madness on the video at the 10:00 mark. It’s worth a watch!! Lol
• applied the transfers to drawers #1 and #3 at the 37:00 mark of the video.  

I may or may not add molds and waxes to fancy up a few of the drawers….but even if I don’t….I love the way it looks right now!  I have already sealed the entire piece with Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin.  

For those that like to watch this go down in person…..here’s the video!

I also have a shortened (under 10 minute) version HERE…

The whimsical book table is now ready to add a punch of personality to any room I choose to display it in!  It no longer needs to be hidden behind a chair! 

So who’s ready to dress up something in your home that needs a little love!  I’m thinking these exact products would really dress up a set of TV trays…..or serving trays….or a book shelf….or even a full size chest with drawers!  Or how about a jewelry box???  One of those standing kind that I used to paint for clients ALL THE TIME!!!  This design and palette would be gorgeous on one of those!   

Shop Whimsical Book Table

The products listed here are what I used for this whimsical book table project!  Dixie Belle Paint company offers amazing products that will make all of your projects successful no matter what your skill level! Just click on any of the products shown below!  You can also find my favorite products and tools in my Amazon influencer list here.

If you would like to paint your own furniture ….but lack confidence with where to start….I offer a furniture painting basics course that would be the perfect place!

I’d love for you to follow me on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube to see all my creations first!! And as always, sign up to get my blog newsletter here to see more of my fancy furniture creations, unique art designs, room makeovers and insight into my design process!

Let me know if you’ve been inspired!!  I love hearing from you!

See you next week!

XOXO, 

Tracey

Please share my whimsical book table pins and follow me on Pinterest!