Layers of dingy cream-colored paint coated the old built-ins that line the west side of my living room.  I could go nuts painting my whole place right away, but I’ve decided to start here:  it seems less daunting than taking on something that requires working around some of the more intricate crown molding in the other rooms.  So this will be my first solo paint job.  Here are some before pics.

And after:

I used a Decorator’s White by Behr, a semi-gloss latex.  The fireplace took about four coats to conceal the ash that had built up over the years.  But it was worth the time and labor and immediately breathed life into the space.  And I’ll admit to fantasizing about styling my books.  By color?  Genre?  Vertical or horizontal?  I started with cookbooks (below).  Oh the things that keep me up at night.  #nerdalert