Monday Makeover

I have a bookshelf in my living room that I have disliked for many years.  It isn't the greatest quality, although it is sturdy.  Also, in our current home, it acts like a black hole, sucking a lot of the light, and turning one corner into an unpleasant dreary space.

I'm a bad blogger and forgot to take actual before photos but you can see the bottom two shelves here.  Dark, shabby and in desperate need of help.  A few months ago we tried applying wrapping paper to the backs of the shelves but it ended up looking cheap and poorly done.  My husband vetoed painting the back of the shelves.

 But last week I had the idea to wrap some foam core in chevron fabric and slide it into the back.  I got right on it and tested it out on one shelf.  It looked fantastic so I was full steam ahead!

I can't even begin to explain how much better this is in person!  I used the grey and white chevron from the Simply Color fabrics.  The third shelf down used to hold the kid's DVDs and always looked messy.  I moved them to another cupboard and brought some photo albums into the living room.

That clock belonged to my parents and it is destined for a date with a can of lime green spray paint :)  I also dug through my DIY art Pinterest board and made a simple polka dot canvas.

The bottom shelf went from a jumble of toys, games and children's books to a well curated selection of books.  I am so happy I made the time in a very crowded week to tackle this project!

Have any of you been making over an existing piece in your home?  Any interesting uses of fabric?