Valentine’s Project Recap

Well, that’s another Valentine’s Day in the books! It’s fun to dedicate one specific day to your loved one, to shake up the predictable monotony of a regular week and reflect on who you love and why you love them. Not only is it a time to show love to those family members, spouse, and friends that are special to you, but it’s also a beautiful reminder of the love that God has for us and we for Him. There’s a lot of love to spread around!

My last Valentine’s post let you in on my plan to give my husband his own coffee bar for his Valentine’s gift. My idea was to update a shelf my mom gave me by painting it white, adding hooks to hang my mugs and providing a space for coffee accessories. Take a look at the before picture of the shelf.

I had it all planned in my mind’s eye, but the technicalities turned out more difficult than originally anticipated. Here’s my process.

To transform the shelf, I went to Michael’s (craft heaven) and picked up FolkArt Milk Paint in the color Milky White. I’ve never used this particular product, and I was a little skeptical, but I ended up liking it for the most part. Also from Michael’s were a fresh paintbrush, two packs of Ook brass cup hooks, and a couple decorative details. I didn’t hit a deal day with 70% discounts, but thanks to a generous discount from the cashier it cost about $27 in total.

The decorative section of the self was not meant to be functional, just a cute add-on that was falling apart. I hot glue gunned those broken parts after wiping the whole thing down and stripping it of any old oil and dust.

It took three coats of paint before I was satisfied. I appreciated how quick the dry time was compared to other paints I’ve used in the past. I’d say in less than fifteen minutes I could rub my fingers on the surface and it was completely dry. That was a big win for me since I needed to get this done before my husband came home. I’ll also mention here that the paint was matte in texture, not glossy. I could have had a heyday making it look weathered and antique-y, but I liked the clean and classic look without sanding it down. Once it was just the way I liked, I sprayed it with Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating and waited until I could mount it to the wall while he was at work on Valentine’s Day.

The final stage was no doubt the most difficult part. A HUGE shout out to my sister for helping me rethink and reassemble this thing and adhere it to the wall. I decided to mount the shelf upside down, so the decorative part was on the bottom and the flat “bottom side” was the top. The shelf would be flipped and thus the metal backing that attaches to the mounted screw also needed to be flipped. After using strength I forgot I had to rip out staples and reconfigure the metal, we attached it to the wall anchor ($1.58 E-Z Ancor from Lowe’s).

I had to backtrack after realizing I forgot to screw in the cup hooks, but after breaking one and screwing in three more, I had it up and functioning.

It’s amazing, but he had no idea I was working on this for him. Thankfully he didn’t notice the shelf drying outside or any trace of a lingering paint odor in the house.

I had it presented as shown below, the Keurig sitting on a cute cart that belonged to my grandma. The flowers, a beautiful addition to anything, were my Valentine’s gift from him.

It’s a small project, but one of my favorite presents for my hub. With Java as his drink of choice, he now has a place to indulge that’s accessible and functional.

Cheers!