Ladder Shelf Refresh + How to Style Shelves for Free || $100 Room Challenge

Greetings from cool & crisp Chicago! IT. IS. COLD. TODAY. I don’t typically post on Saturdays, but I couldn’t let the week go by without a quick $100 Room Challenge update where I’ve been working on our Basement Family Lounge / Hangout space! We are 3 weeks into the challenge which means times almost up! The reveal will be the last week of the month and I’ve got loads of work to do! But I do have one little corner ready to share – our Ladder Shelf Refresh + How I Styled the Shelves for Free!

Thanks to Erin of Lavender, Lemons & Laundry for hosting another challenge! If you want to get caught up on the rest of the posts in the Basement Family Lounge Space Refresh, head here.

If you’ve missed any of my other $100 Room Challenges, go here to check them out.

LADDER SHELF REFRESH + HOW TO STYLE SHELVES FOR FREE

The spirit of the $100 Room Challenge is truly making quick and simple changes to your space without breaking the bank. You get creative to stretch your dollars and give your room a facelift by using what you have, buying inexpensive items at thrift or consignment shops, stalking clearance aisles and tackling good ol’ fashion DIY projects.

We have a leaning ladder shelf that has bounced around various rooms in our homes and eventually landed in the basement of this one.

I wanted to use the shelf to display decorative items as well as serve as a storage unit to house any board games, books, gaming accessories, etc. if we needed the space.

It also needed a paint job. I have hopes to lighten and brighten our basement area so decided some white paint could help achieve the look and feel I was going for.

Paint stash to the rescue!

I had just enough white paint leftover from various projects and decided to use my Decoart Satin Enamels paint in warm white on the ladder shelf.

SHELF BEFORE

*Fair warning – the shelf was an espresso brown to start and since I didn’t do any prepping, sanding or priming, it took many, many coats to cover. Maybe 5 – 6. Thankfully I have a good napper and was able to sneak downstairs each afternoon to do some painting!

It’s also amazing what vacuuming and shifting furniture around on the rug can do. This room is already coming along so nicely!

After my shelf was fully painted, it was time to do some styling.

I set out to shop my house to hunt for these items:

• plants
• vases
• candles
• books
• art
• metal objects
• other knick knacks
• a few games to see if the ladder shelf would be a good spot for some of our faves

These are typically the items I search for any time I go to style something – a mantel, entry table, nightstand, coffee table, wall shelf, cabinets, bookshelf, you name it. They are the accessory building blocks for almost every space.

After rounding up some items from my decor storage and pulled a few things from other rooms, here is where I landed…

Not too bad for 20 minutes and $0!

PRO TIP: Add larger items to the lower shelves so it doesn’t get too top heavy. Smaller items higher up and gradually increase size. Also, fill some shelves all the way across and others leave some open space on either side.

Books are fun, quirky and inexpensive if you buy them used! I love grabbing quirky and fun books when I go to the thrift store. I look at titles, colors and size. They create height and dimension when stacked and act as a display for other objects.

Since I love adding a little bit of text or typography when I decorate, books do the trick. Especially when I find such cute titles like Chicago, The Wonder Boys and Full House 😉

They are a way to personalize a space if you find titles with special meaning!  

Neutrals, pattern and warm metallics are what I was aiming for on the rest of the shelves. And I’m loving the warm glow of this LED candle in my gray glass vase. I was trying to recreate the look of these candles from my Basement Family Lounge Mood Board.

PROJECT CHECK LIST:

• paint media console – this week
• paint leaning ladder shelf – done
• update bar cabinetry with paint – ??
• DIY countertop update?
• purge and organize barware and entertaining pieces – in process
• style glass cabinets – 
• hang clock – this week
• find / make art – this week
• hang wall art / frames – this week
• style the ladder shelf – done
• add a lamp – on the hunt
• style the coffee table – done
• swap out the pillows – done
• replace a few ceiling tiles – in process

Total spent so far: $0

Want to check out what you’ve missed or jump ahead?

WEEK 1 // WEEK 2 // WEEK 3 // WEEK 4 // WEEK 5

MOOD BOARD + PLANS

LADDER SHELF REFRESH + FREE STYLING TIPS

DIY BRUSHSTROKE ART

BASEMENT FAMILY LOUNGE REVEAL

And to see the rest of the rooms we’ve tackled in previous $100 Room Challenges, see them all here!

And that’s it for today! I know I was late with my update this week, but next week, I’m tackling some DIY art and getting my Gallery Wall going so be sure to pop back over and see!

Now, be sure to check out the week 3 updates from all of the $100 Room Challenge Participants!

Have a great weekend and stay warm if you’re in the Midwest!

xxoo!!