Custom DIY Shelf Upgrade With The Real Milk Paint Co.

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My baby girl is growing up… way too fast… and as she grows, she wants her bedroom to grow with her style and tastes.

So we recently said goodbye to those generic, white cube shelves that we’ve used to store her toys for years, and upgraded them to custom storage and bookshelves for all her pre-tween things.

And we did it with the help of The Real Milk Paint Co.

I received a trio of free products from The Real Milk Paint Co. for this post. All opinions are authentic and my own.

Starting point – basic, white cubes

I’m sure you’ve seen these and you likely have them in your own home… the generic, white cube shelf system. They’re super functional for stacking and storing all kinds of things.

Custom DIY Shelf Upgrade With The Real Milk Paint Co. - Upgrading Kid Toy Cubbies To Tween Shelves

Step 1 – change the style

The first thing we did was to change up the style. We moved from the side-by-side grid look of the cubes to a stacked shelf design, by removing two of the cube dividers.

Step 2 – transform with color

The next and biggest step was transforming it from the basic white to a cool and beautiful blue with The Real Milk Paint Co.’s Beachglass paint.

The trio of products we used included:

1 Qt. Beachglass Paint

I chose Milk Paint because of its benefits to our project and to the environment. It’s non-toxic, child-safe, has virtually no odor, it dries fast, and it’s super easy to use. Check out the steps below.

8 Oz. Ultra Bond Adhesion Promoter

We added this to the Milk Paint because it helps it adhere to all kinds of surfaces, like our pre-painted cubes. It’s also non-toxic and releases no VOCs.

8 Oz. Low Sheen Finishing Cream

The finishing touch was the no odor, non-VOC finishing cream that created a protected, washable topcoat.

This was my first time using powdered paint, and it turned out to be super easy. The Milk Paint can holds a bag of powdered paint.

The first step is to add equal parts paint and water to the can. For the first coat on the shelves, I used one cup of each.

Then the fun part, you shake it for five minutes. At least it was the fun part for my daughter. 🙂

After letting the paint sit for 10 minutes, we added the appropriate amount of the Ultra Bond adhesion promoter.

Then we were ready to paint!

Since Milk Paint is so environmentally and kid-friendly, I loved that my daughter and I could work on this project together.

We did two coats of the Beachglass paint, letting it dry in between coats, then added the Finishing Cream on top.

This part was super easy too. You can add the Finishing Cream with a brush or wipe it on with a rag.

It gave it that perfect, finished look.

Step 3 – change the shape

We knew we wanted the shelves to look completely different from the previous cube system, so my daughter had the great idea to stack the two pieces in an “L” shape.

*Please use your own discretion if attempting a style like this. You may want to use brackets in the back to permanently join the two sets of shelves and to fasten them to the wall to reduce the risk of the shelves toppling or being pulled over. Since my daughter is older and we wanted the option to change the shape again in the future, we did not do this.

This post contains affiliate links, which allow me to receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase. All opinions are authentic and my own.

Step 4 – add an extra touch

To add a little extra color and whimsy, we added a backing to the top shelves.

I bought pieces of 12×12 chipboard at Michaels and used spray glue to cover them with scrapbooking paper that my daughter picked out. (Only $0.79 each!) Then I nailed the chipboard to the back of the shelves.

Step 5 – add the personal touch

And thank goodness, there is something about newly painted furniture that makes you want to keep it nice and neat. Which is how her shelves look now. For hopefully a few days. 🙂