I’m looking for something like that as well, so I’m very impressed that you only paid $75.

I would use chalk paint for this project. You’ll clean the piece first, obviously, but you won’t need to do any sanding, so there’ll be no issues with dust in the bedroom. My own experience with chalk paint has been that you’ll need three coats to cover the piece well. The hype says one or two coats are sufficient, but I disagree. And chalk paint is expensive, so...

Even the application of three coats can be easily managed in a few hours, but a chalk paint surface is way too matte for most pieces, so you’ll either want to wax the bookshelf (a real pita, imo) or give it a couple of coats of poly (which you’d unfortunately have to sand between coats). I’d probably go for the wax, since the work will be done in the house. Waxing takes a lotta lotta rubbing, but the result is very nice.

I wish this were mine.

Sounds like it is not in place yet so I would paint it before moving it upstairs. Spraying it would be the easiest. Buy a good mask and do it out on the driveway to avoid smell issues.

See if there is a spray booth in your city. One of the big paint stores here just added one. You send them a picture of your piece with dimensions and they give you a quote.

What is an adhesion promoting primer and are there ones that are no voc?

I made some phone calls this AM and might be convinced to paint it myself inside the bedroom - although I would much rather pay for someone to do it somewhere else!

Because it will need to be hoisted up to my 3rd floor roof deck, the spray finishing person I spoke with this AM said he is concerned it would get banged up in the moving - true. He'd spray it with catalytic conversion varnish to make it harder and less likely to chip but it would maybe have a stronger off gas than I can handle. He said he is happy to do it but his recommendation, especially since it is a beater going on the third floor is to paint it in place - no sanding:

1. Slap on "adhesion promoting primer"

2. Light scuff with 120 grit.

3. Paint it with natura or aura that I know works well with my VOC needs

We live in a city row house and don't have a driveway, nor can we move it ourselves around our home. Weather pending I could have it professionally moved to the deck, paint it on the deck, and then try to get three very strong friends to move it inside, and this all has to coordinate with my work schedule and mover availability. I don't think my starts will be in perfect alignment for that to happen!

Call a mover and give them the measurements of your staircase and of the bookcase, they can give you an estimate. I would do the chalk paint and follow up with water-based polyurethane. If it were me, I'd restain it darker and call it a day.

I was reading the Annie Sloan chalk paint site and this made me concerned:

ANNIE SLOAN PAINT AND CHALK PAINT® WAX DURING PREGNANCY

"We advise pregnant women to ask someone else to apply Chalk Paint® Wax on their behalf. While there is nothing inherently harmful in the wax, the fumes produced as the wax dries may cause a feeling of lightheadedness, to which pregnant women may be more susceptible. There are no lasting harmful effects to using Chalk Paint® Wax, only the immediate risk of feeling lightheaded or dizzy."

I'm not pregnant but the description of lightheadedness concerns me that there is an odor that will impact my chemical sensitivity. Has anyone else used this and can you comment on the woozy factor?

Yayagal, you suggested chalk paint with water-based polyurethane. Is there a no VOC equivalent?

Also, yaya, our house is from the 1850s and has a staircase that zigzags back and forth. I think it can get up the stairs itself but it is the turns to get around the zigzags that make it too challenging. I don't think it is going to work.

What a great find, Kendrah! Congrats. I hope you find a way to get it upstairs to your destination room.

I've never used Annie Sloan chalk paint nor have I ever heard of lightheadedness using chalk paints. The two recent chalk/mineral paints I've used recently were from Colorantic and Fusion Mineral paint. No odours whatsoever. Did the pieces in our garage. We have chemical sensitivities here as well. I did a wax finish on one Colorantic piece and their matte glaze on another. The Fusion mineral required no topcoat. I'd use either brand again in a heartbeat. Love these paints. I'm a novice DIYer and they're both a dream to use. No smell, no drips, great colours and coverage.