So, about the shelf. I bought this at a yard sale last summer as well as the table that is in this room that I plan to set up my sewing machine on ..... until I can get a new one which I desperately want. The shelf was stained a very ugly color, reddish-brown, yuck. I found a recipe for homemade chalk paint and it worked very well.
Homemade Chalk Paint
2 parts flat latex paint, any color
1 part Plaster of Paris aka POP
Enough warm water to stir the POP in and get the paint smooth.
It will appear a little thick as you go along but keep stirring it as you are painting. I used a medium pink, Valspar Paint from Lowe's literally called "Flamingo Pink". It lightened up a little when I mixed in the POP. It goes on very smooth. I painted one coat and then lightly sanded the piece before I added a second coat. Then I sanded small areas well so that the wood shows through and I nicked it up a few places to age it some. I finished by going over the entire shelf with a coat of clear Paste Wax. It turned out great!
BEFORE
AFTER
I can tell already that I need a better camera. My pictures on here look horrible. But anyway, I will show you the rest of room very soon.