Ombre Shoe Shelf DIY

Six months ago, we used BEHR® paint to create a signature wall in our office. It was one of the first design decisions we made (we barely had any furniture at that point, compared to now) and the on-brand, playful hue really helped the space feel like our own. Our home, on the other hand, is extremely neutral. Most of the rooms (including Sloan’s nursery) are painted the same barely-there grey with a white trim, and our dining room—the one exception—is painted a heavy, grounded shade of navy. I’ve always loved the calm, cohesiveness of our neutral walls but I wanted to find a way to create an unapologetically girly moment that didn’t overwhelm our home (or G). Feminine colors can go overly cutesy easily, so I figured the perfect place to have some fun would be in my closet.

The closet I share with Geoffrey has no natural light and is long, narrow, and cramped, so there’s not much room to add personality to the space. I knew that I wanted to inject a shot of color to brighten up the space and make it more fresh for the New Year. For inspiration, I turned to BEHR‘s 2017 color trends.

Going through the collection, we had a lot to choose from, but I knew immediately that I wanted to incorporate both “Life is a Peach” and “Everything’s Rosy,” which felt feminine and punchy. Inspired by these two options, we decided to create an ombre shelf as the backdrop to my shoe collection. I chose tones from several color groups like a deep, juicy pink and “Cherry Cobbler,” which is a rich, nearly-red hue. All of the colors we selected are from the BEHR PREMIUM PLUS® line, which has a great price point (under $25) and low odor (which is particularly important when working in such a small space, like a closet), along with their BEHR PREMIUM PLUS ULTRA® line, which has an extra-durable surface that’s able to resist scuffs (or, say, tread marks from the bottom of heels).

While the colors are amazing, even their names were appealing, with titles like “Pinkadelic,” and “Juicy Details.” Once we’d selected all of our colors, we taped off the space and added sticky notes to remind us where each color went to minimize the room for error. We then applied two coats of each paint, using sponge brushes. It went on smoothly and only took an afternoon, even with time for drying.

I love that my new shelf is the first thing I see when I walk into the closet. It makes me happy and my shoes look that much more appealing. Now, the process of selecting which pair to wear feels like a treat—almost like walking into a candy shop. It’s such a fun, cheerful addition, especially given the easy effort of the project.