The Wonder of Spray Paint

"Do what you can with what you have, when you have it."

~ Theodore Roosevelt
This transformation brought to you by a little sandpaper, primer and a couple of cans of Rustoleum! I recently helped a friend turn this hand-me-down dud into the sage green star of the living room. Bless her heart, she had never used spray paint before. But before the day was over we'd spray painted all the drapery hardware and some lamps in her family room. It was glorious!

Ah, spray paint ... is there anything it can't do? What else can transform a piece of furniture, picture frame, accessory or fixture so quickly and completely? When you think about it, it's simply amazing.

Now, I've always loved the quick change spray paint offers, but I've become especially obsessed since moving into our house last year. There were so many fixtures and things we couldn't use, but I knew someone else could. So a little spray paint, a quick posting on Craigslist and voila! Extra cash for the decorating budget.

Here's a light fixture that went from "Granny's Florida Room" to "Sweet Girly Chic" in about two cans:

Like how the "before" picture is on my bare mattress? One word: Classy. The folks who bought this fixture were going to add strings of crystal beads and hang it in their baby girl's nursery. Fabulous!

Anywhoo, I've saved beaucoup bucks spray painting plenty of things we've actually kept in the house too. Metal AC vents, the frost on our glass front door, and don't forget the fabulous transformation of the light fixtures in our master bathroom.

This was a cute little mirror, but it needed some jazz and personality. So I added a fleur-de-lis finial for some cajun flavor and spray painted it a yellow as wild as Mardi Gras. Oh la la! And it just happens to be for sale on my new Etsy shop! (squeal!)

My antique expert mother-in-law had this sweet little Jenny Lind twin bed in her treasure trove of vintage gems. It was hand made in the late 1800's of solid walnut and has a great shape. But we thought the dark finish didn't do too much for its diminutive size and girly shape. A coat of primer and antique white -- and it's ready to grace some lucky little girl's bedroom. Like it? Really?! Good, cuz it's for sale on CraigsList!

So. What will you spray paint today? Dust off some stuff in your garage and start shaking that can. While you decide what to transform, here are my top three painting tips:

1. Cover your painting surface (for me, it's our driveway). You don't want the tell-tale outline of that transformed item reminding you of your little project for years to come.

2. Use a tarp, not newspaper. It sticks to the stuff you're painting and makes clean-up messy.

3. Don't try to "cover the earth" in one heavy coat. You'll just get glops and drips. Two (or even three, if the item will be handled a lot) is soooo much better. Trust me, I've sanded down and repainted a lot of glops.

For more tips and ideas, check out my girl Thrifty Decor Chick's spray painting page. See you next time!