Easy DIY: Ugly Candlestick Painting

 

 

Here is a super quick and easy do it yourself-er. It came to me as I wandered the aisles of a local thrift store.

You'll need:
- metal candlesticks. I like varying heights. I like odd numbers. 5 is too many. Unless you want a matching pair or something. Whatever. I'm not your boss.
- Spray primer
- Spray paint
- Outside place

What happened is that I was in the thrift store, considering the pros and cons of buying charming mismatched china tea cups, saucers, and salad plates. Whimsical? Dumb? I wasn't sure.

But then, but THEN, I wandered into the tchotchkes aisle.

Serving trays, Precious Moments knock-off figurines (as if the originals weren't terrible enough), things made of glass and plastic, and candlesticks.

I thought "Huh. I like this, but I don't have the kind of home where I can just go around putting brass candlesticks everywhere." Then, "I will paint them."

I picked up a bunch, then narrowed the selection down to 3 by arranging them together and seeing what looked best, like SO:

I washed them, and took them outside.

I primed them using spray primer. Paint primer would have left a lot of brush marks that really aren't going to work with this project. I guess you COULD, but you'd have to wait for the primer to dry, then sand the crap out of it. Then do it again. Not for me.

I made sure every angle was covered and that the stream of primer was even.

There must be a better way to do this, but I don't know what that is. So this is what happened to my hands.

Look! They're blue! (and on the newly stained side table! See that project here.) 

Final arrangement, avec candles.

DIY Project: Prime and Paint Gross Bookshelf

Things I know (not a comprehensive list):

a. I have no money.
b. I want my house to look nice.
c. I want to have cute things in my house.
d. I have no money.

A solution to problems a and d is to buy cheap stuff.
A solution to b and c is to make that cheap stuff look nice.

I saw a bookshelf at a thrift store. It was $5.88.

And I was all like "Hey, I should buy this ugly bookshelf and paint it a nice color and put it under the wall of picture frames in my house!"

...and so I did. And so I did.

Here is the before!

I know. 

Right now, you are all like "Betsy, why did you buy this?" 

Because it was 5 dollars and 88 cents.

The first thing I had to do was clean it. You can buy a spray to do that. So I sprayed the stuff on. I wiped it off. Boom.Clean.

The next thing I had to do was sand the crap out of it. Because the surface was uneven and weird. So I did that. That took longer than I wanted, but eventually I evened things out.

I got some primer. I painted on a coat with a paint brush.
Waited an hour.
Sanded the primer.
Waited 2 hours.
Sanded it with a really fine sandpaper. (to get some larger brush strokes out)

I probbbbbably didn't sand it as much as I should have, but these things happen.

This is what it looked like after the primer:

I bought high gloss black spray paint because I wanted it to be shiny.

This is what it looked like after first coat:

And after the second coat:

In its new home, empty.

In its new home, with THINGS, you guys:

(Ed. note: I just piled a bunch of stuff in there.Other things will end up filling the shelves. I know we were all very concerned.)

Real Home: Decision Made!

Last week, I showed you some options for the nook.


After a successful stripping, priming, and painting of a bookshelf (that post will be up shortly) and the fact I'm halfway through a (so far) successful refinishing/staining table project, I've decided that I want to tackle reupholstering those two chairs. God help us all.

So if that ever actually happens, I'm thinking black high gloss paint for the wood and a bright pattern for the cushion (that post will come later with several fabric options).

Here are the chairs. Please ignore le mutt in the foreground. 

What this means for the nook is that I'm going to need to hold off on purchasing a bench/chair for it.

I still, however, needed additional seating for my living room. A few of you weighed in, in various ways, with your picks and opinions and you are all wonderful and smart and fashionable. I decided to go with...(drum roll please)...

The Gray Armchair!

 

  Here was the little picture window corner before:

 I had my plant, my little vintage table and the slipper chair. It was fine, but not like...AWESOME.

 And here it is after!

 I moved the armchair into the corner, moved the table to the side, and added some additional treasures/tchotchkes to the table. I also put two of my red picture boxes with stationary and other craft supplies underneath. Perfect storage opportunity, for the win. And...AND...I got to introduce some red into the mix. So, you know, big moves were made there.

Boom!

Good call on this one. It really is very comfortable. 

In the window, I'm seeding some of my little plants. 

(Front left to right: Red Peppers, Beefsteak Tomatoes, Strawberries)

 I moved the slipper chair to the other side, and added a folding table on the side. 

I now use it to pile my stuff on top of when I get home. 

BAM!

 And here's a view of living room looking into the kitchen. 

Ignore the disaster in the rest of the room. 

(You can see a sneak peek of the beginning of my wall gallery and newly painted bookshelf there on the left!)

xo.

Reading Nook

So, in the living room, I wanted a place to be able to lounge and read where the TV wasn't the focus. The living room itself is super small, so I thought it would be nice to have to separate areas, each with a different feel (the other side, I'll post soon!)

I got a really gorgeous and comfy plush beige rug and put two thrift store chairs on either side of the window. I had the bookshelf from when I lived in Boston and piled in as many books as possible. (Along with, my FAVORITE, photo boxes to store stationary and other tchotchkes in an aesthetically pleasing way.) Add some Ralph Lauren woven pillows and we've got a little something going on here I think.

I'm thinking about putting a large overstuffed chair or maybe a loveseat between the chairs. I really want to put some floor cushions down, but I'm afraid my dog, Henry, would immediately fur them. Either way, it needs more color.

bookshelf - ikea, chairs & candle holder - thrift, rug - target, dog, pillows - ralph lauren