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I love garage sales, thrift stores, even shopping in my own basement. I’m not gonna lie, my heart even does a little pitter patter when I see something that remotely resembles furniture on the side of the road! There is so much that can be done to put new life into old things. My favorite way to transform or update an old item is with paint. Spray paint, canned paint, chalkboard paint, so much can be painted and restored. Let’s look at 5 household items that can be updated with a little elbow grease and a little (or a lot of) paint.
Desk accessories-I don’t know about you, but I am much more productive when my desk is looking good. I love organization and have bought or been gifted quite a few desk accessories. However, my taste and style has evolved over time, and thought the accessories are wonderful, sturdy even, I don’t want them taking precious real estate on my desk if it isn’t appealing to the eye, ya know? That’s why, when I built my corner desk, I knew I needed to update this drawer unit to compliment the other items on my desk. All I did was remove the hardware, paint it gold with Krylon spray paint (see my resource page for the paint I used!), roll white paint on the outside and drawer fronts, and we were back in business!
File cabinets-On the same thread as the desk accessories, I also needed to update my file cabinet. It was just too big to NOT go with the rest of my desk scheme. So, I rolled 3 coats of paint+primer in white/semi gloss paint. I removed the hardware on the front and sprayed that gold while the paint was drying. Check out my resources page for the gold paint I used on the hardware (pssst, it’s the same as the desk accessory above) Super cute and sooo easy!
Furniture-I LOVE a good furniture before and after, and I sure have had my fair share of them. BUT I must say to really think about painting before you pull the trigger. Once you paint, it is really difficult to remove the paint, should you change your mind. Once your mind is set for painting the piece, then GO FOR IT! I have painted end tables, dressers, tables, chairs, bed frames, and bookcases. Really nothing is off limits, and it’s sooo easy! I usually use the same paint that I get for my walls, a 2 inch brush for those corners and hard-to-reach spots, and a mini roller for the flat surfaces. For the update below, I wanted matching end tables, but not too match-matchy. So I bought these pulls (also on my resource page) and painted both pieces alike, with matching hardware. I love how they both turned out!
Frames-I love using frames around my house. You can hang them with or without a picture in them, put a wreath inside it, layer frames, hang alone or with multiples. You can get REALLY great frames at Good will, and these are usually great to paint. And many times, they can be purchased for under $10. That’s a GREAT deal! Find a frame to fit your front door, paint it a bright color, add a bow or wreath inside and you have a unique look to your front door!
Check this post out for 5 other ways to update an old frame.
Front Door-Speaking of front doors, the last item on my list is to paint the front door. Just do it already. I know you’ve been thinking about painting your front door “forever”. So get ‘er done! This is easily an hour or two project, so no excuses! We painted ours black, and I LOVE how it looks with our black shutters. I also love the interior black doors. Black doors are so visually appealing! However, I have seen great front doors in red, yellow, even robin’s egg blue. I would recommend using samples first to make sure you love your color before committing to the whole thing. Check out this post by Laura Trevey that shows 12 different front door colors and I love ALL of them!!
There you have it. 5 different household items that can be updated and restored with just a little bit of paint. Anywhere from $3.50 a spray can to $20 a gallon, you can love or love again any piece in your home. Happy painting!