Re-Painted Magazine Rack

This re-painted magazine rack was a great find. The top shelf was originally a medium colored brown wood that had seen it’s better days. It was faded and had dry patches and discoloration throughout. The bottom was a flat black metal color and nothing about this piece was esthetically appealing to begin with.

I began with the thought of painting the shelf top an antiqued white color chalk paint and then maybe distressing it or glazing over the top to add something, anything to it… But, it was so plain and boring I just couldn’t stand it. Hahaha…

I took the same antiqued white and dry brushed areas of the bottom black metal, which added a little color and dimension – but it was still just sort of plain and boring.

Maybe adding in some teal would spruce it up and make it look a bit “patina’d”. Yes, I’m pretty sure I just made up that word – but it works for me 🙂 Using the same dry brush technique, I layered on the colors and added the floral stencil with black of to the side to play up the hole on the shelf top. 

This is nothing like I have ever painted but I am pretty happy with the results and have already gotten 4 compliments on it. Re-painting this piece was more of a challenge than I originally thought it would be. Funny how sometimes you think a project will be a breeze to complete and as you go along, it stumps you over and over. This was one of those projects.

Pick up a brush and paint or re-paint that piece of furniture to change the look of your existing or outdated hand me down pieces. It is just paint after all and if you don’t like it, paint over it until you do. Be creative and have fun~