I am addicted to thrifting. I go to my local thrift store at least once a week, just to see what treasures I can find. I admit it. I know I am addicted. I just can’t help the feeling I get when I see something that was donated and discarded, and I know I can make something great out of it. My latest thrift project… Behold the new plant shelf.
I got this shelf for $8! It didn’t have a price tag, and so I was shocked when he told me it was only $8. It was sturdy, didn’t wobble, metal, AND came with all of the glass shelves!!!
I paid, and promptly tried to fit it into the back of my SUV… Which was an experience all on its own. Between one attendant telling me I should wait for a man to come help me carry it to my car, and another telling me a young women like myself shouldn’t be lifting it, I became MORE determined. I have issues with authority/ people like that…
I hoisted it on my back, and set out to do it myself. AND…..It was about 2ft. too wide for my car. My trailer back home that it would fit on, was full of ALL of the yard clipping from the entire summer and had been sitting in my driveway to take to the dump for about 3 weeks ( thank you ADHD.) So I moved it back to the side of the store, asked them to put a sold sticker on it, and rearranged my day to get the crap on the trailer to the dump so I could take home my precious new find.
Three hours, and several branch scratches on my arms later, I had successfully back the trailer up to the site at the dump on my own, unloaded it all, and made it back to the thrift store in one piece. I was feeling pretty accomplished. I loaded it on, and made it home. Then the work began.
Enough of story time though. Here is how I re-finished the shelf to get it looking swanky and new.
Materials:
- Acetone – I used THIS one.
- Old rag
- Old cardboard or drop cloth
- Gold metallic spray paint
- Clear satin spray paint
- general glass cleaner
Total cost, including the shelf purchase was $13 since I had some supplies on hand.
Step 1: Remove any loose hardware and clean with acetone and a rag.
I chose to clean with acetone because I love how quickly it strips away any old paint spots, and get the surface ready for new paint. If it had any rusty spots I made sure to scrub those areas with a little steel wool to get any flakes off. I will have to make another post about using acetone to restore old hardware. It is like MAGIC!
Step 2: Spray, Spray, Spray!
I used gold metallic spray paint, and went to town on every angle coating it twice.
The paint made such a huge difference. I let it dry, and then did a second coat making sure to cover any spots I had missed the first time. I like to flip pieces over to different sides to get better angles when the piece is not flat. The rounded bars on this one required some close attention to detail.
Step 3: Seal
I used Satin clear coat spray paint for this step. I just coated every inch like I did with the gold paint. This will help the paint stay longer and be stronger against scratches. I will warn that when you are using a metallic spray paint, putting a little but of clear coat over it usually dulls the sparkle of the metallic paint a little bit. It took away a little bit when I did it this time, but the durability was more important to me, so I was ok with it.
Step 4: Clean glass shelves and decorate!
Thats it! I cleaned up the glass shelves it came with, with some window cleaner and paper towels. Then I arranged my plant babies into their new home. I love the way it turned out, and I think it helps the corner to look much less cluttered.
I added some propagation starts to the top shelf. My husband said before it looked like a piece of bathroom shelving you get for cheap at the store, and now it looks much more high end. Not bad for $13.
Thanks for stopping by! Happy thrifting and creating!
-Amanda