Painted Makeovers For More Thrifty Finds

I posted on Sunday about the makeover on a thrifted headboard for my daughter and thought I'd post about some of the other transformations today.

A few years ago, I redid a dresser for my daughter, and I posted about it HERE.

As you may well know, as time goes by, desires and taste change, as well in this case. When I originally redid the dresser, my daughter did not want the mirror so I had sold that on craigslist. Now, as you may already guess, she decided she wanted a mirror. I don't know about you, but I searched craigslist, thrift stores and just about everywhere for a mirror that I thought she would like at a good price. Let me just say, mirrors are expensive.....even second hand mirrors.

Remember me talking about that estate sale I was able to go to before the sale actually started?? Well, they had a mirror  that was a good price. Was it pretty?? No, not so much, but it was SOLID wood and the details were amazing. Did I think it was my daughters taste, no, not so much, infact, I did not even send her a picture of it. Did I think I could make this work? Absolutely and for $35.00 I just had to have it. I actually wanted to keep it for myself. 

This mirror is OLD, really old. It is heavy as lead. It was looking rather tired and sad at the estate sale and in fact, I almost overlooked it. My friend commented on the mirror and I gave it a look over, and could see it was too good to leave behind. I tried to imagine bringing this piece to an updated look for a young adult and thought I could achieve that.   I took it home and got to work. I lightly sanded the places like in this picture, there were no major areas that needed work, just a couple of places around the rim.

Next, taped off the mirror itself, and a couple of spray paint cans later, this became exactly what I thought it could be. For my taste, I would have painted it another color for sure, but I knew it was going over a black dresser and even if I wanted to paint it another color, I knew it would not be what Alisha would have wanted.

It took about three coats of paint, as this soaked up the paint really well.....it was really dry.

Here is a close up of the detail of the mirror. It is lovely and has the most wonderful texture.

Here it is hanging over the dresser. I love it and my daughter does too. That lamp, another thrift store find. Absolutely perfect too. The lamp has a black base and a grayish shade, perfect for her bedroom.

This piece was something I picked up from honestly, I don't know where. It was one of those brown early american pieces. It was ugly to be honest....but. When I purchased it I had thought to paint it, but just never did. I decided now was the time. I had a soft cream colored spray paint and painted this with two coats of paint.

This embellishment was a find in the scrap booking section at Michael's, it is metal. I used spray adhesive sprayed to the back of the metal piece and adhered it to the front. I like the added something it gave the piece.

I had a couple of matching milk glass pieces, and they make great holders for jewelry or other treasures and trinkets.

Here is the finished look. The little birds were also a black and brown set I picked up from somewhere years ago. I enjoyed them for many years but I decided they needed an update too. So I applied several coats of white spray paint and they have a fresh updated look and also a new home.

I know lots of folks who think they have to spend a lot of money on brand new stuff for home decor. It simply is not the case. You have to have a vision, then go out and find what you need to make that vision come to life. 

The only updated cost here was the price of the mirror, which I know was a very good price. I know some might say I ruined it painting it black, but really no I did not. If she ever gets tired of the mirror, I have already claimed it back and a little paint or glaze in any color would give it a whole new look. It will be loved for the rest of our lives, that is for sure. 

The early american tray maybe cost a couple of dollars and the cost of the paint. I used the paint that I already  had at home, which most of that was what I picked up at sales for fifty cents a can. Not bad....not bad at all. I think it looks fantastic and so does my daughter. What do you think? Can you get past the black color and see the beauty?? What projects are you working on?