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Painting Candlesticks and Other Household Items

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If I am ever in the mood to shop for new home decor, I start by looking around my house!  Yes, I have piles of old home decor items that are unused because they’ve gone out of style and chances are good that you do, too!  But alas, with a little bit of paint and imagination, I can typically come up with a new look that I love. Painting candlesticks (and lots of other old decor) makes all the difference!

Using paint to update old decor items.

Get other painting ideas and tips here!

Painting Candlesticks and Other Household Items

About 10 years ago, I was very much into Tuscan decor.  I used rust, gold, and brown in every room.  My kitchen had gold faux finished walls and my great room was dark brown.  It was popular, so I did it.  But, I never loved it.  This look would have been great in Italy, but I live in the Midwest!  It just never felt authentic.

I’m certainly not insulting this look, it just wasn’t for me.  Over the past couple of years I have slowly been transforming my home with lighter, brighter colors.  I find that I occasionally go overboard and try to paint everything white!

When looking through some of my older household items, I came across several candlesticks and a few other items I thought could use a quick makeover.  I grabbed a few supplies and got to work!

RELATED: Painted Furniture Makeovers

Supplies:

  • Rustoleum American Accents spray paint in Granite, satin finish
  • Valsar Metallic spray paint in Brilliant Silver (I picked this up at WalMart)
  • Amy Howard One Step Paint in Bauhaus Buff (Ace Hardware carried this line of paint)
  • Sample pot of Sherwin Williams in Urbane Bronze, satin finish
  • Paper plate (I use as my paint palette)
  • 2 Chip brushes   (You definitely do not need a good quality brush for this)
  • Clean rags and water
Spray paint, Amy Howard, Rustoleum.

Rust Candlesticks BEFORE:

Painting Candlesticks before image.

First coat of granite spray paint:

Painting candlesticks gray.

After dry brushing:

gray candlesticks after painting with dry brush technique.

Rust candlesticks AFTER in their new home:

(Notice the lamps, I spray painted them using the metallic spray paint several months ago):

Side table decorated for spring.

Steps for painting candlesticks and plastic planter:

  1.  Spray paint two light coats of Rustoleum in Granite, allowing dry time for each coat.
  2.  I used slightly watered down white chalk paint as well as a small amount of Urbane Bronze for dry brushing.  What is “dry brushing” you ask?  I use it to show highlighting on a painted piece and/or to give a distressed look.  Dip only the tip of the paint brush into the paint color of choice and offload any excess paint onto a paper towel or a clean portion of the paper plate.  Then, use a light feathering approach with your dry brush onto your piece.  I used white mainly and very little Urbane Bronze for this process.  Use a separate brush for each color you are dry brushing.
  3.  If you get too much in an area, use a damp cloth to wipe/blend.  How much you use is truly personal preference.
  4. No need to put a protective coat on this.  I think the chalky/matte look is great and with the spray paint as your base coat, it will be fairly durable.

My Fancy Painting Palette 😉

Red paper plate with paint on it.

Plastic green planter before:

(I originally got this for a St. Patrick’s DIY that I never completed!:

Plastic, green planter prior to updating with gray paint.
Allowing plastic planter to dry after first coat of gray spray paint.
Cheap plastic planter after painting with gray spray paint and dry brushing with white chalk paint.

The below candlesticks have been a variety of different colors throughout the years.  At one point they were dark green, then they were an off white chalk paint color.  After I painted them white, they definitely needed some dimension, I just never got around to doing that!  So, I shifted course and used the same process on these as those above.

Dark Green Candlesticks (Before):

Sorry for the blurry photo; it was taken years ago and it was the only picture of the candlesticks I could find when they were still green!

Green candlesticks prior to painting gray.

White Chalk Paint application (too boring!):

White chalk paint on candle sticks was too boring.

After:

Candlestick makeover with paint.

Painted Candlesticks in Their New Home:

Painted candlesticks on the mantle.

Other household items updated with paint:

The other paint project I completed was transforming this brassy napkin holder (I use as a mail sorter) into a fun metallic silver.  Two light coats of the metallic spray paint provided a great coverage for this piece.  I waited 24 hours before using to ensure it was completely dry/cured.

Napkin holder before:

Napkin holder in gold before using silver spray paint.

Napkin Holder AFTER:

Napkin holder with metallic silver spray paint.

Don’t forget to PIN THIS FOR LATER!

Updating candlesticks with chalk paint.

Decor can be expensive, so finding ways to give your outdated items a new look can really help the pocketbook.  Have you painted any of your old decor?  Painting candlesticks will just be the beginning!

More ideas to update your home with paint:

Leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear from you!

Sign of from April at Love Our Real Life

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10 Comments

  1. These look so great, what a fabulous makeover!!! I love that something so simple can make such a big difference!

  2. Saving this for later because there are several things in my home that could use some sprucing up with a little paint!

  3. Super excited about this post! I have been wanting to upcycle a few things around my house…can’t wait to try this out!

  4. Those are so pretty! I love that finish! It makes me want to wander around my house looking for things to paint.

  5. Great ideas April! Thanks for sharing. I need to start gathering some outdated items and give them new life.

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