Garbage to Gorgeous

January 10, 2012

in Centsible DIY

My girls love to make art and my 9 year old is especially good at finding use for ‘found’ objects like paper towel rolls, shoeboxes, and our recycling. A few weeks ago she found a pot the neighbors had put out on trash day. It was clear it had been outside and the paint that was either originally on it or that they had added was peeling off so curbside it went. She saw something beautiful about it though, so we rescued it from the trash. (this is typical in our neighborhood-every big item we put curbside gets picked up by someone before garbage day)

We spent some time cleaning it with water and soap and then I used sandpaper to rough up the surface.

At first I added a watery white paint to the surface to allow the original clay and blue paint to shine through but it looked unfinished not intentional, so I wanted to update it again.


My inspiration was this pin from Pinterest.

I thought the color was gorgeous without being too perfect (a problem in a house where kids destroy things) and akin to one of the layers of color on our pot. When we looked at paint samples I couldn’t find the ‘right’ blue so I opted for a glossy white instead.

Now it’s an adorable little side table for our narrow living room, or an umbrella stand for use by our front door. Personally I love it as a side table, but the umbrella stand was it’s original use.

I’m thankful Emma has an eye for things that can be reused, and she let us all use it as a side table for now.

Have you ever taken a found item and turned into something you loved?

Kelly

 

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About Kelly


Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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Tagged as: centsible diy, garbage to gorgeous

  • Anonymous

    Gorgeous work indeed! While not quite as creative, I did manage to find a white desk on my neighbourhood curb and turn that into a bookshelf (after a coat of paint). No assembly required.

  • http://www.styleaesthetic.com Bethy Hardeman

    I love this update! I hope to do more (or some) DIY and restyle projects this year, especially since the hubs and I are being more aggressive with our savings. Time to tighten the belt! Thanks for sharing!

  • http://www.squarepennies.blogspot.com/ Maggie@SquarePennies

    Gorgeous! I think they call that a garden stool or something like that. They often cost upwards of $100 so you got a real steal. And you kept it out of the landfill.
    I took in an old birdcage someone had put out. I removed the dilapidated floor & just keep it as a fun decor item. I haven’t painted it, but there are all sorts of possibilities if I do. Fun!

  • http://www.moneybeagle.com/ Money Beagle

    Good find and great eye! Lucky you don’t have the neighbor that my in-laws do. The neighbor threw out a pre-lit Christmas tree a couple of years back because some of the lines were no longer working. My father-in-law took it, fixed the lines, and the neighbor came and asked for it back!

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