Tackling a spot in your home that needs a thorough cleaning can feel so good, doesn’t it? Kinda like therapy in and of its own. We have the opportunity to get rid of naturally occurring filth like dirt and dust, but then also really evaluate what exists in that space. Once such area I consistently tackle is my workshop. It’s full of dirt and sawdust for sure, but also oodles of potential – of things yet to be. Here is what I chose to work on today from my constant cleaning spot. Do you know what they are? Well, they’re going to become upcycled storage and some DIY wall art. Woot!
Okay, so I told you what they’re going to become. Any guesses as to what they are? A friend gave them to me and told me they were off her beds used as bed rails for kids. I will admit I had a totally different plan for them initially, but I like what I came up with secondhand better.
First, I took those pieces with spindles in it and decided to create the upcycled storage. I grabbed some wood from my stash and cut it to length using my miter saw
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Yes, I jerry-rigged a sheet around my saw to catch the sawdust that I am perpetually cleaning up. It saves me oodles of time! A dust collector is high on my list of wants for my workshop. One day it will happen…trust me!
Then, I gave those few slats of wood a couple coats of paint with my Palm Pro brush. While those were curing I sprayed the spindled rails with a Pure Gold
To assemble my vision, I really wanted to use only items from my stash, so instead of running to the hardware store for conduit straps, I made my own. I’ve had these metal straps I yanked off a curbside chair ages ago and they have come in handy for things like my funky junk coat rack seen HERE.
I simply cut the metal to length with my tin snips
Before I show you the finished upcycled storage, let me show you what I did with the rest. What remains to create with are these wood slats that were part of the bed rails.
They instantly spoke to me to become wall art with that slot notched out of them. So, again I used my miter saw to cut them to length and miter the corners.
Then I cut some hardboard that I use often to make chalkboards and such as seen in these posts. That stuff is one of my must haves in my stash. Viola! I have a blank slate.
This was my dry fit, so to get done what I envisioned, I took it apart and sprayed the frames with Antique Brass
Then, it was time for the art. I wanted to do a fun metallic effect to go with all the metal colors I was using. I’m all about patina, so I used my Patina Paint in Copper to create my design.
The key to using this awesome stuff is to add the Patina Spray in Green (and a bit of Blue Patina Spray) while the second coat is still wet. What happens is that actual metal in the paint interacts with the corrosive spray to give you instant patina. You can see it in action in the video below I created to add patina to our garden arbor.
Once all is dried, everything is set in place to show you.
I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of my visions for these cast-offs. The upcycled storage can be used as towel rack as I’m showing, or for most any thing really…plants, toys, collectibles…you name it!
Plenty of storage for bath essentials and the design has the modern boho vibe that I have come to love. My DIY conduit straps worked out awesome to hold it all into place. All this was created from scrap in my stash…how awesome is that?!
And who doesn’t love a cute place to stick a plant?
My DIY wall art up above was fun to create and make. Those rails were perfect for making frames for both of my art pieces.
The copper paint and brass metallic paints keep with the same theme I’m after with the upcycled storage. Hard to tell in the pics of the patina, but I think you get the idea.
What is even better is that the naturally occurring patina will continue to age over time. Isn’t that so cool?!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these couple creations of mine. If you’d love to make them your own, they are available in my online shop.
Do pin and share to inspire others to create some upcycled storage or DIY wall art for their home. You may not know what cool stuff you have lurking in the corner!
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More upcycled storage ideas:
and not only fill all those acorns on the hutch and drawers, but also the pull holes. Those are going buh-bye too.
(talk about handy!) to remove the back of the hutch. I’ll get back to what I’m going to do with that in a bit.
and then added a different 
and 
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and 
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and cleanup is done faster than you can blink. I love it.
to add some color and texture to the desk. The best part is that if I ever want to change it up, I just peel it off and go on my merry way. Isn’t it awesome?!
. (another favorite tool and why my motto has always been #toolsoverjewels)
– a huge beauty.
to cut it down.
