At first glance when encountered on one of my frequent thrifting adventures, this magazine rack was anything but eye-catching. As is the case with most of the rehab works shown in the past on this page, I had to use a little creativity to imagine this as anything but a worthless piece of trash.

What You’ll Need

Assortment of acrylic paints of your choosing

Sand paper

Foam paintbrushes

Stencils (unless you prefer to freehand the designs)

Spray gloss sealer

Instructions

Sanding the nooks and crannies of the spindled legs to a desired smoothness was probably the hardest and most time-consuming segment of this project.

I then went with a '50s-era aqua hue to achieve the retro vibe I sought. Stencils, being the beautiful things that there are, allowed me to go further in the design motif than I would have in any freehand effort.

Fuschia, besides being a strong complementary hue, is here punctuated by hints of a darker green in rendering the stenciled bird and floral designs.

As a finishing touch, I then accented the finials and other top-most edges of the rack to give it one more element of “pop.” Don’t forget such little additions as they can go a long way in giving any piece a more refined, thoughtful theme. Top it off with a spray or three of gloss sealer.

At the risk of being guilty of a little bragging, this fun, quick, and easy project exceeded all of my expectations.