Genius spray ideas (and for cheap!)

Tired of all your stuff but finding that there’s not much room in the budget to buy new decor treats? Then empty out the change jar and pick up a couple of cans of spray paint. These days, there’s one for every material, including plastic (I like Krylon's Fusion for this), metal, wicker and even glass. I asked a couple of my stylin’ pals to come up with one great idea for using spray paint to resurrect an aging accessories as a glam new objet.

Designer William (I‘ll share my chic) Macdonald (416 362 0889) suggests spray painting hot colour on all your old garden pots — plastic, metal or terracotta. (Or go all white for a cool look, especially nice if you use an all-green planting theme, IMHO) Use a gloss paint that will bounce the colour off all that sunshine!

Arren (Bananas – in a good way) Williams recently spray-painted a tarnished silver granny-ish tea set white to create a cool centrepiece. He’s also seen walking away far too often (he says) from Value Village or Goodwill stores with vintage lamps that he takes homes and sprays new life into (see pic at left).

Janette (I live to spray) Ewen is a self confessed spray paint junkie. Her most recent project was to spray paint slightly fusty looking wrought iron chairs in high gloss lime – a ridiculously simple way to get a high-end look for peanuts. The secret, she says, is all in the application – Janette always uses a Rustoleum Comfort Grip handle (available at Lowe’s for about $7), which goes over the nozzle and helps to give a more even finish. Like William, she thinks choosing a gloss finish adds polish to any spray paint project. Speaking of gloss and polish, you should check out the new line of kitchens Janette has designed for Dolcemano – all smooth, slick surfaces with hits of eye-popping colour, which I especially love on the interiors of open-fronted cabinets.

Comments

[Penny Sparke]

Hi there, loving the spray paint ideas - could you give us some tips on how to do it properly? Thanks, Penny

[Lisa Canning]

Spray paint is my best friend too. I'm terrible, however, at remembering to wear gloves and always end up with spray nails as well : )