Goodbye Brass, Hello Class

June 3, 2009

Earlier I hinted at the stash of exceptionally tacky brass objects I picked up at the Goodwill yesterday.  I had been looking for the perfect little table to sit next to my master bathtub for keeping soaps, washcloths and other bath products handy.  Then I spotted a hideously shiny metal table that I knew I could transform with just a bit of spray paint.

Here are the items before the transformation.  They consist of a shiny brass table and candlesticks, rusty planter, tarnished mint julep cup and brassy framed mirror.  Total rejects right?  Wrong.

Here’s my transformation:

First things first.  In order to shout “Be gone, vile brass!” you must arm yourself with spray paint.  I wanted to give the candlesticks an antiqued look, so I sprayed the first layer with an espresso color:

Then I gave the candlesticks a second layer of Rustoleum’s ‘Heirloom White’ (a favorite) and wiped away a bit of paint with moist wipes to expose the brown underneath.

Next, I spray painted the $2 mirror and $1 rusty bucket with the same paint.  I wiped away a bit of paint on the frame to expose the beaded trim underneath.

I spray painted the $5 brass metal table with the same Heirloom White paint.  And I cleaned up this silver mint julep cup with a bit of silver polish.  I added some candles and towels from Kohls, some soaps and hydrangea buds, and now I have my lovely bath side table, equipped for all things relaxing.  I love the harlequin pattern on the base of this little table.

Now it’s time to order that Oceanside glass tile this week to trim out my next big home improvement project:  my dream master shower, wahoo!

 

.

 

Tags: spray paint, thrift store fin

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at and is filed under Before & After, Decorating, Drab to Fab, Rescued & Revamped, Spray Paint: My BFF, Thrift Store Transformations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

69 Responses to “Goodbye Brass, Hello Class”

1. Susie Q says:

   June 9, 2009 at

   Beautiful! And I wish there was room in our master bathroom for a pretty little table like that. Our master bath is smaller than the kids' bath…sigh. And not much bigger than the half bath downstairs…double sigh.
2. janae says:

   June 9, 2009 at

   FAB is right! They look great! I love when other people can see the Beauty while it still looks like the beast :)
3. hurdlereb says:

   June 10, 2009 at

   Absolutely love this and love Rustoleum!! :)
4. Centsational Girl » Blog Archive » Bathtub Bliss says:

   September 22, 2009 at

   [...] Read all about the spa shelf transformation right here.  [...]
5. Centsational Girl » Blog Archive » Grand Tour: Master Bath says:

   October 5, 2009 at

   [...] This spa shelf was one of my transformations from a few months back where some tacky thrift store brass objects met up with my can of spray paint.  Read all about it here.   [...]
6. Rosemary Vontran says:

   November 26, 2009 at

   Could you please tell me the color blue you painted? It is absolutely beautiful!

   Thank you.
7. Centsational Girl » Blog Archive » Before & Afters of 2009 says:

   December 17, 2009 at

   [...] #14 Goodbye Brass, Hello Class [...]
8. {The Classy Woman} says:

   February 17, 2010 at

   I am so enjoying your blog. I love all of your transformations, pretty and high class all the way!
9. Pink Inc. says:

   April 10, 2010 at

   Wow that does look Fab! You go girl
10. Heather says:

    May 16, 2010 at

    You are so amazingly creative! I have enjoyed reading your posts about revamping furniture and thrift store finds.. Thanks for sharing your creativity and inspiring me to try as well!!
11. Krista says:

    August 31, 2010 at

    Hi there-

    I love your site. I’m newly addicted to spray painting so I visit many times a day for reference:) I painted some brass things and the paint keeps chipping…did you use a sealer?

    thanks!
    Krista walker
    [email protected]
12. Michelle Lunt says:

    September 9, 2010 at

    This is one of my favorite posts! I love it and I love your blog. You really ARE sensational!

    Warmly, Michelle
13. MostlySunny says:

    September 28, 2010 at

    I giggled when I saw this post….before I ever read it–I bought myself the EXACT same candlesticks at a thrift store!! I sprayed them black and used E6000 to adhere a super cute plate to the top–as my little dessert stands!
14. Jennifer says:

    November 7, 2010 at

    Someone really got rid of that tarnished mint julep cup! Wow, well great find for yourself! Also, I am really enjoying ;your blog and what you do. Just signed up to follow too! :)
15. Kristin says:

    February 8, 2011 at

    Sometimes you sand before you spray paint and sometimes you don’t? I’m a beginner…can you explain to me if you sanded these items before spray painting or was it not necessary?
16. Christina says:

    June 20, 2011 at

    Just found your website. :) Its a joy. I am sure I will spend many more hours going through your projects! I am a thrift store, yard sale junkie :) Anyway, great job!
17. Brandy~Lyn says:

    December 27, 2011 at

    That is really cute! I would have room in the main bathroom for something like that, but I’m sure my 2 boys would just throw a bath towel over the whole thing! Btw, what is a mint julep cup for? It is a cute little cup.
18. Cyrie says:

    February 18, 2012 at

    Today I found some brass candle holders at a local thrift store and found this post about your brass transformations. But I can’t see any of the pics!! They are all black with triangles and exclamation points. Is there something I need to do to see the pics? The descriptions sound amazing and I am feeling so cheated :) Please help!
19. CentsationalGirl says:

    February 19, 2012 at

    All fixed now Cyrie!