Green and black makeover for a rusted metal shelf (no chocolate involved)

The Find

While out for a walk on trash night (every freestyler's favorite night of the week) I came across this old-school metal shelf.

Discarded metal shelf

Upon some examination by light-of-cellphone I determined that this was a perfectly serviceable shelf.  Also the old gray metal shelf is very lightweight which made it easy to carry back to the freestyle workshop.

The Makeover

As per usual, the course of action with this piece was as follows: clean, sand, paint, use!

The rust was pretty heavy on the top side of the shelves and one of the legs, perhaps it was in some standing water or mud.

Metal shelf: side view

Metal shelf: view of bottom shelf rust

Metal shelf: rusted bottom of leg

After doing some hand-sanding - until I felt it was good enough and I got bored with it - I wiped off the piece and was ready to start spray painting.  I used the spray paints I had on hand, glossy green and glossy black.  Since I did not fully remove all of the rust and make the surface smooth you can see the patchiness of the glossy black finish even after 2-ish coats.  Since this is not a 'forever' piece - I wanted something serviceable and not flaking rust - I'm not too concerned about the patchiness of the finish. Also, it is a shelf, so the plan is to store stuff on the shelf, not gaze at it critically.

Metal shelf after repainting in green and black

Conclusion

After the paint was nice and dry the shelf came inside to serve as storage somewhere. It found a temporary-ish place against a wall and a few minutes later was identified as the perfect spot to hold the power tool battery charger. Hmm, I see where this might be going.....

Metal shelf: starting a new storage journey holding power tools

Happy Freestyling!

Garden of freestyle delights - rusted metal plant stand makes a comeback in glossy black

The Find

Perhaps you can guess, but I don't even remember where I got this oddly shaped metal thing, some trash pile somewhere. It was a bit rusty, still solid (no breaks in the metal), and lightweight enough to carry easily. Naturally I took it home with me to see if it was what I thought it was.  Also, really, I just thought the shape was cool.

Found: metal thing

Take a closer look and you can see that the metal had some significant rusty bits.  Luckily it seemed like all surface rust, nothing significant.

Closeup of some rust

The Makeover

My initial thought was that the rounded ends of the metal would be a good fit under the lip of one of the standard pottery sizes.  I tested it on an adobe pot that I already had on hand, perfect fit!

Proof! Metal thing fits a planter, perfectly

After determining that the metal would indeed serve as a plant stand, I decided upon a course of action. These courses of action are usually pretty simple: clean (sand), spray paint, use.

Spray painting on some new glossy black

Conclusion

Now this once-forlorn and abandoned piece of metal has a new modish life as a plant stand.  In this case as a plant stand for a freestyled planter (once gray, now painted white) holding a lovely lush fern -- perfect as an air cleaner in a shady home.

Final product: Glossy black metal plant stand

Happy freestyle gardening and creating in whatever direction the freestyle path takes you!

Garden of freestyle delights - a round hayrack planter meets some hot pink mini chrysanthemums

The Find

While out and about for a walk I came across this tempting pile of garden giveaways. So neatly stacked up! Can you spot the black metal wire planter in the left stack? I took a few other things too...

Discarded garden supplies

The Fix

The round metal basket was very much in keeping with the style of some other finds and purchases sprinkled through the garden, including the first and second metal hayrack planters I found this summer.

I had to buy a slightly oversized coir insert because the superstore didn't have one that was an exact fit. I figured I could just fold in any excess, and I was right.

Conclusion

Wire metal planter with coir insert and
hot pink mums.

One pot of dark pink mums was just the right size to fit inside of this freestyle find.

Happy freestyling, and don't be afraid to spend a few bucks to make that find beautiful!

Water-damaged squoval mirror makeover

 While out and about I saw this mirror out in a discard pile somewhere.  Made all the way back in 1999. 

Too bad! Upon closer inspection it appeared that part of the frame had suffered from water damage.  I think it is a press-wood or press-board frame because the damaged part had expanded when it got wet.

What do you think of the shape? I like the outer shape of a square but the inner part being a pointed oval to reveal the mirror - the best of both worlds.

The front was a bit roughed up, you can see the lighter streaks of discoloration. Luckily the hanging hardware (inset keyhold hardware) was still intact on the back side.

I thought about taking the mirror out of the frame and either cutting a new frame or mounting the mirror on an interesting shape of wood.  However, in the end, I decided to just spray paint the entire frame black in order to hide the uneven bits that had expanded.  I used a gloss black spray paint and the look was fine, buuuuuut a bit severe. It felt a little too goth chic, so I added a pop of green with a stencil in the upper left corner.  And yes, I was not careful enough about overspray. Lesson learned. 

Now it reminds me of a woman wearing a flower in her hair, instead of a look glass towards impending doom..... or something.

Free wall mirrors are always fun to play around with since they are a useful item in almost every kind of space.  Now this one is ready for a new life.

Happy freestyling!