Love where you live. Sign up for our newsletter

Simple Spray Paint Porch Makeover: Part 2

by on Jul 21, 2011

This month, Krylon is sponsoring a series of thrifty, creative DIY projects:


Last week we told you about the happy marriage between Krylon spray paint and our front porch (specifically our tables and chairs). Still basking in a newlywed glow, we decided to bring a little color to the lighting on our the porch.

Our half-made-over porch

Because we don’t have a power outlet on the porch, we use a lot of candles. In our initial search for candle holders that were the right shape and color, we came up empty-handed. We found candle holders we loved in colors we didn’t. And we found colors we loved in candle holders we didn’t. We were a little discouraged until it dawned on us that we could change the color of the candle holders we loved to make them work on our porch. Oh, the power of color in a can!

After quick trips to our local Target and HomeGoods stores, we found the holders we wanted. I scored these Calypso St. Barth hurricanes on super clearance at Target, and paid $29.96 for the pair. And these LED lanterns were on sale at HomeGoods for a mere $5 a piece.

A clearance tag is on top of a regular item tag that is attached to an object.

I wasn’t a fan of the blueish light that the LED lanterns emitted, and the flimsy vellum was a little worn and bent, so I planned to remove both upon purchase. I knew we had some small glass candle holders at home that would fit the lanterns’ wire frames to create a light source.

When it came time to choose colors, I knew I wanted a splash of color on the lanterns so that they would stand out against our white porch posts. We had a can of Krylon Dual spray paint in ‘Burgundy’ (in a satin finish). This dark red hue was the perfect accompaniment to our ‘Cherry Red’ porch tables and chairs.

Two black wire candle holders with a paint and primer spray can.

I set up “shop” in our driveway, and used scrap wood and old grocery bags. When spray-painting, it’s important to work in a well-ventilated area; spraying outside is always ideal, and I was lucky to score good weather for this project.

Two lamp shades with hangers colored with red spray.

After three light coats, and about 1 1/2 hours (each coat took about 30 minutes to cure), the lanterns were porch-ready. In between the lantern coats, I worked on the hurricanes. Choosing a color for these beauties was a bit challenging. Their original metal finish felt too dark for the porch, so my hunch was to go super bold and bright (maybe turquoise, orange, or even pink!) or uber-neutral. After much thought, I ended up going neutral, because I wanted the light coming from the hurricanes to be the focus. Note: The beauty of spray paint is that if I end up feeling bold and bright down the road, I can just re-paint them!

I had three neutral colors in my spray paint arsenal and figured the best way to choose my color was to test them out. I started by placing the can tops on the coffee table (where the lanterns will spend the majority of their time). Doing so helped me eliminate the “Khaki” color.

Two conical metal containers with three small plastic containers.

Now that I was down to ‘White’ and ‘Beige’, I had to do a little spray test to make my choice. What followed was an irresponsible but quick and easy way to test my colors. I painted a test patch on the lanterns right there on the porch, with no drop cloths, with no caution (Shhhhh … don’t tell Bruno). Lucky for me, I managed to create these test patches without so much as a speck on our dark floors and tabletops. Once the test patches were done it became pretty clear that the beige was the rage, and I went with it.

Two vases kept on the table near the wooden bench.

Back in my shop, I covered the lanterns in thre coats of Krylon Dual in the color ‘Beige’ (this time I opted for a satin finish). I waited about 20 minutes between each coat. After an hour, the hurricanes were nice and dry and we used them on the porch that evening. Isn’t the light stunning? These hurricanes are my favorite thing about our porch.

Flower pots sprayed with white color.

A pair o lamps that have been made from spray paint and clay.

Simple steps to use spray paint

Our porch with newly-spray-painted candle lights

There are so many ways to get creative with spray paint. You can use it to restore, revive, and even create original artwork. But, sometimes it’s the simple, straightforward uses that end up being the best surprises.

 

Thanks to Krylon for sponsoring this project! 
Krylon Logo
Got your own awesome DIY project using spray paint? 
Enter it in the Krylon Dual Duel for a chance to win a free iPad!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *