Simply Beautiful By Angela

creating simple beauty on a budget

Thrifted Pedestals Makeover

Hello and welcome to another fun Thrift Store Décor Upcycle Challenge!  Each month I team up with several awesome bloggers to take an item from blah to ta-da!
I have so much fun with this challenge because I really get to test my creativity and DIY skills. Not to mention it’s amazing to see what everyone comes up with. 
So let’s get started!

Thrift Store Decor Upcycle Challenge

The Rules:

  • Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
  • There’s no monthly theme.
  • There’s no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

Amanda | The Kolb Corner    Kim | Made in a Day
Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled    Pili | Sweet Things
Debra | Shoppe No. 5    Jeannee | Shepherds and Chardonnay    Sue | A Purdy Little House
Kimm | Reinvented    Ann | Duct Tape and Denim    Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home 
Dru | Polka Dot Poplars    Toni | Small Home Soul     Angela | Simply Beautiful by Angela
 Michelle | Our Crafty Mom    Marie | DIY Adulation    Chelsea | Making Manzanita
Michelle | Michelle James Designs     Denise | My Thrifty House    Sara | Twelve on Main
Molly | Just a Little Creativity    Chelc | Inside the Fox Den
Colleen | Life on Kaydeross Creek    Florence | Vintage Southern Picks

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

Supplies Used: (Affiliate links may be provided for convenience.  For more info, see my full disclosure here.) 

When I spotted these decorative pedestals sitting on a shelf at Goodwill I instantly knew that they would be perfect to create different heights when I am decorating tables and shelves.

One was marked at $3.99 and the other at $1.99 but the cashier gave them both to me at the lower price–yay!!  PLUS it was 50% of Saturday so I got both of them for only $1 each.

Now even though there is nothing necessarily wrong with sunshine yellow, I am a neutral girl to the core so I knew that they just had to be painted white.

I wanted to create multiple paint layers since I wanted to distress them so I started with a coat of flat blat spray paint.

Did you catch that I didn’t remove the price stickers or paint the tops?  That is because I planned on eventually covering them as you will see in a second. 

Once the black was dry I applied a coat of light brown chalk paint from my stash.

I finally applied two coats of white paint.

Distressing is always my absolute favorite step.  Using a small piece of sand paper I pulled the colors from underneath and highlighted the pretty details of the embossed design.


I love a good white and wood combo so I measured the tops and then cut a piece that size out of some scrap 1×6.  I stained them with my trusty Minwax Wood Stain in Provincial and let them dry.

I wanted to create a weathered wood look so I used my “rubbed-in” effect.  (Not sure if there is a more accurate term for that but that’s what I refer to it as!)
To do this I first use a wet paintbrush to apply a little bit of paint and then I immediately use a dry rag to rub it in.

Super pretty, right?!

I applied some liquid nails to the back of the wood squares to attach them to the pedestals. 

This is how they turned out all put together!

I like to have them at different heights by popping a book underneath one of them, but they would also look great balanced on either side of a console table.

They could be used to hold plants, candles, vases…the possibilities are endless!
It’s crazy that they only cost me $1 each–they look like they could have been purchased at a boutique store for SO much more.

I am so happy with how this month’s challenge turned out!

And now for more thrifty goodness!

 

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!

Linking up to these awesome parties.

Comments

  2. I don't know why but I looooove the mix of dark wood with white. Your pedestals now look like as if there were bought in a chic store, that's the good thing about DIY, you can have pretty things for little money.

  3. Oh I love this transformation! I'm a neutral girl too, so the sunshine definitely wouldn't have spoken to me either. Love that you added the wood to the top!

    • Thank you Sue! At first I just pictured matching pilar candles but I decided they would be more fun with something different 🙂

  11. I am totally in love with these and am going to be looking for this kind of thing now. I love the layering of the paint for the distressed look. I do that too but I have never added the light brown in between the black and the white! And the wood on top was the perfect touch. You are right…they would cost a lot in a boutique. Nicely done!

  12. It's amazing what a little paint can do for a piece! It was really inspired of you to add the wood tops also! Beautiful upcycle!

  13. Wow! What a fabulous makeover of these two $1.00 thrift store items. Thanks for the tutorial about layering the paint before distressing. They turned out great!
    Carol ("Mimi") from Home with Mimi

  14. Wow Angela, I really love the new look. Sanding over the raised details really makes them pop. And the new lighter color will work perfectly in any decor. I really love the wood tops that you added for another texture. Such a beautiful piece and job.

  15. I had to check out your post because I have those pedestals! I haven't used them because they don't really go with my decor anymore. I'm so excited to make mine look similar and use them again. Thanks for the inspiration

    • Thank you Michelle! I know, it's so crazy. That is one of favorite things about thrift store upcycles (besides the $ saving!)

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