Easiest Way to Up-cycle an Old Pedestal

Recently, my home needed a pedestal for a particular corner of the house and the existing pedestal with all its Chinese Rose Wood and Mother of Pearl Inlay, was looking a tad tired and out of place.

Classic Beauty that looks just a tad tired

Rather than throw it away, my friend SH challenged me to give it a fresh lease of life with some paint. Wow, that was some kind of challenge. I’m Singaporean, you know. And you’re asking me to DIY? I felt that her request was putting a tiny strain on our friendship.

But something she said struck. How much more do you intend to throw away in your lifetime?

Hmmmm…. Very deep question, And to think I only asked her where I could go to buy a new pedestal.

Anyway, I decided that there was no harm in just getting a bottle of spray paint and modernizing my pedestal. I ended up getting 4 bottles.

I started by getting all the things ready. Think sandpaper, plastic sheets or newspapers for floor and wall protection, face masks and of course, spray paint.

Rust-o-leum Spray Paint

I got mine from Selfix, this brand called Rust-o-leum. The store assistant was sceptical about my choice of colour, but I stuck to my guns. Gold Finger baebay!

This paint supposedly sticks to pretty much any surface like wood, plastics, glass and masonry. Does it work well? Read on to find out.

Sanding down the pedestal

So I started by stripping the lacquer off the pedestal. This sort of roughens the surface and helps the spray paint adhere better. I used a 150 grit sandpaper. After sanding down, wipe off with a slightly damp cloth and allow it to fully dry before you spray away.

After 1 coat of paint

Next step is the fun part. I started spraying up and down according to the instructions on the paint can. The coverage was decent and it was easy enough that my ten-year old son managed to do a decent job as well.

After 3 coats, even the classic mother of pearl inlay was totally covered and became a distant memory.

Decent coverage without lumps and bumps

The result? A cool art-deco pedestal that was slightly showy, but still in good taste (I hope…) This is great for showcasing a pretty vase of flowers, a simple sculpture, or my kid’s latest art work.

Not too bad, eh?

Of course the spray paint wasn’t free, but it felt good that I didn’t contribute to yet another piece of unwanted furniture. And to my friend SH, challenge conquered.

And now to you. Have you had a piece of furniture that you simply grew tired of and wanted a fresh look? Instead of discarding it (both HDB and condo managements charge a disposal fee, by the way), why not transform it with some spray paint?