Coffee House Trash Can
by
Dysko7710
9 Materials
2 Days
Easy
My dad had made this trash can out of my brother's old fish tank stand. It is a great shape and very unique, but was covered in a thick layer of varnish, just not my style. My original idea was to sand it down and re-stain it to look more rustic and natural. I attempted to get the varnish off (without an orbital sander, which I do not have and don't have the budget to buy). It wouldn't budge. So, I decided to make homemade chalk paint and paint it. The picture below is the original trash can. It looked nice, but was way to shiny with the varnish and did not match my decor.
I mixed up a batch of chalk paint (two parts black latex paint I had on hand, plus one part baking soda). I didn't use a 'recipe', I just kind of mixed it by eyeballing the amount. It's just a trash can, so I figured if it didn't work, it would be no big deal. But it went on great.
I wanted to add something more to it, so I went online and found some coffee house sign graphics I liked and printed them off. I soaked them in an instant coffee mixture to make them look brown/aged. You could brew regular coffee and do the same thing for this effect.
I didn't let them dry all the way. After letting them set a little while, but still damp, I tore the edges to make them look torn/worn. Then I put Mod Podge on the backs and pasted them to the trash can.
I also painted over the paper with mod podge once it was glued on to seal it and make it look more 'one' with the trash can.
As you can see above, it dries clear eventually. I ended up painting the whole trash can with mod podge, to hide the edges of glue around the coffee signs, and at the same time, to seal the paint on the trash can.
After sealing the trash can, I made a mixture of glazing medium and bronze paint and wiped that on the edges to give it a discolored aged look to the overall piece.
Here are some pics of the finished product!
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4 of 34 comments
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looks fantastic -
What a great idea! I have been looking for ideas for a kitchen trash can cabinet. You did a great job.
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Thank you!
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