Trash to Treasure: Coat Rack

 

Recently we stopped at a neighborhood yard sale. There was mostly junk, but this coat rack caught my eye. It was sturdy, the wood was in good condition, and it had a good footing. It was just a little outdated and unloved (haven't we all felt that way at some point?)





The hooks were rusty and I was hoping they were brass and would clean up. The magnet test (magnets don't stick to brass) told me they were not brass so into the trash bin they went.  

 

I wasn't sure what kind of paint I wanted when I stopped at The Home Depot. I noticed the Martha Stewart crackle paint and bought a small container of light green paint along with the primer that goes with it. Once home, I looked up the product on the HD site.  The user reviews for the paint were horrible and most everyone said that the paint didn't crackle like it was supposed to.  Not wanting to make another trip to the Depot, and also keeping my faith in Martha, I searched and found a blog where someone had success with the paint, but only when they used a hair dryer on it as soon it was applied.  Hmmmm...I have an embosser (which is smaller than a hair dryer and much hotter) so I decided to use that. I figured that I would return both jars of paint for a refund if it failed, so I had nothing to lose but my time.

The paint had to be applied with a putty knife.
You can see how thick it went on. But it was fun--just like icing a cake.

(Click the photos for a close-up view)

I worked in two steps, painting/crackling the tall portion, then the base later. As soon as the paint was applied, I used the embosser...and guess what?  There was crackling.   Success!!! You can see how rough it is, but sanding took care of all of the rough edges after it completely dried.

After much searching, I found some black hooks at Home Depot and put them on approximately where the original hooks were located.

Here is the finished product. Not bad for a $4 yard sale find! I did invest in paint and hooks and am very happy with the results. And now when you visit, me you will have a place to hang your hat.