DIY: Alternative Shoe Rack

I've had this doll's bunkbed since I was quite young, I think it was a Christmas present. It served me well throughout my childhood although I think my days of putting baby Annabelle & Co. to bed in this are behind me. As of recent it has acted as a storage space for random old toys as well as clothes that didn't make it back into the wardrobe. 

I had a mini clear out recently and decided, rather than throw this out I could find a new purpose for it. I was in the market for a new shoe rack so this seemed like a good option!

The process of transforming it was as follows;

Step 1 - Collect materials & choose a working space

What I needed:

• A paint brush 
• Paint of choice 
• Newspaper or something to cover the ground (it gets messy) 
• A cloth for cleaning the surface 
• Plastic gloves (optional) 
• 
  

It was surprisingly sunny on the day I was working on this so I was able to work outside. I decided to use the Rust-Oleum Chalky Paint in the shade, Chalk White. I picked up at my local Woodies DIY Store, get it here.

Step 2 - Prepare the items surface

Before I began to paint I gave them a quick clean with hot soapy water to make sure there was no dust or dirt on them. Since I was using the chalky finish paint I didn't have to sand them (happy days for us lazy painters). 

 

Step 3 - Get painting!

Painting this was trickier than anticipated, getting in and around all of the bars and rails was quite a slow process. The bunkbeds started off in life as a bright yellow (see photo) and it only took 2 coats to get the bright white colour! When I had the first coat on I left it for about an hour, until it was touch dry, then I flipped it upside down and painted the hard-to-reach areas. I then left it overnight to dry and repeated the steps above.

Before

During

After

Step 4 - That extra touch

The plain chip boards between the bunks looked a bit dull after it was all painted up, so I decided to brighten them up. For this I simply took some colourful wrapping paper that I had lying around and glued it onto the boards using PVA glue. The bright colours are a great contrast to the white frame.

Ideally after using the chalky paint you would seal it with a coat of finishing wax to protect the piece of furniture. I decided to skip this step for now as I want to wait until it gets a naturally worn. Alternatively you could use sand paper to sand the edges and give it that vintage feel!

Step 5 - Fill it with all the shoes

This paint would be great for adding some life into old photo-frames, tables and any other items of furniture that are looking a bit dull. The possibilities are endless!

Until next time,

 
Sarah