DIY Ombre Ceramic Garden Stool Makeover
I’ve taken a little break this summer from blogging (as I usually do in the summer) and have been busy cleaning, organizing, purging and just enjoying some downtime! Although it’s been a nice break, I miss creating and writing and interacting with you all so I’m glad to be back with some posts and projects to share!
It’s no big secret that I love garden stools, they are perfect for using around the house as little side tables, cute decorative accents, plant stands, etc. I have several different ones that I have used throughout the house and on our porch and patio.
My first garden stool I picked up about three years ago on a major sale at Michaels for $13. It was the accent color we were using in our guest room at the time and for that price, I couldn’t pass it up. Fast forward to now and I just really didn’t have a place that I wanted to use that color so it’s just been stored and not being used. I have a little corner next to our master shower that was the perfect place for one and started brainstorming ideas where I could spruce it up and make it work.
When I saw an ombre garden stool in a catalog and that’s when inspiration struck and I knew that was the plan! I had never seen an ombre garden stool and just fell in love with the idea! I didn’t think painting ceramic was going to be the easiest task and figured this was either going to be an epic win or epic fail…and since I only paid $13 for it several years ago, I decided it was worth the risk!
Supplies:
- Spray Paint Primer
- 5 paint colors
- 1-2 inch Paint Brush
- Glossy Top Coat Spray Paint
- Lazy Susan – Not necessary but super Helpful
Here’s How!
Step 1 – Pick out your paint colors. This is one of the hardest parts! I went to Lowes and using the wall color swatches chose 5 different colors that I felt were the perfect colors and shades to achieve this ombre look. I purchased the small sample size containers of each color.
Step 2 – Make sure your garden stool is clean and then start priming! It took 2-3 light coats and I used one full can of white spray paint and primer to cover the existing teal color. You really need to prime it to not only to give you a blank slate but also to help the paint adhere to the glossy ceramic surface.
Step 3 – Start Painting your sections. I had a lazy susan and just covered it with a piece of cardboard and a dropcloth and sat my stool on top. This was a huge help and I definitely recommend using it if you have one for this step!
I started from the top of the stool with my first color and worked my way down. Think ahead of time about how large you want each paint section so you can paint accordingly. I left the middle section larger than the other 4 stripes of color. You’re really just painting stripes and it doesn’t have to be perfect.
After the top part had dried completely, I flipped my stool upside down to do the last and darkest color towards the bottom.
Step 4 – Look for any drips or spots you need to clean up. With mine having the holes in the middle the paint had pooled and started dripping. I took a small paint brush and tried to remove as much paint that was standing in those openings as possible just wiping it off on a paper towel.
Step 5 – Do any paint touch ups and start dry brushing the lines where the two colors meet. I would get very little paint on my brush and lightly go over the lines to soften them. If one of your transitions from one color to the next is too harsh, mix the two colors of paint in another cup or container to create another shade in between to help give it that natural gradient look. There is no right or wrong way to do this and mine is far from perfect but from far away you really don’t notice! If you mess up, just add more paint over it when it dries. I just kept tweaking and dry brushing until I got the look I wanted!
Step 6 – Seal it with a glossy top coat. I wanted it to still have the glossy ceramic look of a garden stool. Once the colored paint was all dry I did three light coats of the Valspar Project Perfect Glossy Top Coat and let it dry for 24 hours.
Is it absolutely perfect…definitely NOT! But that’s the life of DIY projects and overall I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out! It is exactly what I wanted for our master bathroom to stack towels on or just sit and look pretty 😉
Other Details:
Towels are Turkish Towels from Bed Bath and Beyond Clearance
Towel Hooks are from Hobby Lobby and were in the knob/hook aisle
This project has been on my to do list for a while and I’m so glad to have finally gotten it done and literally off my desk 😉 Plus now I just love seeing something I “created” everytime I walk in the bathroom!
And of course…this little guy had to be in the shot!
