Our Hopeful Home: Estate Sale Pedestal Makeover With Paint, Wax And Dixie Dirt

I love a good home decor makeover, especially if it's a quick and easy one that provides a big punch. Today I'm going to share one of those makeovers -- my estate sale pedestal makeover. I'll also be sharing a secret way to add a little grunge to your paint projects. We all love a little bit of grunge, right?

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The Rules

Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.

There's no monthly theme.

There's no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

When I came across this wooden pedestal at a local pop-up estate sale (it takes place a few times a year, seasonally) it had a twin, and I initially passed them both over. But by my second loop around the place I was draw in and realized that I could buy just one, which served my purposes better than getting the set. I pictured it, after a makeover, sitting on the French provincial dresser in my foyer alongside 3 tall chippy, shabby candlesticks.

It was just chippy shabby enough to put a smile on my face.

And for the $6.00 price tag I couldn't refuse.

My only critique was that I didn't like the green paint on the top section, or the yellow paint on the base. But knowing that it was only cosmetic I didn't let it stop me from bringing it home. Because otherwise I loved it. And I knew what I had to do. I had to paint over the green and the yellow, yet still maintain the chippy, shabby and grungy look.

My choice of paint: Waverly Inspirations Chalk Matte Finish No Prep Acrylic Paint by Plaid in Ivory. Oddly enough, I've bought this brand of paint at Wal-Mart a number of times and loved it. (I've had this jar for a while.) But when I went back to the store to get a larger jar of it (for another project) my local Wal-Mart was no longer selling it. I couldn't find it online anywhere, either. I think it may have been replaced by essentially the same paint but with a different name. I'll share that paint name the end of this post so stay with me.

Despite its name -- Ivory -- it ended up looking pretty white. Here you can see where I painted the green leaves and the yellow base of the pedestal. An improvement for sure. Just a bit too stark compared to the rest of the piece.

While the base still displayed a nice, grungy look after being painted, I felt it was too bright compared to the rest of the piece.

Folk Art Home Decor Clear Wax jar Dixie Dirt jar stippling brush

So I decided to get to work with my Folk Art Home Decor Clear Wax and Dixie Belle Dixie Dirt in Ash. Simply put, I went over the bright areas first with my clear wax, using a wax brush, then let that dry for about 15 minutes. Once the wax had started to dry but was sill sticky, I stippled on some Dixie Belle Dirt with a stencil brush, following that with a chip brush that I used to brush away any excess "dirt."

And here's the beautiful end result. Buh-bye green paint!

The base is no longer yellow and it is definitely grungy!

I think the "new" pedestal fits in well with all the other chippy, shabby pieces.

I left the pedestal's gold rim alone, just as I did with the original gold paint on the French provincial dresser. I am still planning on publishing a whole post on how I painted and transformed the dresser.

For now I've place a beautifully patina'd clay pot holding some delicate Angel Vine on top of the pedestal.

Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint Sheepskin 16 oz. jar

So what paint did I find to replace the Waverly Inspirations Chalked Matte Finish No Prep Acrylic Paint by Plaid in Ivory? I found Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint in Sheepskin. For all I know that's the official replacement. Either way, I've aready used it for an end table transformation project I'll be sharing with you soon.