The Lazy Lady’s Guide to DIY: Frame Makeover

I’m going to start out this week’s DIY with a promise: next week’s project will not involve white spray paint in any form, lest I have to rename this series “Allie Spray Paints Junk White to Make It Look Less Junky.” Pinkie swear. Now on to this week’s project!

When I first moved into my new home last summer, I was overwhelmed by the empty walls. All I had in my decorating arsenal were ripped and worn posters from college and a few small paintings and drawings. Custom framing and matting gets expensive very quickly, and I was too busy worrying about buying things to sit and eat on to give much thought to what I could do with the walls. I decided to raid the thrift store for inspiration.

Frame Makeover

What you need: Frames of assorted sizes, shapes, and textures (I got all of mine at the thrift store for $2-$5 each), spray paint in your color of choice, newspaper, and old postcards and posters.

Thrift stores are full of old frames and artwork. Most of the artwork is terrible (Precious Moments and watercolors of clowns ahoy!), but you can occasionally find some pieces that would look great in a different context. The trick is to keep an open mind and keep an eye out for interesting shapes and textures.

 

 

Take your frames outside and put down some paper, unless you’re a fan of striped grass.

 

 

 

Spray the frames with 2-3 light coats of paint, giving them at least half an hour to dry between coats.

 

 

I hung some of the frames together in a group and scattered others around the house. Instead of buying new artwork, I either used old postcards and posters or used what already came in the frames. This project ended up costing me about $25 and made eight framed pictures, so it’s an extremely cost-effective way to upgrade your unframed artwork and old posters. Happy thrift store hunting!