I was given an old wooden birdhouse... you know the like I'm sure. Painted flowers all over with a few gardening phrases in some fancy script for good measure. A few butterflies. Standard clearance craft store stuff. I was given it specifically since they knew I could have some fun repainting it.
My home's color accent outside is a lovely Teal color. I did all the shutters in it, as well as the window box. I've got pottery to match.
My outdoor office also is accented in teal around the windows and doors. With plenty of paint left over from the house I've used it for this great piece of molding that came off an old armoire. I installed it over one of the windows.
So, I got out the big can of Teal, a white spray paint primer, a hammered bronze finish spray paint, and a few cheap pots of "oops" color samples I got from Lowe's while looking for the perfect color.
After an initial spray painting session outside, I got the white base covering it up nicely and then did the roof in the hammered bronze. Only when it was painted this way could I really see the nice shape of the birdhouse. Who knew it was really cute?
After letting it dry all day, I brought it inside to work on the details. I wanted to keep it simple. I added a few windows to the sides. Some shutters around the entry. Molding under the eaves. Decorative flourishes and acorn motifs. And of course, a pair of totoro's on the front.
Not to mention a big sleeping one around the side.
I sealed the entire thing with several clear coats of enamel spray paint.
For now I've simply set it on one of the cute shelves on my front porch, but perhaps I will hang it from the tree in the front yard sometime.
Although it does look pretty cute in the window box as well... heh... I could turn the whole box into a fairy garden with this as the house!
Now maybe when you see some super cheap birdhouses, you can think about how fun it might be to make them into something new.
Difficulty: Easy
Time to complete: About 3 hours
