Keeping up with the Gourdashians

It's harvest time for Thanksgiving table centerpieces!

Goldmember Part 2: DIY Gilded Magazine Rack

Off the tails of yesterday's post about how I'm basically Austin Powers' Goldmember, here's another Midas touch transformation I did of a cheap shabby-chic chickenwire magazine rack that I found at Home Goods.

Here's the original:

Very industrial Returns to Oz steampunk, no? Cool but not my style. Laid it out in the garden...

Did a quick spray primer with my favorite, Rustoleum, to make the paint stick.

Two coats of Rustoleum's shiny gooooold:

Oops, missed a spot!

Ta da! Left it outside for 48 hours to dry...

And found a temporary spot next to the new office couch just in order to stop the cats from scratching. The office is in mid-renovation after my last shame-sesh. Updates soon, I promise!

Who dares to disturb my slumber?

I plan on actually nailing this to the wall and maybe making it into a little in/out box over my desk, or a hers/his, once the office is finished remodeling. Because gold makes even going through the mail a fancy affair!

DIY Gilded Plant Stand

Why are plant stands so damn expensive?

A regular run-of-the-mill one from Home Depot will run you up to $100, about the same price as a cool mid-century one off of Etsy. It's a damn holder for plants, people. It doesn't do anything, except sit there.

Rather than shell out a hundred buckaroos for an inanimate object that I don't even like the aesthetics of, I decided to upgrade a cheapo one from Amazon. Like our old friend  Pepe Le Pew says, there ain't nothin' that some good ol' spray paint can't solve.

The original, made of wire-metal painted green, for $20:

I decided on gold to go along with that whole gilded Hollywood Regency thang that I've been into ever since I moved to LA and Craigslisted that amazing mid-century regency glass table (shown here at my old apartment).

First, a nice coat of Rust-Oleum primer, just to make it stick. Probably didn't need it, but just in case.

A quick two coats made this baby look shabby chic...

Or maybe just shabby. Next, the Midas Touch! Ooooh yeahhhh....

I got super excited when this spray paint can arrived in my mail. Did you know at most art and hardware stores you have to get someone to retrieve spray paint out of locked cabinets, I guess to deter graffiti? Seems dumb when you can just buy it online. Pretty much I want to paint everything gold now. All our planters? Gold. Our television? Gold. Two kitties? Gold! Speaking of kitties, someone was very disappointed he was not allowed outside while I was painting.

How come I'm never allowed to go outside and breathe paint fumes!

Next, two coats of gold spray paint in light strokes. This proved a little difficult because the plant stand was so thin and wiry and so much of the paint just went into the air. But I managed it without too much dripping.

24 hours outside to dry...

...and ta da! A gilded regency-style plant stand!

Now our dining nook is a full-on tropical jungle. Monkeys welcome.

Ruh roh. I've got the Midas OCD Touch. What else can I turn gold?
Which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite movies, which I used to watch on repeat with my old pal Ayana. This is basically me.