Hello all!! What a wonderful Indian summer we are having here in Indiana. It is November and temps are staying in the sixties!! Can you believe that?!! When I was a kid there was snow in November…maybe there is something to this global warming thing. I am not here today to share another recipe (aren’t you glad?!) Not to say you won’t ever see another recipe here on the blog, but not for a while. Today I am here to share how I did an easy ladder repurpose with chalk paint.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by HomeRight. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I will only share with you things that I truly use and love myself and this is one of them. This post may also contain affiliate links, meaning if you purchase from a link on my website, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you…thanks so much for supporting my blog!
A couple of years ago my hubby’s cousin gave me a bunch of old ladders that he had cut down from one. They were awesome!! I sold all but this one. The poor thing sat in the garage for a year, then came into the new family room addition and I put blankets on it. For the last three months it has sat like this in the family room. I know, shame on me! I had no idea what I wanted to do with it!
Enter my brand new HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer and I knew exactly what I was going to do!
First I sanded down the entire ladder using my Dewalt Palm Sander . I hated to sand off the character of this ladder, but I had to make sure it was going to take the paint and have the look I wanted.
I brushed off the dust, then wiped it down with alcohol. Why alcohol you ask? It cleans off the surface and dries quickly.
Look how much better the ladder looks and it didn’t lose any of it’s character! Now for the fun part!
On With the Project
I was painting outside (it was 65 degrees this past weekend), so I set up my HomeRight Spray Shelter in the driveway. It went up quick and easy. The instructions to assemble the shelter are attached to the bag it comes in. However, I highly recommend you watch how Gail from My Repurposed Life puts hers up. Her demonstration shows how simple it really is! That is a 6 foot table inside my shelter, so it is plenty big enough to move around in!
Next I unpacked my sprayer and filled it with chalk paint (an aged look was what I was going for and I knew chalk paint would deliver). Chalk paint is really thick, so in order to be able to use it in the sprayer I had to dilute it. Luckily the instructions for the sprayer show you what the consistency needs to be.
Except for the instructions on how to dilute the paint, I didn’t read any of the other instructions. Jumping right in and letting the chips fall where they may is how I roll. I plugged my sprayer into the extension cord (electric-powered, no air needed!) and started painting.
How It’s Done
I sprayed on the first coat (which dried in five minutes, how amazing is that?!) and stood back to assess my handiwork. It looked good, but was going to need another coat and the sprayer didn’t seem like it was spraying very hard. Yes, I resorted to reading the instructions and found out how to dial-up the paint stream. Okay, I will admit, I should have read them first. The instructions even showed how to direct the spray. The ladder was finished in no time!
My hubby came out to check my progress at this point and I told him I really need the ladder to be propped up and thought I was going to have to get something else to lean it on. He picked up my extra piece of wood and voila! I knew there was a reason I keep him around, hehehe.
I had covered the step ends with painters tape because I didn’t want to paint over them and I love how they stand out against the white paint.
All done painting! BTW, the spray shelter came down faster than it went up, all nice and neat back in it’s bag. The HomeRight Finish Max Sprayer is simple to use and easy to clean up. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 10++. The HomeRight Spray Shelter
is large enough for a six foot table with plenty of room to still move around and helped to keep my spray in check with the wind blowing outside the shelter. Easy to put up and easy to take down and put away, I rate this as a 10++ too!!
The Finishing Touches
I couldn’t just leave my ladder as it was, I had to do a little more distressing after the painting was finished, so I took some sandpaper and distressed down the edges of the ladder. The finishing used over the chalk paint this time was Hemp Oil.
Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil is a great alternative as a finishing product. It has no smell so you can use it inside, it is all natural so you can even use it on your cutting boards and it manages to coax out the most gorgeous color of the wood! So I applied two coats of hemp oil and waited thirty minutes before wiping off the excess.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner I hung one of my fall wreaths on it, but it will soon get a makeover for Christmas….no I am not changing the paint, just the embellishments.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Don’t forget to check out all of the other great projects from my friends below!!
Susanne
 
Your ladder looks awesome and hemp oil was an excellent choice!
I love, love, love hemp oil!!! Thanks so much for introducing me to it!! 🙂
Beautiful job, Susanne! Your ladder is awe-mazing!
Thanks Janice!! 🙂
Your ladder looks lovely and you were right not to paint over the metal on the sides, that adds to it’s charm and character. Isn’t it great when our hubbies are such a big help 😀 Your ladder looks so beautiful with your wreath hung on it, it will be the hit of our Thanksgiving Decor!
Thanks Toni!! Wait until you see the upgrade it gets for Christmas 😉
I adore how this turned out!! Great job!!! I still haven’t tried hemp oil yet – I NEED to!!! You did a great job on this – cheers!
Thanks Sarah!!! Yes you MUST try hemp oil!! It is amazing!!
I’m a real ladder lover, and I love painting things white. I can’t believe I never thought of painting a ladder white! Yours looks fabulous, and thanks for the step-by-step. I still have to wax my project. Never heard of using hemp oil, great tip. xoKathleen Charm Bracelet Diva {At Home}
Thank you Kathleen!! My hubby doesn’t like me painting furniture “you just don’t paint good wood furniture” is what he tells me, lol so when I get the chance to paint something I jump at it! Hemp oil is amazing! Give it a try!!
Love how it turned out!! Great job! and leaving that metal on the side was an awesome idea!! It brings such great character!
Thank Anika!! Wait till you see it all dolled up for Christmas 🙂
This turned out fantastic! You sound just like me about the instructions. I read just enough to get me started. If I read through all the details first, I’d forget what it said by the time I ran into a “problem” so I just wait until I need them 😉 Thanks for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday!
Thanks Angie!! I think I am worse than a man when it comes to reading instructions, lol! I just want to get on with it 🙂 Thanks for hosting such a great link up!!
I how I love this ladder. If you ever want to move on without it, call me… I’ll come get. 🙂 Love the color and distressing. It looks so beautiful in your home now. Perfect. XOXO Susie from Chelsea Project
Thanks Susie!! I can’t wait to fix it all up for Christmas 🙂
I love this…what a great job you did on your ladder. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks for checking it out Denise!! It finally has new life and a purpose and it won’t be ashamed to stand in the family room now!
I love that you left the step ends unpainted. Love how they look!
Thank you Ann! The do give it extra character, I am so glad you like it 🙂
Your ladder looks lovely now, and I’m loving that you didn’t paint over the bolt heads on the sides. It gives it so much character!
Thanks Veneta!! I think it kinda makes the look of it don’t you? 🙂
I love the way your ladder turned out! It was cute before but I love the way it looks white. The HomeRight sprayer made quick work this project! <3
Thanks Tonya!! I love that sprayer!!!
Love the giveaway!
Did you enter Manda? Good luck!!! It is a great prize giveaway 🙂
Love your ladder! I’m wanting to repurpose pallets from several projects, one being a kitchen herb garden.
Thank you!! An herb garden would be awesome!!
Susanne that ladder is adorable!! It’s got character to spare!!
Thank you Kim!! 🙂
I love the ladder! I really want to tackle my kitchen table- wish me luck!!
Thank you Janelle!! And good luck with your table!! Did you enter the giveaway? 🙂
I saw this ladder in person and its beautiful! 😍
Awe!!!! Thanks Britney 🙂
Cool !!! Totally in love with the way you makeover the ladder !
Try to hang some small pots of flower on this, it may be more stunning 😀
Thanks for sharing your idea Susanne !
Using alcohol to clean off the dirty surface, such a great suggestion. Awsome giveaway, good job, Susanne.
I will give it a try to decorate my wall. Thanks for sharing your awsome work.
Beautiful decoration Susanne! I don’t have an old ladder but I think I can try this on my old shelf. I like your idea of using alcohol to clean the thing. Thanks for sharing the article. Happy holiday!
Love this! This is such a cute idea – decorate the room with a wreath on a ladder basing on the wall. It looks really cool and suitable for this Christmas. I am sure that all people are fascinated by it. Also thank you for instructing the way to renew a ladder very detail! Sometimes I want to change a bit with our ladders but really don’t know how to begin. But after your post, i completely can do it by myself. Thanks once again.