Thrifted entryway shelf makeover

I have a fun thrift store makeover to share with you today!  I know some of you love to see these and I sure do love to do them too.  I just don’t need as much furniture and accessories as I once did so I don’t do as many thrifted or yard sale makeovers as I used to do.  This piece actually won’t be staying in my house either (more on that later) but it sure was a lot of fun to give it a fresh update!

I found this entryway coat rack/shelf at a local thrift store for less than $5.  It was big/heavy/good quality and also dirty, the hooks were broken, and I didn’t really care for the splotchy mirror or wording.  But I knew it was an awesome candidate for a makeover!

(This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click on them and purchase something I earn a small commission but you pay nothing more.  Thanks for helping support this blog so I can share projects like this with you!)

I completely forgot to take in process pictures except for this one with my little girl helping me remove the old broken hooks   She is my right hand helper/partner with all my projects. And yes she has gotten so big WAY too fast!

So I’ll just talk you through what I did.  The mirror part came out with some brackets and screws just like the back of a picture frame. So I removed the mirror portion and it had a piece of tin behind it as well.  I knew I wanted to make that part be a chalkboard but I find that painting chalkboard paint on glass or a mirror doesn’t always work well – it easily scratches off when you write on it with chalk.  So I spray painted the piece of metal tin with 2 coats of Rustoleum chalkboard paint and let it dry.   If it hadn’t had a piece of tin, I would have cut a piece of thin sanded plywood to size, painted it with chalkboard paint, and used it in that space instead.

While that was drying I gave the wood shelf 2 coats of Rustoleum Chalked White Linen paint, and then lightly distressed around the edges with some fine grit sandpaper.  I then applied a coat of Rustoleum Matt Clear Chalked topcoat.   I picked up 3 new coat hooks at Home Depot and attached them into the existing holes and then reinserted the chalkboard insert into the back.   Since the chalkboard portion is actually painted onto metal it is magnetic as well which makes it even more fun.

So here’s how it looked after it’s little makeover!  Quite a difference!  (Ignore my not-Pinterest perfect chalk writing.)

It’s actually quite big and definitely would work to hang purses/coats on in an entryway if you wanted to use it that way.

I had fun setting up a little fall vignette and styling it sort of Fixer Upper style in my house so I could share it with you

This is totally how I can imagine using it my home IF I had an entryway big enough.  This is actually an empty wall in our still-empty dining room that won’t be used as a dining room.

Unfortunately, this piece won’t be staying in my house even though I love it and it is totally my style.  I just don’t have a place for it.  So I actually did this makeover on this piece to put it in our fall church auction.  People donate baked goods, store bought things, arts/crafts, or pieces like this that have been handmade or redone and the money raised is used for many projects that our ladies group do throughout the year.  So it went to a new home and I hope she enjoys as much as I enjoyed giving it a makeover (and would have enjoyed it in my home if I had a spot for it. )

So keep your eyes open the next time you are browsing a thrift store or yard sale for a piece that can be given a whole fresh look with just some paint and a little bit of work!  Those pieces are truly my favorite because they are one of a kind, no one else is going to have them in their house kind of pieces.

What was the last thing you bought secondhand that you gave a makeover?  I’d love to see a picture!