Thrifted Wall Plaque

Happy Cinco de Mayo! No margaritas were consumed in the making of this post, which is probably a good thing as there were power tools involved. I got this really heavy wall plaque at Goodwill for $4 a few months ago. It was super not my style, but I felt like it had potential. I put it in a spare bedroom (the place where unfinished projects go to die) and waited for inspiration to strike.

Fast-forward to my front door revamp. I felt like it needed something fabulous. My mind drifted to the Chrysanthemum Plaque from Z Gallerie. I’ve been dreaming of it’s white textural goodness for months and maybe I’d finally be able to justify the purchase.

But if there’s anything I love more than a splurge, it’s a bargain. And as soon as I pictured that lovely Chrysanthemum Plaque hanging up on my wall I remembered the thrifted monstrosity. I finally had an idea of what to do with it.

I took my usual fast-and-loose approach and skipped primer. I just wiped the dust off and started slathering on the white paint (exterior semi-gloss). I tried to keep it pretty thin, going for coverage in all the nooks and crannies but making sure I didn’t have any puddles. I even came in with a dry brush between coats to disperse any areas where paint had pooled.

After a few coats we were in business. I went back in for round three with my drill and level (after the mailbox and the weatherstripping), using screws to support the hefty weight and mounting them so that the plaque would be centered vertically between the top of the door frame and the mailbox.

As I was trying to hang it up, something just wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t get it level. I took it down and flipped it over to see what the problem was and one of the brackets fell right off

Uh-oh. Hmmm. I got the old screws out and used some new ones that were a little bit longer. The plaque was too hard to get the screws to really “dig” into and too thin for me to feel comfortable using the drill. The old holes were pretty badly stripped so I took a chance and put some super-glue in each and then screwed the brackets back on. I left it to cure for about half an hour and then hung ‘er up.  I pulled down on it just to make sure the brackets were secure and it didn’t come crashing down so I guess it’s fine!

I love it. I think it adds the perfect touch of glam. This is the extent of what I got done while Nick was gone this weekend, but I did tackle one more project after work yesterday. I should’ve just called this “porch week” because it’s been all porch all the time. Are you sick of it yet? Please bear with me just until tomorrow because I am super proud of yesterday’s project!

P.S. If you’re just joining us, catch up on reading about our entryway revamp. Before turning this Goodwill find all Z Gallerie, I moved the mailbox, painted the door, and added plants.