Recharging a Tired Piece

I was excited to try this little update, as it had almost all of the elements I look for in DIY.  It was cheap, easy, and fun.  Did I mention cheap?  Yea, cheap is good.

About four years ago, I bought this red charging station at a Pottery Barn outlet for $25.  It worked really well in our office at the time, fit our color scheme and everything.  But after we moved from North Carolina to Florida, the poor guy sat neglected in our garage.  I brought it in a couple of months ago when I was finally tired of the wires and chargers cluttering our night stands.  And while it is still perfectly functional, the charger just wasn't working with the decor I had in mind for our master bedroom.  

Spray paint to the rescue!  I picked out this green, because I was looking to bring some vibrant pops of color into our current white box of a bedroom.  

But first things first.  Before painting, I made sure to remove the hardware on the front of the drawer.  Just four little philips head screws, and the handle popped right off.

Then it needed a good dusting with a microfiber cloth.  Its a little embarrassing that he was that dusty.

No more dusty bunnies!

Inside of the charger is a power strip that can't be removed, so I needed to protect the cord from any overspray.  I simply wrapped a plastic bag along about a foot of the cord, and secured it with painters tape.

As soon as it was clean and prepped, I jumped right in!  At first the color was looking a little neon, especially with the contrast of the green on the red, but I decided to have faith.

As I finished the first coat, I started to feel better about the color.

Oh a note to the wise, and my future self, maybe wear gloves the next time you spray paint?!  Unless you enjoy having your husband call you the Hulk for the rest of the day.  You won't like me when I'm angry!  Hulk smash!!  Too much?  K I'll stop :)

After the second coat, he was looking even better!  The key with spray paint is thin, even coats.  I tend to be super impatient, and want to just spray to cover my project in one shot.  But I find that doing a thin coat, giving it at least an hour to dry, and coming back to do a second or even third coat, always results in a better finished product.

You can still see a bit of the red peaking through, so a third coat was definitely necessary.

I also painted the door that goes across the back of the charging station, and the front of the drawer.

I didn't bother with the inside of the drawer, since I figure no one is every going to see it.  And, as I mentioned before, I'm super impatient :)

Three coats and bam!  It's now a yummy bright apple green, just liked I hoped!  Not crazy neon, but vibrant and fun for sure.

Back in his home, and ready to charge!  But I only gave this project an 8 out of 10.  Why?  Because he's STICKY!!  The paint is dry, I left it out in the Florida sun for several hours, yet it is still tacky.  I'm baffled!  Its not enough to stop me from using him, and at only $4 for a can of spray paint, this little makeover certainly wasn't a budget buster.  I'm not sure exactly how to fix this problem, but if I come up with a solution, I'll definitely share!  If you know how to stop the stickiness, let me know!

And here is the little white wall it sits in front of.  He is certainly injecting a lot of happy into the room!   I think with some art work and a few accessories, this little nook could be downright snazzy!  Its slowly but surely coming together :)

Anyone else taking a risk in the color department?  Or giving a tired piece a little spray paint makeover?  Please share!