Refresh old toys and furniture

It’s hard to imagine that this rocking horse was ‘put out to pasture’ on the side of the road during an inorganics rubbish collection.

A couple of visionaries rescued it, gave it a fresh coat of white paint and gifted it to a little girl they knew who was about to turn two. Five years and many happy hours of rocking later, the horse was in need of another new coat or two, and so it was back to the workshop for some TLC –and a splash of colour this time.

Our second project, the chair, had an even more questionable former life as a bar stool goodness knows where. We acquired it via TradeMe, shortened it by cutting a few centimetres off the legs, and now it’s the perfect in-between chair for little kids who can't quite reach the family dinner table, but have outgrown a highchair.

You will need
•  Wooden toys or furniture in need of a second (or third) chance at life
•  Sandpaper
•  Primer – we love Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer adhesion primer, which provides a paint-ready finish without the need for sanding
•  Masking tape
•  Brushes in various sizes
•  Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss paint in your choice of colours and Resene Enamacryl Metallic for any metallic finishes. You could use Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen for a chalk-style finish. The glossier the paint, the smoother the surface and the easier it will be to wipe clean.

Method
1.  Sand your surfaces to ensure they are smooth and free of splinters and rough edges.
2.  Prime all surfaces with Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer.
3.  Select an area of your project to start on and paint it in your first colour choice. We suggest starting at the top of your project, to prevent paint dripping onto your freshly painted finish below. For example, when painting our rocking horse we began with the head and body, in Resene Hullabaloo. Allow to dry and paint another coat.
4.  When completely dry, mask off areas that connect with surfaces to be painted in contrasting colours.
5.  Paint two coats of contrasting colour on remaining surfaces. Colour choices are completely individual, but it is worth considering wear and tear when painting anything for children. We painted the horse's rockers, foot pegs and handles in our darkest paint colour, Resene Blue Night, as these areas are going to have the toughest life.
6.  Creative options are endless – use masking tape to section off stripes and other features, such as the dipped effect we created on the horse’s legs and the pops of Resene Gold we accented on both pieces.

Colours we used:

Resene Hullabaloo BUY THE TESTPOT HERE	Resene Blue Night BUY THE TESTPOT HERE
Resene Gold BUY THE TESTPOT HERE

Visit your local Resene ColorShop, phone 0800 RESENE (737 363) or :