diy gold leafed + strie' planter

as part of my living room refresh, i knew i wanted to eventually do something with my large planter.
i have had it for a while now, and it is definitely showing signs that it has been moved 5 times. i love the shape and the subtle strie pattern on it, but i needed to camouflage the scratches and wanted it to be a bit darker.

because this planter is so deep, i have been using another pot (turned upside down) to elevate my fiddle fig tree, but it is a little too high, and i need to find a smaller one so that the top of the plastic pot can't be seen. hiding the pot and the gap in between the pot and the planter with some spanish moss will help make this whole thing look dressier! ugh! isn't it awful looking right now?
a makeover was definitely needed!

here is what i did:

the get the strie' look on the planter:
i bought an inexpensive squeegee and cut small triangles out of the edge so that it looked like this:

for the base coat of paint on the pot, i used an expresso spray paint, and for the top coat, i used semi gloss black. if you want a more matte look, use flat or satin paint.

i gave the entire pot a coat of the expresso spray paint.

then, after the bottom coat dried, i spray painted the black on top--working in small vertical strips.
as soon as i painted, i dragged the cut squeegee through the paint, working from top to bottom. spray paint dries fast, and so you have to move quickly!

this is the finished look!

 

when the planter was dry, i bought it inside. i found a smaller pot to elevate the tree....this is a look at how everything will look inside the pot: smaller planter turned upside down, a plastic dish to catch any excess water, and then the tree in its original pot.


to gold leaf the top,  i used:
painters tape
a marker
a ruler
gold leaf adhesive
gold leaf
foam brush



first, i marked where i wanted my line to go for the gold leaf....


and then taped it off.

 the gold leaf adhesive was applied above the tape, and allowed to dry for about an hour.
it became clear and sticky as it dried.

then, i pressed the gold leaf onto the sticky area...

any areas that were missed were filled in, and i gently buffed the gold leaf with a dry cloth.

the tape was removed to reveal a crisp line between the gold and the black/brown pot.

here is the finished pot!

the spanish moss really helps to soften the look of the top of the pot...so much better than staring at dirt and plastic!

i even love all of the imperfections, scratches and lines of the strie pattern that show through the gold!

ahh! so much better than before, don't you think?

i like that the darker color and the strip of gold at the top help to update the pot and draw attention to it's simple modern shape. the living room refresh is nearly done! i still have some pillows to buy, but even without curtains it is looking great!