Retro kitchen artwork
Take retro inspiration from old kitchen utensils that you can no longer use and turn them into cute and quirky artworks!
Resene upcycling for good with Sarah Herring - Project 46
Finished project
You will need: Four old kitchen utensils, the more retro the better!, two frames large enough to fit the utensils you’ve chosen, testpot and detail brushes, painter’s masking tape and scissors, hot glue gun or other super strong adhesive, Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat and/or Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer.
Resene testpots in your choice of colours. Sarah used Resene Alabaster, Resene Balance, Resene Charlotte, Resene Half Moonbeam, Resene Fringy Flower and Resene Perfume.
Top tip: For a bit of bling, try using a range of metallic finishes, such as Resene FX Copper Fire, Resene FX Blast Grey 1, Resene FX Gold Dust and Resene FX Rose Gold.
Before
After
Step one
Remove the glass from your chosen frames and set aside. Sarah chose two modern box-frames, but you could easily use second hand frames instead. You will need the backing boards for painting only. Apply one coat of Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat to the backing boards and leave to dry.
Step two
To prepare the utensils for painting, make sure they are clean, and in the case of wooden objects you might like to give them a light sand with some sandpaper to smooth off any obvious splinters or damage. Sarah did this with the wooden spoon and mallet. Then apply a coat of Resene Quick Dry primer, or if you have stainless steel objects that paint is unlikely to adhere to easily, apply Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer. Leave to dry.
Step three
Once the utensils are primed and dry, you can begin to paint them in your four chosen testpot colours. Because this project has a kitschy, retro theme, Sarah chose four Resene colours that invoked memories of old 1950s kitchen appliances: Resene Charlotte, Resene Half Moonbeam, Resene Fringy Flower and Resene Perfume. Apply two coats of colour to each utensil using a detail brush.
Step four
While you are waiting for the utensils to dry, you can get onto painting the backing boards from your frames. Apply two coats of Resene Alabaster as the background and leave to dry.
Step fourWhile you are waiting for the utensils to dry, you can get onto painting the backing boards from your frames. Apply two coats of Resene Alabaster as the background and leave to dry.
Step five
Once the paint has dried on the backing boards, measure and mask out a chevron pattern with painter’s tape. The trick to getting a nice clean finish when painting masked patterns is to make sure you press the tape down firmly. Avoid overloading paint on the brush. Apply two coats of Resene Balance to the exposed areas, and wait until the paint is dry before removing the tape.
Step six
Decide on the placement of your utensils on the backing boards and fix them down using super strong glue. Sarah used a hot glue gun. Even though some of the utensils were quite heavy, it worked well. Once the utensils have been secured to the backing boards, return them to their frames and display in your kitchen! Or maybe even your retro caravan!