A Barrel of Fun

Last year I acquired a barrel that was used as a grocery store display. It has been sitting in my garage waiting its turn to be refreshed.

Yesterday was the first time in months that the weather was decent. My house was clean and my laundry was done. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. This was going to be barrel day.

After dropping my babies off at school, I shot on over to Lowe's picked up some spray paint and headed home to get cracking on it.

The reason I chose to go with spray paint is the wood on this barrel was really rough. There was no way it was going to be smoothed out. So to avoid drips and weird spots I figured spray paint would be best.

I started off by painting the barrel hoops white. After letting that dry, I taped them off to protect from the paint used on the body of the barrel.

The body is done in Valspar Nautical. I also mixed in just hints of Valspar Everglade Glen. It took about 3 coats to get the desired color but only one can of spray paint. When the paint dried I used an ebony wood stain and just dabbed it on. I didn't want to completely coat it. I wanted an antique/rustic/unique finish. The final step was to clear coat it. The barrel will sit outside so protection is key.

It turned out just beautifully.

**Disclaimer**Never take displays from behind a grocery store. Talk with the store manager to see if they are throwing any away. I have a relative who works for the store that gave the barrel to me and the manager loves seeing what I can do with old display items.