How to Antique a New Crib Spring

The patina on this repurposed crib spring is amazing! Can you believe this is done with paint?!

About a year ago, Edith climbed out of her crib. About a year ago, I took the front of the crib off and put the mattress on the floor. About a year ago, I leaned the white crib spring, against the wall in our hallway. About a year ago, my husband thought it was trash and tried to throw it out because it’s served all 3 babies, and we were surprised it lasted 7 years, to be honest. But, no… I am a keeper of all the junk.

About a week ago, I (finally) decided to repurpose that thing – let’s call it a crib spring for sake of not having to call it ‘that thing you drop down when your kid is climbing out of the crib to buy you more time.’

I’ve always wanted a crusty mattress part with wreath on it (because, when in doubt, put a wreath on it) in our second floor hallway. It’s a plain white wall, that smacks you right in the face when you come up the stairs. So very boring. Until I thought this would make a great thrift store challenge project!

The Rules:

• Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
• There’s no monthly theme.
• There’s no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

Amanda | Domestically Creative Kim | Made in a Day
Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled Pili | Sweet Things Michelle | Michelle J Designs
Debra | Shoppe No. 5 Sue | A Purdy Little House Chelc | Inside the Fox Den
Kimm | Reinvented Ann | Duct Tape and Denim Sara | Twelve on Main
Kim | Farmhouse Made Toni | Small Home Soul Angela | Simply Beautiful by Angela
Michelle | Our Crafty Mom Marie | DIY Adulation Chelsea | Making Manzanita
Leanna | Of Faerie and Fauna Denise | My Thrifty House Lindsay | Crazy Organized
Florence | Vintage Southern Picks Shirley | Intelligent Domestications

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

Supplies you need to make a crib spring crusty with patina

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1. crib spring or mattress innards
2. Rustoleum Chalked spray paint – charcoal
3. DecoArt Americana acrylic paint:
   • Grey Sky, Bleached Sand, Cocoa, Raw Umber, Forest Green, Sea Breeze
   • If you’d like a more brown colored rust, go for a variation in the brown shades instead of green and teal.
4. drop cloth or tarp
5. sponge or foam stipple brush

Steps to antique a new crib spring

Lay out your drop cloth and spring. I stood staring at this thing for about 15 minutes wondering how I was going to get the look I wanted.

Don’t get overwhelmed by all the little nooks… just start spraying.

Once it’s dry, you’re ready to dab the paint on. I had the paint on a little paper plate, and just dipped the brush (if I were doing this again, I’d use the stipple brushes I linked to above, rather than the foam brush, and that’s because of the area coverage) into a few colors, and started dabbing it on the crib spring.

Don’t brush, dab. It will give you the texture you want, rather than a smooth, paint-like surface.

Play with the colors you want, and layer them on the brush to get you some depth. I sound like a pro painter, but I really had no idea what I was doing.

I wanted a really uneven color, if this was really laying out in the grass for years, it’d be really gross and uneven and funky.  Don’t try and be perfect, it will be perfect in it’s own aged way.

You can also go back and add layers of darker or lighter paints – do whatever speaks to you! With these aged and distressed style projects, I’ve realized the less I care about it, the better the project turns out.

Slap the paint on, stand back, and slap more on. You can always paint over it.

After it dries, it has a rough matte texture from the dabbing, that feels a bit like rust (without the funk).

Hang it up, and put a wreath on it! Dig that bathroom?  Check out the entire $100 flip, right here!

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And now for more thrifty goodness:

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!