Spray paint decorating was very popular when spray paint was first introduced. My grandmother had a habit of spray painting everything gold. I didn't know this about her when I was a child, I only recently discovered this, as all of my aunts and uncles were giggling about it. "Hey Ma, remember when you painted everything gold?" I thought that was funny, I can picture my kids teasing me about that, too. Not that I've painted everything gold yet, but I would. Have you seen the new metallic spray paints on the market? They're beautiful.

Spray Painting Prep; Preparing an Object for Spray Painting

Wash all items to be spray painted, with soap and water. Rinse perfectly clean and dry thoroughly. If the surface is still a little tacky, wipe it down with rubbing alcohol to make sure there are no residual oils or adhesives.

If the item you're painting is plastic, give it a good buffing with a mild sandpaper. If the item you're painting is wood, make sure you use a base coat.

Beginning to Spray Paint

It's best to use spray paint outside. I've had the best luck covering my patio table with newspaper on a day with absolutely no wind.

It's important that there's no wind because you don't want little dandelion seeds blowing into your project. If you can't get away from the wind outside, try your garage. Make sure you have airflow and that the area is protected from over-spray.

What to Spray Paint

Painting picture frames can make a huge impact in a room. Instead of having mismatched frames of different kinds of wood and shapes and sizes, spray painting them can unify them all with one color, and make the room look a little more pulled together. In my house, all the frames are sprayed a matte black. I like the clean lines and the high contrast between the brightly colored walls and the dark, non-reflective flat frames.

Knick-Knacks on a shelf can be adorable, but removing a few of them and spray painting them all one color can create a "matching set" out of previously mismatched items. Statuettes, figurines or other small items can look more like a collection when they're spray painted.

Furniture can be spray painted, too. If you're painting a large object, be sure to use smooth strokes and allow the paint to dry in between coats for the best finish.

Spray painting furniture and other items is fun. Transforming an item gives you the ultimate sense of ownership and creation with the least amount of actual work involved. Spray paint is cheap, sometimes less than $2 per can. What will you spray paint?