Easy $10 Fireplace Door Upgrade

One of the first things I loved about this house was the fireplace.  And now that we've given it a few updates? I love it even more. It's come a long way since move-in day, and we've done it all on a super small budget. I know I sound like a broken record, but you CAN create a home you love without spending a fortune. If you take one thing away today, let it be that.

If you take away a second thing, it can be this handy hack.

So let's check out the fireplace, because it's looking better than ever with it's snazzy new fireplace door! Except it's not actually a new fireplace door. It's the same old door with a fresh new look that cost under $10!

But before we jump into this latest update, let's throwback a few years. At this point we had painted the walls a light gray, but that was our only change so far:

Guys, small changes really do add up. It feels so much more cohesive and fitting to this old farmhouse now than it ever did back then. Partly because of the updates and partly due to my minimizing and learning to style the Cozy Minimalist way (so. much. stuff. on that old mantle). Here's a quick rundown of what we've done so far:

ORB Hardware

Earlier this week I shared how we updated our front door with a little paint and some vinyl letters. Today I'm going to show you how we used spray paint  to spiff up the the hardware & complete the makeover!

I started this first thing in the morning (right after I painted the door) so the hardware had all day to dry and cure before it had to do any work. I removed all the hardware pieces and put them on a piece of cardboard. I could poke any long pieces through the cardboard so they would stand upright.

Metal Basket Resuscitation

I love using wire baskets for storage. But they can be a little on the pricey side, so I've only bought new once (and I had a gift card. I'm cheap.). But I've collected a few nice, sturdy baskets for $1-2 each at yard sales over the past year or so. The only problem with these cheaper alternatives is that they all seem to have something in common... they are crazy rusty. So they haven't actually been very useful because I don't want them to ruin any of my stuff. And then I had the big "duh" moment a few weeks ago (why does it always take me a few years to get to the "duh?") and realized I could just paint them!

 

The one nice basket I have is an ORB finish and I wanted to match the finish with my rust buckets, so I pulled out my new favorite spray paint.

I started using a stiff brush to remove any loose rust (I'm not sure if it made a difference or not) and wiped it with a wet rag to remove any dust. Then I just gave it a few coats of paint until it was all covered. And don't forget to flip it over and do the bottom!

Then I just left them outside to cure for a few hours before bringing them back in and loading them up with fabric. I LOVE storing my fabric like this because it looks so pretty and I can always see what I have.

And I'm so happy with how the finish turned out. I was a little sad