Wednesday, March 17, 2010

DIY :: Foyer Caddy/Charging Station (Part 1)

At our house, we are constantly losing our keys.  In spite of the fact that we're fairly organized people, sunglasses get set down one place, housekeys in another place and cell phones get plugged in somewhere else.  I started thinking about the need for an entry caddy and charging station for our entryway.  Although I like the ones sold by places like Sharper Image, they don't meet all of my organizational needs.  So, I decided to design my own.  First step?  A place to corral the keys, shades, change and other loose things that make their way in and out of our door every day.

Here's Part 1 of our new entry caddy/charging station:


The brainstorm hit me when I was shopping at Michael's Craft Store.  These galvanized buckets were in the sale rack for $1 each.  Jackpot!


I like the look of galvanized metal, but this was going in my entry - not a potting shed - so I wanted something a little less garden-y.  Enter my friends from Rust-oleum.  I found a rusty-colored primer and the Oil Rubbed Bronze finishing spray. 

**Note: If you haven't tried the "any-angle spray" from Rust-oleum, it's wonderful.  You can hold the can upside down, right-side up and every which way, and the spray comes out with even coverage.


I sprayed each bucket with one thick coat of primer.  A little too thick actually - I got some drips as you can see below.  But the second photo is the same bucket after I applied the first coat of the Oil Rubbed Bronze.  The drips just disappeared.  So, don't worry too much about drips on the primer.  Make sure you apply thin, even coats with the top coat, though, so that it doesn't drip.

I was a tad bit worried when the ORB came out of the can because it looked glittery.  The paint is wet in the photo below, and you'll see what looks like gold speckles in it.  These tone down as the paint dries, and the result is a dark brown finish with rusty bronze undertones.


Here are all four buckets drying after the final coat. Still some glitter, but it will fade away as these dry.


Next, I ran to my computer. I wanted to personalize each pail with a monogram. K, S, A and B will cover each of our family members.  The kiddos are still young, but even they have sunglasses, plastic dinosaurs and crayons that need a home when we come inside from the garage.

The buckets have a 5" diameter and I determined that the appropriate size for a monogram would be 2.5" (w) x 3" (h) on the front.  I drew a rectangle of this size in Adobe Illustrator and played with various letters until I found a font that would work for my monogram.  I settled on Georgia at 225 pts.  I printed each of these along with a 3" circle pattern the size of the pails' bottoms.


You will want to cut out each letter carefully.  Use small sewing scissors (or even nail clipping scissors) so that you can get around the tight curves and angles.


Center the letter on the front of the pail and use a black ball point pen to trace carefully around the initial.  The pen lines will barely show up, but will give you guidelines for painting the monogram.

The secret to a crisp letter is these paint markers made by Elmer's.  I got these for $6/box at Michael's.  Look for the Fine Point markers.  When you open them, shake well and push the tip down firmly on a piece of paper.  Be sure to allow any drips to pool off the marker before you start drawing.


Trace the ball point outline with the marker.  You can see in the picture below how the paint drips got the best of me when I started out. Notice the white smear at the top of the "S"?  At this point, I could have sanded down the front, reapplied the spray paint and re-traced the letter.  But, it was nightime, and I didn't have the patience to wait, so I just wiped off the excess, knowing that I could touch up the mistake after the monogram was complete.

A tip for crisp lines?  Hold your breath while you apply long, confident strokes.  The less you stop, the less jagged the line will appear. Once you've completed the outline, use the marker to fill in the letter.  Wait about 40 minutes for the first coat to dry completely.  Then apply a second coat with the paint pen.


Here is the smudged "S" after two coats of white were applied.


I ran to the garage and sprayed the ORB paint directly into a disposable bowl.  Using a small paint brush, I painted right over the white smudges.  You'll see in the final photos, that the smudges disappeared completely.


Next step: the liner.  I love metal pails, but was cringing at the thought of keys clanging into the buckets everyday. I found 8"x10" sheets of felt at Michael's for $0.29/ea. One would think that a rectangle would precisely line the inside of a cylinder, but because a pail is a tapered cylinder, you need a different shape entirely to line it.  I put graph paper inside one of the pails and trimmed to size to create a pattern.  Using the pattern, I cut the lining for each pail and a circle to fit in the bottom.


Pull out your trusty hot glue gun and apply the felt to the inside of each pail.  **Tip: Apply the glue in thin lines to the inside of the pail NOT to the felt.  If you apply it to the felt and attempt to fit the material into the bucket, you could get the felt stuck before it is placed correctly inside.  With the glue applied to the pail, you can roll up the felt and let it expand to fit the sides once it is sitting flush with the bottom of the pail.

Here's the result.  A pail large enough to fit my iPhone, my sunglasses, chapstick and my huge ring of keys that my husband calls my "custodian keys."


For Phase 1, the pails fit nicely on the table in my entryway.  I'm in the process of laying out the plans for a handmade charging station on which these pails will perch.  I'll post this pattern and the building tutorial in the coming weeks.  For more information on the springtime eggs and white bowl, see tomorrow's post.



5 comments:

Sandy said...

LOVE this idea!!

TidyMom said...

you are so clever!! I LOVE this idea!! and fantastic step by step instructions and pictures!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

Thanks for linking up! Have a GREAT weekend!

marie said...

Very cute idea! Nice tutorial too!

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

Great idea... you used my fav spray paint too... ORB!

Diane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com} said...

Looks great!

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