Mini Makeover: Redecorate an Old Photo Frame

Do you have any old photo frames lying around the house that don’t really suit your taste any more but you don’t want to get rid of them? I have a few and I realised that instead of just throwing them away or leaving them lying around, that I could do a quick mini makeover on them and spruce them up again. Here’s how you can too!

What you’ll need:

• Gold Spray Paint This is from Bunnings. I first used it in this tutorial
• An Old Frame I’ve had this for years (I think it was from KMart) but you might remember the insert from this tutorial
• Somewhere safe to spray I spray in my backyard with a dropsheet over my lawn furniture

How to:

1. Remove the back, the insert and the glass of the photo frame and keep the clips folded back so that the frame sits raised. Prepare your spraying area and follow the instructions on the spray can to get ready to spray. This can needed shaking for one minute before use, but each brand differs.
2. Place your photo frame face up on your spraying area and spray the gold spray paint on evenly about 10-15cm away from the frame. Lots of short even sprays are better than one that is too thick. This took about 2 minutes to cover. Then leave to dry (as per the can’s suggested drying time). Check that all visible areas are covered by the paint including the outside and inside edges.
3. Once completely covered and dry bring inside and carefully add the glass, insert and the backing into the frame. Check that it’s lined up correctly by holding the back in and carefully flipping it to see that it looks straight and adjust as necessary. Close the clips.
4. Ta-da! Your new gold frame is ready to be hung up!

Thoughts on the project:

This is a fun and simple DIY that can give new life to your old photo frames. If you don’t like working with spray paint you could also do this with a paint brush or even with Chalk Paint in any colour that suits your home. With the right frame, this could make a lovely gift for friends or family.

This took me less than half an hour to do and a lot of that time was waiting for it to dry. The print in the frame is from here. I love how it turned out so shiny and I think it would even look great with a light coloured mat board inside the frame.

I think it could make a fun holiday activity with school aged kids for their rooms (spray paint might need to be switched to more traditional brush painting). It could even work as a Christmas gift for the right person.

Do you like to give your old photo frames a makeover? What do you do with them when your tastes change?

If you do try this, I’d love to see a photo or hear about how it went! Tweet me your pics at: @danniellecresp or instagram me at: @dannielle with the hashtag: #styleforahappyhome