How I transformed a bread box into a letter box by looking for wood at thrift stores.
This weirdo little bread box was a thrift store the other day and I passed it by a number of times. Finally something was telling me to go back to check it out.
I opened it up and someone had DIY’d it into a letter box!
Every time I’m at a thrift store or garage sale, the first thing I look for is wood. Furniture is the obvious wood find but sometimes that’s hard to find amongst the laminate dresser and coffee tables.
Sometimes you just want to makeover a small project so next time you are thrift shopping, make sure to check out all the wood pieces.
Of course I wanted to spruce this up French Vintage-like so I’ll show you how I gave this bread box a makeover.
There are so many DIY wood projects out there in the world that have been tossed aside that end up at thrift stores that no one takes a second look at.
It just seems that solid wood is getting harder to come by, replaced with cheap MDF versions.
One person’s wood shop adventure, is a treasure to me.
First, I gave it a good primer spray with my favourite primer.
Then I sprayed the inside with a grey spray paint.
After that I gave it two coats of my favourite new colour, Fusion Mineral Paint Raw Silk. It really only needed one coat of the Raw Silk but I like to do two coats.
You’ll notice that I took the hardware and door off before I set out to paint.
Because the interior was rough wood, I used Mod Podge and some scrapbook paper that resembled book pages to line the bottom of the large cubbies with.
I added a new knob and put on the hinges and door.
I really like how it turned out. It’s a completely new letter box now.
I finished the edges of the cubbies with Fusion Mineral Paint in Algonquin to match the scrapbook paper.
The dents and scratches showed nicely through the Raw Silk. I love dents – it gives texture and age to a wood piece.
It’s going to be the perfect little find for my writing desk.
Next time you are at a thrift shop or garage sale, remember to look for wood pieces!
You can always turn it into something great with paint.
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Shawnna Griffin says
April 20, 2017 at 9:55 amhey girl- love the letter box! So cool!
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:18 pmThanks so much, Shawnna.
Hugs, Jamie
Carolyn says
April 20, 2017 at 10:22 amYou did a lovely job–just a suggestion. How about wrapping the paper you used around the raw edges just to finish it off a bit more. Great transformation!
Lynne Gaylor says
April 20, 2017 at 11:02 amWhat a great idea!! I love to repurpose old things from thrift store finds!
Marlene Stephenson says
April 20, 2017 at 2:22 pmWhat a great find. I like to look for old wood pieces too.Thanks.
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:18 pmGreat minds think alike! Thanks Marlene.
Hugs, Jamie
Richard (in Charlotte, NC) says
April 20, 2017 at 2:53 pmWow, what a neat find! It’s not nailed together but dove-tailed; someone really put some time into that piece when it was originally made. I don’t normally like it when real wood is painted but, your paint job makes that recycled Bread box shine. Thanks for the post.
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:25 pmThanks so much, Richard. I agree, it was well made.
Jamie
Jauquetta says
April 22, 2017 at 12:17 amI adore the box, I too look for wooden things. Sick of mdf! You could have folded the paper over the edge to diguise the rough ply. Then run small stripes down the cubby edges. That is a nice color. Where do you find it? I recently found a beautifull large wooden tray, it’s a bit of a mess in the middle and I’m trying to decide what to do with it. It’s from Italy and has a lovely scroll edge.
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:26 pmThat’s a good idea, I might still do something like that!
Hugs, Jamie
Gilda says
April 22, 2017 at 5:00 amI would’ve taken a little time to spackle in some wood putty on those plywood divider ends before painting it up…they look so ragged.
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:26 pmGood idea, Gilda.
Hugs, Jamie
Pamela R LePage says
April 22, 2017 at 2:07 pmLove your find, great come back. I also always look for wood pieces, but I don’t make to the thrift store very often.but i do have little cupboard door that might make a cute addition to something ..The door on your box was the inspiration. Thanks for sharing…
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:27 pmThanks so much, Pamela! Aren’t little wooden cabinets the best?
Hugs, Jamie
FrenchGardenHouse says
April 22, 2017 at 9:59 pmSuch a great project! Even at antique stores, wood is often a very good buy. I love the color you painted this, such a handy little storage piece, and now, beautiful and useful again!
Jamie says
April 24, 2017 at 4:27 pmThanks so much, Lidy!
Hugs, Jamie