Thrift Store Candle Stand Makeover

A few weeks ago I was in a home decorating store. I saw some beautiful, brightly colored candle pillar stands and wanted them for my fireplace. I had visions of myself sitting on my couch in front of my fireplace, looking like the cover of a magazine with my beautiful candles. Then I looked at the price. They were $35 each. WHAT?! I wanted four and then had to buy candles to go with them.  I just couldn’t justify spending over $150 on my magazine-cover vision. But since I couldn’t stop thinking about them, I decided to check thrift stores.

I found these four stands at two different thrift stores. My total on all four was $15. Add a few cans of spray paint and this project cost me less than $25. Maybe I will be on a magazine cover after all.

Many of you may cringe at the idea that I painted these, but while they were beautiful (all but that gold one. What’s up with that?), I wanted something bright and colorful. My fireplace is dark brick with a wood mantle, so I needed to add some color.

I started by cleaning and sanding each stand. Since they were used, several had wax drippings I had to scrape off.

Then I sanded them with a rough grit sandpaper. I had two wooden ones and two ceramic ones. The process was the same for both materials. After they were sanded, I wiped them with a wet rag and let them dry. You don’t want any leftover sandpaper grit stuck to your finished product, so don’t skip this step.

Then I sprayed them with a primer. This is crucial to make the paint stick. This primer is meant to adhere to several different materials, so this is a great base. I picked a gray primer that works on glass, wood, and plastic.

After I let this dry, I sprayed them with a gloss spray paint. Pick whatever finish you like. Make sure they dry between coats and just spray them until you’re satisfied with the cover. I think I put three coats on each.

You’ll notice the candlesticks don’t match each other. I went for height rather than style (since it’s pretty much impossible to get matching candlesticks at a thrift store).

I’m very satisfied with my finished product and with the price tag.