Hacking on the Side

If you aren't familiar with the idea of "hacking" furniture, allow me to explain.

Much like "hacking a computer program" means that you have changed the program from it's intended purpose to suit your own needs, furniture can also be changed to fit your personal style or need. This is sometimes the only route someone can choose (for oddly sized rooms or spaces), but usually this is deployed to save the furniture hacker from having to buy a more expensive piece of furniture. There are even entire websites dedicated to it, such as IKEA Hackers, where you can get tips from others who have solved their own design issues.

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of gold working its way back into the mainstream. Most of the time, it's being used on accent pieces and small tchotchkes. Some of the other places I have seen it pop up have been furniture legs. This table, for example is simple enough, but the gold legs hike the price because it's in vogue. $79.99 for a small side table? Really?!

So I came home and glanced around and saw one of the side tables we had purchased for a mere $10 a couple of months ago that had the same shape. I decided to go for the 'high end hack'. It was pretty simple. In the end, it turned out well and cost me nothing extra.

Originally, the legs were black, so I began by taking them off using an Allen wrench and these bolts on the legs.

Then I just grabbed the same can of spray paint that I had used previously on the Halloween trophies and gave them two good coats. Wait overnight for them to dry and reassemble. Easy Peezy.

What I really like is that this spray paint is slightly metallic, so It really does lend it a nice contrast. Gold is also a color that we really don't have in the living room, so it adds another layer to the space.

So there you have it, the really easy hack that I pulled off without spending a cent. Isn't is amazing what some spray paint can accomplish?