DIY Lacquer decorative boxes

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Last week I shared how I was trying to get our school and homework area organized with decorative storage boxes. I recently made a trip to the container store and oh my, I was a little overwhelmed. Although I was overwhelmed, I did manage to take many pictures of things I loved in hopes of being inspired to create my own. I may still purchase a few key pieces but for the most part, I am working with what we have around our house. Yesterday I decided to create my own DIY lacquer decorative boxes by spray painting a pair of wooden boxes.

You can purchase inexpensive unfinished wooden boxes at any craft store. Kate at Centsational Girl also has a great tutorial on how to create lacquer boxes. Her boxes were actually my inspiration for this project. For my project, I used Krylon Spray paint in bright metallic gold, hyacinth (which looked lavender on the cover but came out more gray/green) and Folkart high-shine glaze.

I spray painted the bases of the boxes in the hyacinth color and then the top of the boxes gold. I added two coats of each color leaving ample amount of time to dry in between. Once the colors were completely dry, I sprayed the high-shine clear coat to give them the glossy lacquer look. I also spray painted the metal label holder in the gold. The project took a couple hours but only because you need to leave ample drying time in between coats. Overall the project is extremely easy and a fabulous way to add color to a space.

I plan on putting these boxes on one of the bookcase shelves in our family room to store kids artwork. I love how the FolkArt high-shine spray paint takes a matte colored box to a high gloss shine with a simple one coat spray.

I decided that the two boxes needed a smaller box paired with them so I painted an unfinished small wooden box I picked up at Michaels Crafts for three dollars and added a coat of Martha Stewart pale bronze craft paint. Once it was dry, I sprayed it with the clear high-shine spray paint to give it a glossy finish. I love how the pale bronze paint color and the bright gold coordinate together. Just enough difference to show a subtle contrast.

DIY lacquer decorative boxes are an easy and inexpensive way to add a custom designer look and a bit of glam to a space. I think these guys are going to look fabulous in our family room bookcase. I am getting the house ready for the Fall Home Tour that starts next week so I will show you the lacquer boxes in their new home soon.