Faux Steel Finish DIY Wall Organizer

I’m so excited to share my new, favorite paint technique with you today!  I love to create faux finishes, and this one is really easy to do!  Use metallic finish paints to create a great faux galvanized steel finish on wood surfaces.  I used lightweight unfinished wood boxes to create a DIY wall organizer that will look awesome in my son’s room.

This project was inspired by a wall organizer that I saw at Restoration Hardware.

Supplies needed to make your own DIY wall organizer:

• Unfinsished Wood Boxes with Lids (3)
• Metallic Paint (I used Silver, Onyx, and Pearl)
• Poster Lettering Stencils
• Wood Glue 
• Sea Sponge
• Staple Gun
• Porcelain Paint Palette

Step One. Use the wood glue to attach the top of the lid to the box as pictured. Once it has dried, use a staple gun to ensure the pieces stay together.

Step Two. Paint the boxes with one application of silver paint and let them dry.

Step Three. To create the faux galvanized steel effect, you’ll need to layer the paint colors while the paint is still wet. To prep for this, add a small amount of the metallic silver, black, and white paints to a painting dish. Work on one section at a time.

• Apply the silver paint.
• Sponge the black paint over the silver paint randomly.
• Sponge the white paint over the surface randomly.
• Use the clean side of a sponge to sponge the entire surface and blend the three paint colors slightly.

Step Four. Stencil the numbers onto each box.
Tip: To avoid paint bleeding under the stencil, first use silver metallic paint on the stencil and let it dry.  Then dab the darker paint over the stencil.  The base color will “seal” the edges of the stencil and keep the darker color from bleeding under the stencil.

Step Five. Glue the boxes together as pictured. When the glue has dried use a staple gun to reinforce the hold.

I attached a photo hanger to the back of the boxes so I can hang this DIY wall organizer in my son’s room.  It’s a great catch-all for lightweight items like pens, pencils, erasers, and small notepads.  Plus, it looks great, too!  Have fun crafting and creating faux finishes with paint!

If you’re looking for other creative storage and organization ideas for kid’s rooms or for yourself, check out this neat DIY board game storage idea.

Morena

Morena Hockley is the crafty mind behind the tutorials at morenascorner.com. Morena is a stay at home mom to four young children, and crafting is what helps her maintain her sanity. It’s a wonderful outlet and it’s how she gets her “me” time. In a past life, Morena was an elementary school teacher and an assistant principal. She misses teaching, so her blog is in a sense a virtual classroom. Swing by and check out Morena’s Corner!