Old Paintbrush Cabinet Door Handles
Happy Wednesday! Something kind of exciting happened to me yesterday. Woman’s Day sent a photographer, an assistant and a stylist to photograph me and my garage. They worked together like a well-oiled machine and made my garage more beautiful than I could ever imagine! If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (@PrettyHandyGirl), I snapped a few photos with my cell phone. I am still in the “I’ll believe it when I see it mindset.” But, this was for a small feature on organization for the September issue. Honestly, I’m a little concerned that the editor will take one look at the photos and drop them in the garbage. After all, it is the LEAST attractive room in my house! But, the editor assured me that they really want to show an organized garage space. So, I’ll be sitting on pins and needles until the issue comes out.
Two weeks ago I got an email from someone at Woman’s Day expressing interest in my garage. She politely asked if I could make a few changes to complete my workbench. They were all changes that I had wanted to do eventually. But, that date suddenly became last week. So, I put my tail in high gear and added those finishing touches to my workshop.
This was the workbench area of our garage before:
Not very pretty, was it? But, my good friend Holly came over one night to help me finish painting and gave me a jump on all the things I had to do before the photoshoot (like shop for a few fall colored non-patterned blouses in the middle of hot and humid North Carolina!)
After the workbench got two coats of paint it looked like this:
What you probably can’t see in this photo is that the cabinet hardware on the upper cabinets doesn’t match. I wanted cool handles that say, “Creative Handy Gal at play here.” And this is what I came up with:
I retired my beloved Purdy paint brushes and immortalized them as door handles. If you have some old paint brushes lying around you can make some too.
Materials:
- 2 – 2″ paint brushes
- 4 – 3″ threaded bolts
- 4 – washers
- 4 – nuts (that fit on bolts)
- 2 – wing nuts (that fit on bolts)
- drill
- drill bit larger than bolts
- wrench
- scrap of wood
Directions:
Line up the two paint brushes and drill a hole through them where the handle gets wide (just below the metal collar.)
Put one bolt through the hole at the bottom of the paint brush and insert it into the existing hole where the cabinet knob used to be. Insert a pencil into the hole you drilled. Mark the location of the upper hole with a pencil.
Drill a hole where the pencil mark is.
Thread the bolts through the top and bottom holes in the paint brush. Then feed a washer onto the bolt and finally a nut. Secure the nut with the wrench.
Thread another nut onto the bolt, and another washer as shown. Insert the ends of the bolts into the holes in the cabinet door.
Adjust the nuts until you have the desired handle depth. Then secure the handles by threading a wing nut onto the inside of the cabinet door.
Tighten the outside nut against the cabinet door with the wrench.
Repeat for your other handle. Test your paint brush handles. Jump up and down and celebrate because they work!
I can’t begin to tell you how much I love these handles. When I wrap my hand around them I don’t want to let go because those paint brushes have been in my hands for years.
Do you think I’ve had a brush with insanity? Or do you agree with me that these are pretty cool handles?
Well, I hope that the Woman’s Day readers like them.
Have a great week y’all. I have some more workshop makeover projects to share with you soon.
What are very ingenious idea!!
I really love how it transfroms the room, great work.
Thanks Steamy.
I LOVE THIS!! I might incorporate into in my kitchen somehow, maybe my desk area!! LOVE!!
See you at Haven next week.
Chrissy, oh fun. Thanks for your comment.
Looks very cool, gives the room a rustic and warm feel. Not sure if it would work in a kitchen or bedrrom but for a Garage or ‘DIY’ Room its kind of quirky!
Jenny, absolutely! THanks for your comment.
Perfect for a handy girl…and much cheaper than buying new handles!
😉 Thanks Fiona. New handles aren’t too expensive, but upcycling is much cooler!
That is a great idea! Glad to hear about the Woman’s Day shoot…very cool and well deserved!
Thanks Sarah!
wow Brittany, that’s awesome! No one would EVER want to do a photo shoot of MY garage! hahaha Even if I did paint it and clean it up.
congrats!
gail
Gail, ha. Yup, no one would have wanted to do one pre-organization makeover either. It was a rough space, but I love it now.
That’s just so clever and cute! I will def. go get that issue! Congratulations!
Thanks Teri!
I think they’re very cool… but what is even cooler is that awesome work space you have there!
I’d love an awesome space like that!
Susan
Homeroad
.
Susan, oh believe me I appreciate my workbench. Our old house just had a little shed. Thanks for your comment.
Such a clever idea! Congratulations on your magazine feature!
Thanks Brandi!
Clever girl!!!! And here I’ve been throwing away all my old paint brushes!! What a great way to recycle!!!!
Ha, well now you can save all your paint brushes ;-).
these are awesome! i will have to forward this post to my mom. she has a shop and these would be a perfect way to spiffy up the place.
Oooo, let me know if she does it in her shop. I’d love to see pictures.
Wootz on a WD feature – how cool is that?!… Clever idea — I’m with you on how hard parting with a good Purdy brush is, though — if they’re well-washed they last forever.
Mary Ann, thanks for your comment. Yes, it was very hard to retire those brushes. But, at least now I can always use them ;-D