M for Metallic: The Tutorial

The painted metallic-looking-letter-M on my son's desk didn't always look this way...

When I first brought it home, it was a plain-looking-wooden-letter-M.  No stain.  No color.  Nothing.  So I painted it... light blue.  Then I leaned it against the window in his bedroom when we lived in VA (you can see his old room here).

The light blue color was a good fit at the time, but now in his new room here in TX, I wanted to add a little edge to the M.  So I looked in my paint stash and found a small bottle of Folk Art brand paint in Metallic Taupe.  Perfect!  I gathered the M, a brush, and the paint and got work.

I brushed one light and even coat on the top of the M, right over the blue.

Once the first coat of paint was dry (it didn't take long), I brushed paint along a few of the edges and corners. Then I brushed a little paint in the middle to darken some areas and give the M a little depth.

After the paint was dry, it looked like this... a little more rough, tough and manly than the previous plain-baby-blue color.

And, here it is propped on the desk... I'm lovin' the glow that a small amount of metallic paint adds.

Interested in seeing more of this room?  Before I started decorating the room, I searched for bedroom ideas, then looked for fabric, created a plan, made a duvet cover, painted the closet, layered the bedding, created a gallery wall here and here, set up the desk, hammered a nailhead bulletin board together, and today added the metallic-looking-M... the room is almost done, but there's still more to come.  I invite you to follow along with me!

This post is linked to the Centsational Girl, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, The Lettered Cottage  Fingerprints on the Fridge, Remodelaholic and The DIY Showoff.