School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

Ceramic Owl Makeover

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

June 16, 2011 By Jackie

 

 

DIY Ceramic Owl

I found this cute guy at HomeGoods for $12, but he was not so cute when I found him.  I quickly dubbed him Mr. Fugly.  This poor guy was some sort of brown stone/ceramic with a yucky green glaze.  But I saw past his flaws to what he could be.  I thought to myself, “nothing a little spray paint can’t fix.”  His texture and diamond pattern were interesting.  His round, rotund shape was appealing.

Owl Before

I coated this guy with at least six coats of white gloss spray paint.  I used a lot of coats because his texture was difficult to cover and I wanted him to be a crisp white.  Lots of thin coats also helps avoid drips.  Note: The drips you do see on him, like around his eyes, was actually part of the original glaze, not my paint job.

Ceramic Owl Spray Painting Process

With so many different angles, I tipped this guy on his head after the first three coats.  On the third upright coat I got the top of his head really good.  Then when he was upside down I did the last three coats.  This helped get maximum even coverage from all angles.  This way if I perched him on a high shelf you wouldn’t see a still fugly underbelly.  Thankfully I did this, because I of course perched him up high on the built-ins in our family room.

Ceramic Owl Decor

He turned out so cute!  Ever since I saw these cute owls at West Elm, I have been a little obsessed with having a white ceramic owl of my own.  Unfortunately the owls from West Elm were too small for me.  Their largest owl is just over 9 inches high and six inches wide.  I knew I could find a larger owl and make it work.  My HomeGoods find is about 12″ all-around.  I much prefer the round, plump look for optimal owl cuteness.

Springtime is great for finding these garden statues to transform into home decor.  Sometimes you just have to look past the color and trust me…nothing a little spray paint can’t fix.  Mr. Fugly proved me right.  Crisp gloss white just seems to be the ultimate for transformations.  It gives whatever you are painting an immediate, fresh facelift.  And white pretty much fits in any home decor.  White will never go out of style.

I linked to this post on these great blogs:
The Shabby Nest Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Previous Post
Tiny Party to Welcome Baby & Mini S’mores Recipe
Next Post
Making a Chair Slipcover Pattern

Comments

  1. Katy says

    June 18, 2011 at 7:06 am

    That turned out very cute. So Creative!

  2. madison says

    June 19, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    this is sooo cute! i LOVE it in glossy white!

  3. Savannah says

    June 20, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    This is so cute! I have one almost exactly like it, but it has little vent type holes in it to put a candle behind it. I LOVE yours, darling idea to paint it white! Found ya from Dittle Dattle, have a happy Monday!

  4. Tina says

    June 20, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    Love this idea. Would be fab if you’d consider linking up to my 20 minute tuesday party!
    It’s for ideas just like this. Quick and inexpensive yet-amazing!
    It starts tonight at 730CT.
    Thanks ;)
    Tina
    http://www.sweetfloweret.com

  5. andiejaye says

    June 21, 2011 at 1:05 am

    i love him! owls are one of my faves! spray paint can fix anything, can’t it? i would love it if you would link this up to my tip-toe thru tuesday party!

    http://crayonfreckles.blogspot.com/2011/06/tip-toe-thru-tuesday-4.html

  6. Lainie says

    November 21, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    I love him. You make me want to go out and find something fugly to spray white :)

    • Jackie says

      November 21, 2012 at 4:44 pm

      Lainie, Do it! Almost anything looks better in glossy white :)

  7. Jen H says

    December 7, 2012 at 9:23 am

    LOVE this!!! I actually just purchased some fugly owls from and estate sale and a clearance rack with the intention of painting them off white and antique glazing…may have to change to white after seeing this! Thanks for the inspiration!

  8. Dani @ Painting Sunny says

    June 21, 2013 at 9:00 am

    This morning I curated a “DIY Ceramic Animal Hall of Fame” collection (obviously, just my humble opinions) and this made the list! Obviously, not everything on the list is very “ceramic-y” but they are all adorable. This owl is one of my favs, too – it ended up looking so perfectly West Elm! The post is here: http://paintingsunny.com/2013/06/21/diy-ceramic-animal-hall-of-fame/

    • Jackie says

      June 21, 2013 at 9:06 am

      Thank you go including my owl. Great roundup!

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.