Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 322 Comments

Painting A Thrift Store Wood Duck

We’re excited to share our Cincy adventures (we laughed! I cried! we got something confiscated at the airport!) and we’ve already started our Pinterest challenge project along with having a pretty cool before & after that’s almost done (just have to take pics and write that post for ya) so there’s lots going on in our casa – both duck related and beyond! I say duck related because, well… I snagged this odd little wooden duck for $4 at a thrift store here in Richmond (Diversity Thrift). The date? Oh, about a year ago. Yes dudes, I’m about to get on something after twelve solid months of the “thinking about getting on that” stage (you can read more about my weird little Dude, Get On That Already challenges here). So you can file this under fast and *almost* free (thanks to relying entirely on materials that we already had). Or you can just call it fly. Get it? I quack myself up. Ok, I’m stopping now.

Duck 1 Before

It’s hard to tell the duck’s scale in the pic above, but it’s about 8″ long. Here it is with a whole bunch of craft paint that I had on hand from previous projects like this and this. And see how I used masking tape to make stripes on Mallory (she’s a mallard, right? I hope she is, since I picked her name based on that not-substantiated fact). Anyway, those masking tape stripes were because as soon as I saw her in the thrift store I thought it would be fun to stripe her with a bunch of crazy colors. I know that sounds nutty, but to me it felt sort of Jonathan Adler-ish and happy-go-lucky. I mean if you can’t have fun with your wooden duck decor, where can you have fun?

Duck 2 Taped

It’s hard to picture, but I loved the idea of a stripes like this dachshund pillow from here (<– please click that link just to see the name of that site, which made me snort water out of my nose). And this awesome post about actual painted ducks from here definitely fueled the “paint it, paint it, paint it” chant in my head.

Striped Dog Pillow

I’m not gonna lie. About ten minutes into my project I was staring at this hot mess. And I thought this might be one of those “you know we share the good, the bad, and the ugly… and boy do we have an ugly one for you!” posts. The first coat definitely didn’t have great coverage, so it actually took a few of them for it to look not horrendous (hindsight = 20/20, I totally should have spray primed this guy before taping off the stripes).

Duck 3 Paint On

But in the end, after I removed the tape and free-handed the unpainted areas with differently colored stripes, I was left with this dapper little duck-friend. She’s adorable and perfect for a nursery/kids room/playroom, but I wanted to photograph her in the kitchen so you could see that she actually can live in adult spaces too. You know, like how this happy rainbow Jonathan Adler pillow could totally look awesome in not-just-a-kids room. At least for color-lovahs like me. But if it’s too much for you, you could just spray paint your own wooden duck a solid hue like glossy white or lime or navy for a fresh spin. You know, because every house needs at least one wooden duck.

Duck Afterclose

I actually like the added flair of the stripes. I think she’s cute with the spiky yellow vase and colorful art on the top shelf. And of course the fact that she’s neck in neck with a pig cutting board in a race towards the stove cracks me up. Who knows where she’ll end up though. Little items like this tend to move all around the house, so she might be on the kitchen mantel next and then end up on the console in the living room.

Duck 5 Kitchen Full

Goose, there it is.

Ok, I know that one’s a stretch because it’s clearly a duck, but I just had to try. What have you guys been getting on lately? As a side note, I don’t actually suggest getting on a duck. One bit my mom’s hand when we were young so I don’t think they like to be ridden (just to be clear, my mom wasn’t attempting to ride it when the incident occurred).

Comments

  1. Jess says

    That site name. Speechless. :-)

    I don’t understand how you made the stripes. I get the first ones + paint, but then what did you do? Apply a second layer, then removed the tape? Did you paint the “unpainted” stripes on free hand or did you tape over the stripes you painted first?

    Sorry for my bad English, but would be so happy if you’d explain!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No worries, you’re English is great! I removed the tape for the first stripes once they were filled in and dry. Then I freehanded the unpainted stripes between them with a small craft brush. After a few coats of those it was looking pretty good. Not perfect, but cute!

      xo
      s

  4. Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says

    I’m beat. We just ended our one last push phase before the Housewarming Party and it put up a good show. I am enjoying my tea drinking ways late into the night for at least another week before I even think about touching another power tool. Weeell not really, I’m kinda getting trigger happy for the Pinterest Challenge so we’ll see. Cute duck. My kids would flip for it.

    My best, Lynn

    Reply

  7. Jenny says

    Guys, seriously, you’re killing me! I say this in all kindness, but there have been so many filler posts that I find I’m not interested in checking your blog like I used to be! Please, pretty please, blog about reno stuff again?!?!?!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So sorry Jenny! We usually share 2-3 projects a week (both big, small, and in between) along with a smorgasbord of other random house/family related stuff (here’s a post about how we decide what to post about). You can see from our monthly roundups that although some weeks are busier than others, at the end of each month we’re always surprised at how much we’ve done. This pace is just what work for us – and it’s probably the only reason we’ve been able to blog/DIY non-stop for the past 5 years without burning out. We just started our basement makeover (posted about that yesterday!) but we definitely don’t always do hardcore reno stuff every day (we’ve done 2 kitchens & 1 bathroom in our entire 5 years of blogging). Hope that helps :)

      xo
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahahaha- whenever someone says loon I think of a booby. I think they were on the same page of some bird book I had when I was a kid and it always made me snicker.

      xo
      s

  9. Lindsey says

    Also, if what you had taken at the airport was important, you’re welcome to let me know! I live in Cinci & work at the airport for FedEx. Id be happy to pick it up and ship it to you! Regulations on what you can bring on a plane are insane now a days!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw you’re sweet. I think when you read tomorrow’s post you’ll see that it’s ok. John was a little sad, but he mourned his loss and got over it. Haha.

      xo
      s

  10. Darlene says

    I can’t tell from the picture, but you may have ruined actual art. I wasn’t mad about it when I saw the traditional bits striped with white, though. That looked nice. Now…eh.
    Sorry, Sherry. I’m usually totally on board.

    Reply

  11. HelloDoorSeven says

    Too cutie!!!
    But actually I am crazy about the colors of your kitchen and more in general about all the colors in your house.
    Have you decided a precise color scheme for each room in the house beforehand?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We generally like to look at a bunch of swatches together to see how they would look if we were going to use them in a bunch of rooms (ex: grellow in the kitchen, soft gray in the rooms on all sides of that room, darker mocha-gray in the bedroom, soft pink in Clara’s room, dark teal in the guest room and tied into the back of the dining room built-ins, etc). Generally it’s pretty easy to hold up swatches and just say “yes!” or “baaad!” depending on how they look next to each other. Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  12. kathleen says

    I love how you have such a unique style and own it! Seriously a multicolored striped goose figurine in the kitchen that is pretty unique! I love seeing how totally different peoples tastes are out there and I love that about yall!

    Reply

  15. S'Mo says

    PLEASE tell me you’ve seen the Sex & the City episode involving Charlotte deciding to redecorate Trey’s apartment because she’s tired of all the mallard decoys! The scene where Bunny says something like, “Oh, no, this one doesn’t belong in here–he goes in the study” cracks me up every time!

    Reply

  16. Rachel says

    I want you to know that last weekend I bought a ceramic cat from our local charity shop, and that I hold you entirely responsible for this purchase ;)

    Reply

  18. cyndee says

    Love the striped duck but a bit ‘o gloss would not hurt. I checked out the website and if I had anything in my mouth I would have snorted it out too. BTW look under the house decor button and read some of the doormats. “the grass is greener under my weiner” Somebody was having a lot of fun coming up with these things.

    Reply

  19. Kate says

    I like the striped duck a lot more than I expected… I might have to use random colored stripes on something. The wiener pillow is awesome.

    One word of caution to those of you with banged-up crusty old ducks lying around the house (possibly belonging to your significant other)…. do make sure to ask before you glam-ify them – they may be duck decoys used for hunting. Some of them can be worth a lot of money (even old and gross) or may be family heirlooms. We have some decoys that are almost 100 years old, and BF would KILL me if I painted them. New ones cost big bucks too!

    Reply

  20. Maggie says

    I was reading A Bad Case of the Stripes with one of my students this morning, so it must be stuck in my brain…because as soon as I saw your duck, I thought it looked just like the main character. It’s so cute!

    Reply

  21. allison says

    I told my fiance the other day that ducks are the new owl and he just laughed and then I designed a bunch of cards with different ducks!

    …and I totally snorted when I clicked on that link;)

    Reply

  25. Lesley@ChaoticallyCreative says

    You know what I would love to see you do. Put a nice layer of clear coat on him.I feel like his paints gonna rub off but I’d also like to see him shine. ANd BTW it doesn’t look like crap like the reader below me wrote in my previous comment. May not be for all but I’ve never met a person that craps rainbow ducks. At least not yet there’s still time.

    Reply

  26. Ashley P. says

    Did you mean happy-go-ducky?
    And I happen to know quite a manly man named Mallory. So you are good.
    See you I’m Dallas. I’ll be the one hauling around my 8 month old and 3 year old.

    Reply

  27. Kari says

    Just a note to anyone considering painting their decoy. Make sure that you’re not painting over a collector’s item (I don’t think you did, Sherry, though I am totally not an expert). Antique ones can look fairly shabby and still fetch a pretty penny. My dad was an avid hunter and much of my parents house is decorated in ducks–not my favorite motif, but I know he has paid a lot of money for some of those decoys and would turn in his grave if I ever painted over them with stripes.

    Reply

  28. Syl says

    Loving Mallory, a quacking cute dude if I’ve ever seen one! What made me snort Diet Coke through my nose however was the 120$ price tag on that John Adler pillow… o.0 Thank goodness inspiration is free!!!

    Reply

  29. Wendy says

    Hmm yes, definitely a transgender duck. The green head is a male thing, but since her “operation” she is looking much more feminine. I am sure she is much happier.

    Reply

  30. Amy says

    I have one of these, i honestly never thought of painting it.
    I use mine as a door stop-now it doesn’t have to be an eye sore too-thanks for the idea!

    Reply

  33. Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says

    So impressed. Way to take something so manly and kinda been done before into something new and fresh. I never would have given that duck a second thought and ducked right out of the story (couldn’t help it). But now I’m thinking about what things I could paint in stripes…

    Reply

  34. Koliti says

    Waddle Sherry do next? :) Fun stripes.

    Hey, I have a question…
    would you ever consider NOT answering a negative commentor’s post?

    It seems like your time and attention would be better served by saying “hi” to a friendly post.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha at waddle! As for responding to comments, we try to chat with everyone, so if someone is saying they like something or asking us to change something, we just try to acknowledge them either way whenever we can :)

      xo,
      s

  35. Bethany says

    Something about it gave me a bit of the creeps, now I figured it out.its the eyes! The “lifelike” eyes are just too much! I didn’t even notice in the first pic, but once he got rainbowified, those glass eyes just popped right out!

    Reply

  36. Mallory says

    Awww, thanks guys for naming your Mallard after me ;) I’m so flattered! Bella says we better get that pillow or else…she’s such a snob about being a dachshund. Xo, Mallory

    Reply

  37. trish says

    Love it! My husband has a wooden duck collection. I wonder if he’d notice if I painted one all up in stripes? hahaha!
    Maybe I’ll have to add one to his collection.

    Reply

  38. Beth says

    I love your animal makeovers!
    When I was looking at the final painted version, the realistic duck eye kind of creeped me out! Would you possibly paint her eyes too?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I thought it might scratch off of I painted the eyes since they’re so glossy (the wood is better at holding paint). I figure Clara will bang this around so we’ll have to see how Mallory fares.

      xo,
      s

  39. krys72599 says

    We have a lakehouse we go to on the weekends and the ducks are very trainable. They’re wild ducks, but if you toss them some bread every weekend, they eventually come closer and closer… So close they sit on our dock, and take bread from our hands!

    Reply

  41. Arnice says

    So my kids like dorky music and when I saw the title “Duck!” and how you ended with “goose,” it made me think of this song “Chicken Monkey Duck.” Enjoy!

    Reply

  42. Brooke says

    :) I’ve been a lurker for a while and I really love the blog. I will admit he’s not my favourite transformation but kudos on the creative idea. I would have liked to see him maybe painted with his traditional markings but in vibrant colours.

    Wish you guys were coming to Canada :)

    Reply

  43. Leanne says

    $herdog! I love love love that duck! That is awesome!

    I am a complete colour lover here (the more colours, more shades, more vibrant the better) and this would fit right in with anything for me :)

    My husband knows to steer clear when I am wearing my favourite orange socks….(orange socks = awesome creativity fuelled days for me, though it also usually means one huge mess as well hahaha) These creations always involve colour… generally as many as I can incorporate lol

    One of my best friends once described my favourite outfit like this “It is like a rainbow threw up! I need sunglasses woman! That is amazing!”
    I took it as a compliment (totally the way it was intended haha)

    I am off to hit up a thrift store to find a cool wooden animal to paint… or maybe a dresser….. or a table…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahahah, that’s hilarious and I love it. Now I need some socks to indicate to John when I’m about to be a crazy tornado of crafting productivity!

      xo,
      s

  44. Mallory D says

    I completely agree on the name choice!!! Like the other Mallory above I’m also named from the show family ties.. Haha
    Mallory actually means unlucky but she’s by far the luckiest little duck to get to live in the Petersik home.

    Maly Mal would be a fantastic nickname.

    Reply

  45. Rebecca says

    Although I’m not a fan of Mallory herself, i LOVED the name of this post because…

    when my parents were house hunting in MI (I was in college but visiting when they were looking), we walked in the backyard of a house that had 2 ducks walking around. When we walked inside and headed to the basement my dad called out, “DUCK” to me. I turned around and said, “Where, where?” but he was talking about the low overhang of the stairs so I needed to “duck” when walking down the steps. I am still (about 4 years later) getting duck related things and the joke is always brought up.

    Reply

  46. KathyL says

    HA!!!!! I just opened up my Good Housekeeping!!!!
    GREAT JOB AND HOW EXCITING!!!!!!!!!

    **not feeling the stipes on the duck, I loved the orginal paint better. I think that’s the first makeover where I liked the before more.

    Reply

  49. Mandy S says

    Not a fan of the stripes, not gonna lie. I think it would be much more suited to a solid color, personally.

    Can’t wait to hear about your first book tour stop!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *