painted stump

painted stump table

painted stump table with upholstery tacks

stump table

stump table

Sometimes change comes in the form of five minutes, random acrylic paint and tacks.

I used regular gold thumbtacks for this table, they lay more flat and are easy to push into the surface than my usual favorite: upholstery tacks. But there’s no wrong, you could use square upholstery tacks (I love these and also use them to hang printed quotes and such) or any kind of tacks. I like to keep a few different types of upholstery tacks (and thumb tacks) around the house for different projects.

hope*ologie

painted stump

vol 25

I use upholstery tacks to hang my vol 25 posters…

tassels

to hang tassels…

breadboards

and even my breadboards, they just look a little fancier than a nail and often I can push them in without even using a hammer (or high heeled shoe).

stump tables

I’ve used stump tables around our house for years. That tall one in the back is the same one I just painted blue on top. I think we found him on the side of the road, let him sit in the garage for six months or so, pulled off the bark and sanded him down. Sometimes we paint them, sometimes we carve our initials in them, sometimes we leave them like they are. Here’s my first stump table that we put on casters.

Our stumps came from different places: a tree that fell in our yard, side of the road, my friend Angela even gave me some. No matter where they come from, I like to let them sit in the garage for a few months so the bugs can work their way out, and then the bark usually comes off easier.

Stuff in my house stays the same, but also slowly changes over time.  I still love the stumps (maybe too much) but I also like to see how I can use them differently and how I can change them up. And you really can’t go wrong with free stumps, they are in abundance and it’s worth it to take a little risk and see how you can use them in your home.

stumps