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DIY vintage towel rail upcycle

Vintage Towel Rail Upcycle

November 20, 2015 - No Comments - 2 min read

When we moved into this house earlier last year, we found the previous owner had left several bits and bobs throughout the home. Most were empty boxes, old lino, wallpaper and general rubbish, but there were some little beauties – a stack of old newspapers, (this may not excite everyone, but totally excites me!) a wooden vintage ladder, some massive chunky slabs of wood and this little vintage towel rail.

Upcycling an old vintage towel rail

In my dream bathroom, I would have a traditional style victorian heated towel radiator. It would be gloriously warm and lovely, but since we actually have central heating (boo!), that isn’t an option right now.

After having finished the bathroom a couple of months ago, we’ve been struggling with a place to hang our towels. The go-to solution was to hang them over the bath, making the room look somewhat scruffy!

We’d been using this old vintage towel rail in the downstairs shower room, so I thought I would give it a new lease of life, a splash of paint and bring it to life in the upstairs bathroom.

I’ve seen lots and lots of these style towel rails painted one solid colour, so I wanted to do something a bit different and decided to opt for a two-tone inspired design.

I went on with a base coat of Winter Grey in Rustoleum’s Chalky Finish paint which I had leftover from painting a geometric tabletop. This paint is quite a white-grey and definitely looks more white than grey when paired next to a darker colour.

Since it’s chalk paint, it also meant the towel rail required no sanding – YAY!  

painting a  vintage towel rail

I then created a diagonal divide using masking tape. This will allow me to paint one side in a different colour!

It was quite fiddly taping the towel rail up, getting a straight diagonal line as well as covering each rung on the rail. Basically – it was much harder than I thought. But I got there in the end. Persistence wins!

Once taped up, I painted the scond side in Authentico’s ‘Pigeon Grey’ Chalk paint.

upcycling a vintage towel rail
taping up a towel rail

Then finally, I went over with a finishing wax which will provide the towel rail with protection against water and stains. This stuff also darkens the finish a little, which I quite like!  

rustoleum finishing wax upcycle project

And voila, it was really as simple as that! I love the finished look, it’s simple yet a little bit different and quirky. The colours a great fit for the bathroom as they continue the blue-y/grey theme but adding an additional grey at the same time.

Plus, it totally matches our new towels, ha!

modern monochrome inspired towel rail
upcycled vintage towel rail
quirky vintage towel rail
two toned black and white towel rail
modern vintage towel rail upcycle

It may not be my dream towel rail, but it’s certainly much improved and will be a very suitable fit for our towel problems. Oh, if only it was heated!

What do you think? How would you have up-cycled this old towel rail?!

*This post contains some affiliate links.

Kezzabeth

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Hi - I'm Kezzabeth! Self-taught DIYer, Renovator and Blogger on a mission to turn our house into a home. Seven years ago I was clueless and skill-less, but since then I've learnt how to build, tile, plumb and more. This is my little place on the web where I share everything I've learnt so you can learn too. Read More

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Disclaimer

DIY Content: We’re not builders or experts in the trade industry, so please take any information on this blog as a rough guide and just our own experiences. This blog relates to our home only and you should always consult a professional in you’re in any doubt of work. Please also be aware Building Regulations change often, so always do your own research as well.
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