I love head planters! Why? I guess because they remind me of the old antique French statues/busts. I found this new one at TJ Maxx. I didn’t love the original fake concrete look. I decided to paint it to look like old stone.
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I mixed flat Dunn Edwards paint color that had been mixed into Benjamin Moore paint in the color “Sandcastle” with baking soda. I don’t have a ratio, I just put baking soda in until it got thicker. I probably added more this time than I usually do to make it thicker for more texture.
I brushed and blotted the paint on the head and let it dry.
After I had it completely covered and it was dry, I added some glaze.
I dipped my brush in the glaze, wiped it off on a paper towel, and then brushed it on. After I had it brushed on, I blended it with a damp paper towel.
Having a damp paper towel on had was very helpful. It helped so that I didn’t get too much glaze in one spot. I used my brush to get the glaze into the cracks too.
After the glaze was completely dry, I sanded it lightly with 150 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and blend it together even more. More glaze can be added if a darker look is desired.
One more look at the “before”…
I love the new stoneware look! I love concrete look too but the before concrete look was very fake looking.
Adding the glaze gave it the perfect antique look that I was going for!
And, using the sandpaper made for a great and natural blended look!
When I think of a planter, I sometimes forget that they can be useful for so many different things! Plants are a great option…
But, they can also be used for rolling pins and spoons. This is probably what this one will be used for in our new house.
Or, candles…
For this particular planter, (since it was so deep on the inside) I added a bowl under the candle to help the candle to sit higher.
The bowl worked perfectly for elevating the candle!
Also, dried flowers or live flowers would be a great thing to add.
I added a jar of water inside to hold this baby’s breath and it worked great!
Are you a fan or do you dislike head planters? It’s usually a love or a hate relationship for people when it comes to these planters, haha. It would be fun to use these head planters in a garden shed or on a plant table with some garden tools or with paint brushes in an art studio too!
Oh yes! Much better. She’s even smiling a little in the after ????.
I thought her smile was nicer in the second version too!
Yep head planters are creepy to me… they remind of Bethusa with snakes coming out of her head..lol..
Looks so much better!!! I’m definitely not a fan of head planters, but I love watching the transformation from cheesy to classic.
I like what you did with that head. But not for me.Yet
I love head planters! But I much prefer how you added so much warmth just by changing the color.
I love head planters. Very cool. I always check out how you paint stuff to make it look old. I have used your technique on 3 different bases. They look so cool. Pottery Barn was my inspiration. Thank you
Love this! You gotta wonder what she’s thinking!
She turned out great. She’s beautiful! I’m a huge fan of bust planters.
Confession: I’ve never seen a head planter and now that I’ve seen one, I like them! Especially after the finish you applied to it. The beige is much warmer and she is so pretty now! I loved the baby’s breath styled in it. Love your blog – thanks for all the tips! -Michele
I like some of the head planters. Yours is beautiful the way you finished it. Do you have any issues with the finish coming off if it gets wet?
I just bought one from TJ Maxx that has fake succulents in it. I’m going to leave it that way for a minute or two because I don’t mind the succulents. Eventually they will go. I might even try my hand at your hack.