Vintage Farmhouse Decor from a Wooden Ice Bucket

Several years ago, I went to a Country Living Fair near Nashville, TN and fell in love with a wooden bucket. It was cute and had perfectly chippy turquoise paint – but it also had a $245 price tag. Obviously I walked away (bitterly) and vowed to recreate it one day. And irony of ironies, that day has arrived! I was recently in Nashville, TN and found this ice bucket while thrifting.

First, here is the original inspiration for $245:

Incidentally, I didn’t realize these were firkins because I had never heard that term before!

Anyway, I carried that image of an aqua painted firkin bucket with me for many years. Then, there I was…back in Nashville, TN at a thrift store. And I spotted this ice bucket that was an awfully close match to the original.

But, I mean – can you IMAGINE paying $245 for a wooden bucket? Even one as cute as that?

I’m happy to report that I paid $4.99 for mine!

So, let’s do this – let’s see if I can recreate the look of that firkin that I originally found at the Country Living Fair in Nashville, TN.

This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. All blue, bold, and underlined text is a clickable link, either to a product or to a related post.

Upcycling a Vintage Ice Bucket

Using the pricey version as I my guide, I planned to paint my ice bucket turquoise.

But I also wanted to preserve the rusty metal bands that wrapped around it. I didn’t have the right width painter’s tape, so I used petroleum jelly instead.

Why? Because any paint that ends up on top of the jelly will wipe right off and not stick to the ice bucket at all! And yes, all I had on hand was the lip balm version but it still has the same base ingredients.

Using my finger, I smeared some petroleum jelly on the metal bands. As I smeared it on, some ended up on the actual ice bucket, too, but that was fine.

Then, I went through my collection of paint samples and found a turquoise that was a pretty decent match to the color of the Firkin at the Country Living Fair.

I painted the entire exterior, including the handle, but saved some time by skipping the interior and the bottom.

And while I still tried to avoid painting over the metal (habit), I didn’t worry when paint brushed over the bands because of the petroleum jelly.

A Vintage Ice Bucket turned Vintage Farmhouse Decor

Either way, my flower bucket was coming together nicely!

Of course, I could have stopped there. But I had already found a farmhouse stencil to add the finishing touch!

The best part is, I can stencil one side of the flower bucket and leave the other side alone. So I will have the best of both worlds!

Using warm white craft paint and stencil brushes from this online store, I isolated the dairy farm words to add to the wooden ice bucket.

When everything was dry, I buffed on some clear wax over the paint and stenciling.

And that was it! The transformation was complete.

Vintage Farmhouse Decor from a Wooden Ice Bucket

And there you have it! My $4.99 upcycled version of a Firkin that I can use as a flower bucket or just vintage home decor.

The plastic liner that came with the ice bucket makes it really easy to use this as a vase or flower bucket. And how fabulous do pink peonies (or any flowers) look against the aqua paint?

If you enjoyed this ice cream bucket project, then you might also be interested in my windmill wall decor idea with fan blades, too!

Craft on!

S

Want to be notified when I publish my next upcycling project tutorial?

Please subscribe here.

Join me on Social Media:

 

 

 

 

 
PIN ME!