Upcycled Painted Wood Bowl Decor

<Disclaimer:I received free DecoArt DecoEarth Paints to try out for this post. Opinions are entirely my own.> I had a wood bowl I picked up at Goodwill that originally bought because I loved the shape and the gingko leaves carved in the bottom. I thought I would clean up the finish and use it around my home. After getting it home I realized the gingko leaves were just decals on the bottom and the wood was a little more beaten up than I thought. It was due for a makeover for sure! When I received DecoArt DecoEarth paints to try I knew this was the perfect project to use them on and I wanted to have some fun with it! I wanted to paint a fun wood bowl for every day upcycled painted wood bowl decor.

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Wood bowl for painting and upcycling on a work table

Prep your wood bowl for painting

The bowl itself was already in pretty rough shape so it didn’t need much prepping. Many times a light sanding with sand paper will help roughen up the surface to help the paint stick a little better. It also helps to clean it with soap and water to remove any sticky or oily residue that may also keep the paint from sticking. Once the bowl is clean and dry it’s ready for a base coat of paint. On this bowl, the decals were flat so I was able to leave them and just paint right over them with my base coat.

Painting a base layer on a wood bowl on a work table with a brush

Paint a base coat on the bowl

Using a soft brush, I painted 2 coats of a base coat of Sandstone DecoEarth paint on the inside and outside. The bowl will now be just decorative since it’s no longer food safe with the paint. It dried fairly quickly between coats so I was able to start the fun part of painting!

Paint your abstract shapes

I flipped over the bowl and painted random shapes on the back side, filling them in in one color with a round brush, and outlined them in two -three other colors. It made it interesting and added a fun touch.

Painting abstract shapes on a wood bowl with a brush reclaimed paint

I changed up the colors every time I made an branch new abstract shape. Once I completed the back and let it dry, I filled it right side up and continued the shapes onto the front side of the bowl and into the center.

Painting an abstract shape with dark green paint

Some of the colors were fine with just one coat and other colors did need two coats. Luckily the paint dries fairly quickly and was fast to do.

Painting on a wood bowl with acrylic paint in abstract shapes with a brush

Seal your painted bowl

To protect the paint once the bowl is dry, a clear varnish or polyacrylic is the best option. It will slightly deepen the colors and make them slightly more scratch resistant, especially if you are going to use it for something high use, like a key bowl or catch all. This bowl is prefect for a non-food use decorative accent!

Upcycled handpainted wood bowl with a plant and books

What I really love about this bowl is it was easy to paint, and it looks different from every direction. In fact, it kind of changes depending on how I turn it.

This is such a fun project to do with your Goodwill finds and I love that this paint is 70% reclaimed from old house paint. It really makes for fun and feel good upcycled decor!