How To Turn An Old Pan Into Fun, Eclectic Kitchen Decor

There are lots of reasons you may be considering throwing away your old cookware. Maybe you're trading them in for a top-notch set of cooking pans or you're decluttering and found a few you never use. Perhaps food started sticking to your nonstick pan and ruined it. Whatever the reason, if the pan is still in relatively good shape, there's no real reason to throw it away. While you may not be able to cook with it anymore, you can still get some use out of it as fun eclectic kitchen decor.

Turning old pans into on-theme decor for your kitchen not only negates the need to purchase expensive wall art, it also keeps your pans out of the landfill, making this project both wallet and environmentally-friendly. Of course, you may not relish the idea of displaying stained old pans in your kitchen, but with a little creativity and the right supplies, you can easily turn them into something you'll love looking at every day.

Since upgrading your pans into art means applying paint or glue to them, you'll want to start by giving them a good scrub, drying them thoroughly, and then sanding them lightly with fine-grade sandpaper. This ensures a clean, textured surface to help the paint or glue to adhere. You can then spray paint them with a base color — we suggest a shade of white, as it's fairly forgiving and offers a nice, clean canvas on which to build your art project.

Once your pan is prepped, you can turn it into a fun sign with letter stencils or decals and a few shades of paint for a quick and easy project. Choose a single word like "Mangia!" or "Enjoy!" in flashy typography, or pick smaller typeface lettering to paint out your recipe for crispy, chocolatey brownie brittle. The back of the pan is usually best for signs, as it's flat and easy to paint, but painting it inside the pan can give these options a cute, framed look.

If you have a few pans you'd like to turn into art, consider giving all of them a hefty coat of chalkboard paint. Once dry, this dark-colored paint is designed to act just like a chalkboard, meaning you can use chalk sticks or pens to change the images or messages on them as often as you'd like. You might decide to change them seasonally, use them to acknowledge birthdays and anniversaries, or place them low enough for your kids to create chalky masterpieces.

If you love mixed media art, this may also be an opportunity to experiment with decoupage, especially if you have a drawer full of pretty cocktail napkins. Spray paint your pans with a base color that compliments the napkins, then cut out your favorite images. Most napkins are multi-ply, meaning there's multiple layers of paper under the pretty printed layer. Stick the printed layer to the inside of your pans with ModPodge, and let dry.