Boat Oar Wall Art

Courtney Calfee Smith
by Courtney Calfee Smith
1 Material
When we got our 8 year old son a bigger bed, we decided to, instead of paying 1000+ dollars for a bed, we would just get rails and decorate with something cool on the wall. His room ended up being a sort of nautical theme, so we thought some cool boat oars would be cool wall art. Ahem. Vintage boat oars are super expensive too. So we were on the hunt, and found some wooden ones for 24.00 at Walmart.
Obviously this is the wall facing side;)
I sanded down the varnish and got all the shiny off:)
Notched handles!
My talented husband notched the cross point so the handles fit together.
Taped off stripes...
I got a color design in mind, and taped off the stripes I wanted and then drew out the color design on a piece of paper so I wouldn't get confused. (Which I tend to do)
Waiting for it to dry...
I painted the oars according to my design and then let them dry!


I then carefully peeled the tape off to reveal the wood stripes and distressed it with 120 grit sandpaper.


Lastly, I stenciled numbers of my sons choosing in black to give it more of that vintage feel.
This is how it turned out!
Suggested materials:
  • Wooden boat oars, red paint, blue paint and black paint, number stencils and painters tape.   (Walmart and home depot)
Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Abe6789802 Abe6789802 on Aug 16, 2016
    How did you attach these to the wall?
  • Vie9709016 Vie9709016 on Aug 16, 2016
    Nice idea. I've used the PADDLES to make floor lamps. What you are using are paddles used to propel a canoe or kayak, etc. They are not oars anywhere I've lived on the east coast. I like the octopus on the bed and I think your idea with paddles is a great one.
  • Cld3219004 Cld3219004 on Aug 18, 2016
    Could ceiling fan blades been used? Would takes some thought
Comments
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  • Courtney Calfee Smith Courtney Calfee Smith on Aug 18, 2016
    Excellent! Looks great. My husband is teaching my son about woodworking, maybe this should be on the to do list.:) thanks for sharing!
  • 62q10370829 62q10370829 on Sep 03, 2016
    can get oars at craft stores. i got painted ones & had different sized wooden boats to put what nots in. they are cute. you can get big boat wheel to use to hang coats or back pack on & anker you can do the same.
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