How to Make a Grecian Footed Bowl
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Have you heard that Ancient Greece is trending?
It’s true! If you look around there are columns and busts popping up everywhere in home decor. I did include a bust a few years ago in my home office makeover but it wasn’t quite along those Grecian lines.
I wanted to give this interior design trend a try without spending a whole lot of money so I created this aged faux plaster pedestal bowl to get the look for less.
In this post, I’ll show you how to make a Grecian-inspired footed bowl using a simple faux plaster technique and simple materials you can buy from Dollar Tree!
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How to Make an Aged Grecian Pedestal Bowl
To make this Ancient Greece-influenced footed bowl, you simply glue a basic glass bowl on top of a fluted cheese shaker, coat it with a mix of faux plaster made from paint and baking soda, and gently rub all over with fresh coffee grounds.
Materials List
Step 1: Glue shaker to bowl
The shape of the pedestal bowl will be formed with a fluted cheese shaker and a plain glass bowl. The fluting on the shaker mimics a Grecian column and helps to add to the Ancient Greek aesthetic.
Remove the metal top from the cheese shaker, then run a bead of contact adhesive, like Gorilla Glue, along the rim.
Let the glue dry for two minutes. This will allow a strong bond to form on contact.
Carefully center the bowl over the glued-up rim, then press down gently to attach the bowl to the base. Allow to dry for 24 hours to ensure a super strong hold.
Step 2: Make the faux plaster
To make the faux plaster, squirt a small amount of paint into a bowl (around 2 tablespoons), then stir baking soda into the paint a teaspoon at a time until you achieve your desired consistency. Less baking soda will create a smoother texture, more baking soda creates a more pronounced texture.
For my bowl, I used approximately 3 teaspoons of baking soda to 2 tablespoons of paint. This allowed me to build up rough, overlapping texture while still being easy to apply with a paintbrush.
Step 3: Apply the faux plaster to the footed bowl
Using a 1″ paintbrush, apply at least two coats of the faux plaster, allowing it to dry thoroughly between coats.
Applying a base coat of white spray paint would be a great step to take before applying the plaster, but I didn’t think to do that until after 🙂
Step 4: Rub with coffee
Once the faux plaster has dried completely, rub the entire pedestal bowl gently with ground coffee. This is the step that makes the bowl look beautifully aged and more like a found piece vs. a Dollar Tree dupe.
You can seal the entire thing with a coat of matte polyacrylic, but I didn’t bother since I wouldn’t be handling it a whole lot.
How positively vintage does this Greek-inspired footed bowl look? I especially love how the coffee antiquing highlights the fluting on the column base.
This works as a standalone piece or you could use bowl fillers like moss balls or antique beads to add an extra layer of style. You could also use this to hold your keys or glasses in an entryway.
I always keep a bowl on my entryway table for this purpose!
