Me.
For the last five months I’ve been quietly hiding a $12 HomeGoods find in our playroom. It was time to deal with him. This is part of a little challenge I set for myself—call it the “Dude, Get On That Already” initiative—where I either use an item or let it go. Our playroom has been full of things we keep meaning to address, so this was one small step toward clearing it out.
At first glance you might think he’s just a roughly weathered white and tan rooster with a distressed finish. It felt a little too country for my usual crisp, modern tastes in ceramic decor, so I decided to give him a fresh coat of color. Since he’s a giant rooster, I figured a bold, playful shade would be appropriate. After standing in the spray paint aisle for a while and weighing the options, I chose Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch in Aubergine (satin).
I considered using a spray primer first to help the paint adhere to the ceramic, which is usually a smart step for slippery surfaces. The can advertised “two times the coverage,” though, so I decided to skip primer and see if the paint would stick on its own. I planned to add primer later if necessary. Fortunately, that wasn’t needed. I used thin, misted coats and built up the color gradually. With spray paint, coverage often doesn’t look great until the third or fourth coat; the first coat left him looking a bit hot pink, but that’s normal for a translucent initial layer.
After two more thin, even coats the aubergine color covered well. I named him Jarvis—because any object with a face seems to deserve a name—and suddenly the rooster felt like a purposeful piece rather than an overlooked impulse buy.
Placed against the light avocado walls of our kitchen, Jarvis adds a playful pop of color and personality. In case the scale wasn’t obvious before, he’s big—about a foot and a half tall—so he makes a statement without taking up too much space. There’s something delightfully absurd about having a giant aubergine rooster named Jarvis greeting you in the kitchen each morning.
That said, I’m not completely certain the color will be permanent. Aubergine is fun and dramatic, but as the kitchen comes together I can imagine him being repainted in another bright shade—maybe yellow or slate blue—if the room’s palette shifts. For now, the plum tone is cheerful, and it might just stay.
Small projects like this are oddly satisfying. They don’t take much time, but they make the space feel a little more intentional. Tackling a few of these “Get On That” items is helping me inch toward clearing the playroom and turning it into a genuine blank canvas for paint, curtains, a rug, and furniture. It feels a little like the dream where you discover an extra room in your house—except in this case the room was always there; we’d just filled it with miscellaneous stuff instead of creating a finished space.
P.S. Jarvis is a top contender in the giant rooster category—right up there with the most entertaining examples you’ll find in pop culture. Naming him made the makeover feel complete.