First off: I'm a huge liar, I know. I haven't been updating like I said I would. But honestly, I'm actually doing stuff. I have been completely de-cluttering my life, which is a work in progress, but I will certainly share my secrets to how I am finally doing what I've wanted to do for YEARS but couldn't "find the motivation" to do. Also, Pinterest is so good at helping me organize my ideas for projects that I'm actually DOING them. Fancy that?! So without further adieu, here is a quick, easy, cheap project that made my life happy :)
Backstory: When we bought our house all of the door knobs were those cheap brass knobs and they were all scratched up pretty good. I hated them, but it was something I overlooked because there were more important things to worry about. Last year I had finally had enough and I purchased all new silver colored door knobs for the main floor. I wanted to buy the oil rubbed bronze knobs, but those were much more expensive. At $13 per knob, the silver ones weren't exactly cheap either, but it made a huge impact so I was happy.
Then, whilst perusing Pinterest recently, I came across this stuff. A woman had used it to spray paint all the door knobs in her house. I had thought about doing something similar before, but I worried about how it would hold up. After reading about her experiences, I decided to go for it!
Let me tell you, this stuff is AWESOME!
I started with a few bathroom fixtures that had certainly seen better days. The chrome was rusting a bit and I no longer cared for the porcelain accents. I lightly sanded everything, wiped them down, and sprayed away. I only did one coat and let them dry for a few hours. As soon as I saw how great they came out, I started on this... (even though by that point it was midnight! ...hence the lights on for the before pic)
and this...
Seriously? I'm hooked. I love that old farmhouse look- lots of white with dark hardware and hinges but replacing the hardware is expensive and it seems wasteful to throw out perfectly good materials for ones that look a little better. I will be buying this spray paint in bulk. So much quicker, easier, and less expensive than replacing everything!
Here's another view of the faucet. It's really hard to capture in a photo how warm the finish is. It doesn't look as black as the photos appear. The warmth of the bronze is subtle and when the light catches it, it's gorgeous!
Other uses:
an outdated chandelier
a lamp base
cabinet hardware
brass head/ foot board
brass house number plaques
outdated storm door handles
metal candle stick holders
the little tops of glass ornaments
a brass fireplace surround (not totally sure if it can stand the heat, check the can)
a wreath hanger
outlet covers
The list goes on! If you decide to use this stuff for a project I'd love to hear about it!