an affordable upgrade

So, I worked on a little home improvement project last weekend. It sure took me back to last summer when basically every spare second was spent painting or doing something house related. This pace is much nicer....as we feel so inspired, we do. So, I did door knobs.

The inspiration for upgrading the door knobs was really Daniel's doing. We had contemplated replacing them for a while (they were mismatched, some silver and some gold, and they had paint marks on them from many paint jobs over the years) but even though door knobs can be somewhat affordable, we would have to buy so many! We have a plethora of doors in this place!

Last week Daniel was at Home Depot buy some things to fix our kitchen sink (We had a bit of a leaking problem, plus the hot water knob broke off. Now we have a new sink though, so that is very nice! And D has acquired many new plumbing skills) and he came home with some replacement door knobs. And while I thought it would be nice to have new and matching door knobs, I didn't know if I wanted that color (they were generic silver) and I thought it could get pretty pricey to replace them all...in a place that isn't even ours.

So, I felt inspired by a few of my favorite DIY bloggers (actual inspiration found here, here, and here) and decided to experiement with a little oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

Believe it or not, the first Home Depot was sold out (I like to think because I read such cool blogs everyone else is spray painting things oil rubbed bronze as well) but fortunately the second one was a success and thus began my project.

We figured there was not too much to lose, and I would much rather spend $15 on spray paint then $15 on just one door knob set, so it seemed like a safe investment. And, worse come to worse, we just replace the door knobs anyway if my project was a complete flop. :)

We removed all the screw and door knob accessories. This, along with re-installing, was probably the most annoying part of the whole project. Thankfully Daniel helped, and as they say, many hands make light[er] work. :)

Daniel thought my use of styrofoam was ingenious. I just asked how in the world else he would expect to easily spray paint them?? :)

And then, I sprayed; while trying not to inhale too many noxious fumes. :) (It should be noted that I follow the instruction on the can of spray paint and cleaned each item before spraying. I just used wet wipe cleaning cloth things.)

So pretty and sparkly in the sun.

I waited for about one hour and then did a second coat. And then they dried. I sprayed Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening we brought them "inside" to the cellar, as rain was expected on Sunday. We let them dry for 24 hours and then I installed them (with minimal help from the D-man) Sunday evening. Lo and behold!

Horrible lighting, I apologize. As I said, this project was completed Sunday evening.

Oh yeah, I did the knobs on our bathroom storage cupboard as well. Daniel actually had to reign me in, as once we started to remove door knobs, I tried to figure out what else I could pray... Our bedroom lights? The office lamp?! The toilet flusher?!?! :)

This is my favorite door knob in the house (most people have favorite door knobs, right?) as it is all old-fashioned and unique. It even has a cute little fake key hole below the knob. The spray paint has only improved it in my eyes.

Overall the project went great! While installing, there were a few minor scratches/nicks that need to be touched up (especially on a few of the screws from screwing them in!) I haven't done the touch up yet, but plan to soon. The jury is still out on how they will hold up to everyday use and if there will be wear and tear. But for now, we love them! And for this temporary place that is not our own, it was a very cheap, relatively easy, and great looking fix!