How to Spray Paint Hardware

I was just working on the whiteboard tutorial and I when I got to the photos about the primer I used, I realized I haven't yet shared my new favorite product! I used it to DIY the pulls I used for the wardrobes in my first Domino piece. (PS my next project article will go live soon!)

This spray primer is life-changing for those of us with itchy spray-trigger fingers! Especially if you've ever wanted to (successfully) spray paint knobs and pulls. In the past (like when I sprayed my laundry room hardware gold) I've been a little iffy about whether or not spraying hardware for kitchens or other high-use areas is actually good idea. I was always worried about chipping/adhesion issues.

Seriously though, this Rustoleum spray primer, which is specially formulated for metal applications, works like a dream. It coats thickly, but evenly, and it really sticks to the metal and provides a great new base for your paint to hold on to.

When I found these industrial pulls below, I knew I wanted to spray them to look brass and that I would need a really good primer to pull that off. And you know what they say - necessity is the mother of spontaneous purchases. And this one totally worked out for me!

I found the pulls in the hardcore hardware aisle (not the same aisle as the regular knobs and pulls). This aisle has window sash pulls, latches, hinges and garage door pulls. It's usually the aisle that also has rope and and chain at Home Depot and Lowes. I love how chunky and squared off these were, but I picked up a few garage doors handles too, just for comparison. I think my gut was right about the square pulls, but I also think these others could be cool in the right application. Filing away for later!

So, some people might want to use a deglosser or a TSP spray as a first step before spray painting hardware, but I sort of feel like the primer makes that effort unnecessary. Depending on the existing finish you're working with, deglosser can make for a slightly uneven finish - it can sort of gunk things up sometimes and you never really know when.  So I think it's best to only use it if you have to. 

I did lightly sand the top of the hardware first, just to make sure there were no bumps or residue anywhere. Then I flipped them over and sprayed the underside first.

The key, always and every time you're painting anything, is to do multiple light coats with drying time in between. Even and maybe especially with your primer. After two good coats on the back side, I flipped the hardware over and sprayed the tops.

If you notice any bumps, drips or dust specs, leave them to dry and then lightly sand them off after the primer has cured. Often dust specs will just wipe away with a cloth after the paint has dried. Don't mess with wet paint!

I repeated the same process with my beloved Design Master Gold Metal spray paint. Man, this gold is perfect! The paint is a great quality, but the color is spot-on for what we're all looking for in brass-like hardware, especially after it fully dries.

I did one final step and used a spray lacquer on the tops, just to give it an extra layer of protection. It did change the look of the finish a bit (it's a bit more shiny now and the extra layer changes the way the light refracts, so the gold is a touch less bright). The jury's out on whether or not I would repeat this step next time. It is nice to have that safety precaution though. Maybe I'd just try a matte sealer and do a really light coat?

To install the pulls I bought a box of #10 brass 1" screws. It's a good idea to drill pilot holes first just to ensure you're installing them in the exact right spot. One of my pulls is slightly off and it's driving me nuts (must fix!!).

The sprayed pulls are holding up perfectly and I love them more the more I see them. My mind has been racing, thinking of other projects to do with that amazing metal primer. (that white board tutorial is coming up though! Stay tuned!)

Midcentury Dreaming

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on the chevron floor angles and for the sweet well-wishes! I'm doing better, but still trying to take it easy until next week, when I'm having a second procedure done on my throat. It's been nice to press the reset button a little bit and spend some much-needed quality time with my family. Thanks for hanging in there for me. :)

Some of you may have seen on my instagram account that recently I stopped by to see a house that we almost put an offer in on, but didn't. As much as I wanted to make a move, the timing just wasn't right - the house went on the market a few weeks before Michael accepted his new job offer and before we had fully committed to moving to Phoenix. I wanted this house SO much though. I pretty much give it credit for getting me excited about the idea of leaving New York and buying a home. :)

It was just what I imagined us buying - a completely original midcentury gem in a cool old neighborhood. Of course, these houses only come on the market once in a blue moon, so it sold in just a matter of hours for more than the asking price. I was heartbroken even though I had never even seen the house in person and we weren't even technically looking at that point. But seriously. Check out that door!! So cool, so much potential.

It never makes sense to go down this road, but it's hard not to play the should have/could have/would have game with this house. I love the house we did end up getting, and in many ways our current house is a better fit for us, but it's going to definitely be a different look when we're finished with it than a midcentury house would have been. (Angie Hranowsky's home comes to mind).

Anyway, I decided to rub salt in my wound by driving past the midcentury house the other day. Turns out a flipper bought the house (GASP) and there were workers there ripping absolutely everything out. It was completely gutted, and all the kitchen cabinets and interior doors were being taken out just as I pulled up. The guys saw me poking around and admiring the pulls on two bifold doors and told me I was welcome to have them before they tossed the doors.

My grandparents and my great grandma (the one from Sweden) both lived in really cool midcentury style homes in Arizona and I think this home felt a lot like theirs to me. Grandma Johnson had this really cool stone mosaic coffee table and these pulls reminded me of that table and the style of her home. But I can be stupidly sentimental about grandparents sometimes. It's probably for the best the universe bequeathed these pulls to me so I can have a little something that makes me think of their homes, and thereby overcoming the temptation to buy the whole dang house when it goes back on the market in a few months. (I may have still called the flipper's listing agent though, just for kicks) :)

I'm sure some of you have a few good sob-stories for me about a home that you desperately wanted, but that just wasn't meant to be. Dish!

The Best Gold Spray Paint

I had meant to order some of my favorite brass hardware from Martha Stewart's line at The Home Depot for the laundry room redo. Most of her brass pieces are only available online and so I was up a creek a bit by the time I remembered to place an order. It was way too late in the game and I needed a Plan B.

So I went to a couple different hardware stores and rounded up my favorite knobs, bin pulls and ring pulls. I didn't really care what the finish was on these because I knew I wanted to spray paint them all gold... But I forgot to buy the spray paint while I was at the hardware store. #sleepdeprivation

I did remember about the spray paint while I was at Michaels though and in a moment of frustration I decided to buy a can of gold spray paint there and just make it work.

The spray paint I ended up buying is called Design Master and, let me tell you. It is amazing. Not too pink, not too sparkly, not too flat. It's definitely my favorite gold spray paint so far. Such a happy accident!

Have you guys tried Design Master? What's your go-to spray paint for metallics? I used to swear by only Rustoleum's Metallic line in brass, but I'm glad that I'm broadening my horizons with the Design Master gold. I think it's a little less sparkly than the Rustoleum, which I definitely prefer.

The Coolest Built-In Bunk Beds (and DIY Brass Hardware)

Christina is one of my favorite people. She is as kind, talented and gorgeous as the day is long. The last time I was in Arizona, I swung by her new house for a little tour. I'm going to beg her to let me share everything here on LGN when she's finished (I'll probably have to arm wrestle the editors at Elle Decor for it - it's SO good!).

In case you haven't seen these yet, and since we were talking about cool bunk beds the other day, I thought I'd share the built-in bunks Christina did in her triplet sons' room. So, so cool right? That railing is unreal.

One of my favorite parts of the bed is the DIY hardware Christina made by spray painting pipes! I've made curtain rods out of pipes before, but never oversize pulls. The brass spray paint takes them to a whole new level.

I love how chunky these are. Anything smaller would have been lost on the beds. 

See what I mean by talented?! 

PS Christina shared a little tour of her twin daughters' bedroom here, back in the day. Still love that room. :)

Sneak Peek: Campaign Style Kitchen Island

I'm racing around like crazy this week trying to get some big jobs wrapped before the weekend. But all I really want to do is stay home and take photos in the daylight of my kitchen island to share with you guys! This DIY is finally done and I think my favorite part was discovering just how much I like the look of these mini brass furniture nails in campaign hardware. The nails cost just a couple bucks for six packs of 25. I have a whole stash in my "garage" (aka my pantry) and I have a feeling they're going to keep coming in handy!