This – what I’m about to blog about right this very second – is something I almost overlooked. Something I almost wasn’t going to worry about. It’s not that big of a deal, I said. It won’t make that big a difference, I said.
HA!
If I only knew…
Details, friends. It’s those small touches that make such an impact. It’s often those little things – the things you often overlook – that end up mattering the most.
Take a look at this before photo:
I was thisclose to being done the basement makeover at this point. THIS.CLOSE. And I thought to myself…gosh I hate that hardware. And that old oak railing! And it’d be cool to jazz up the doors with a nice color. Hmmm….
And this happened:
I mean, WHAT A DIFFERENCE, right?? Craziness.
First, let’s talk about that oak railing.
I decided to not worry about removing it off the wall. Because sometimes I’m lazy. Or have zippy patience. Perhaps both. I knew I wouldn’t be able to reach the side against the wall, but I figured nobody was going to see that anyway. I mean, who stands next to the laundry room door and peers into the crack between the railing and the wall? NO ONE.
So I sanded it (well, what I could reach anyway!) down with an orbital hand sander. The kind with a bag so it wasn’t such a mess:)
And covered the stairs with a dropcloth, and got to staining. I went with Dark Walnut, by Minwax.
It’s SUPER stinky, so I had all the windows and doors open, fans going, all that business.
Then I took a tiny paintbrush and black paint to the little rusty gold thingys that hold it up.
A wipe on poly coat (Minwax) and we were done!
Now, just don’t come to my house and look on the inner side towards the wall, mmmkay?
Now, let’s chat doors.
I wanted to do a color that would make a difference, but wouldn’t compete with the other colors. Nothing BAM! IN YOUR FACE! you know? So I studied the room. Reeeaaallly studied. I pictured the doors every color and finally decided that this light tan color – like that of the dropcloth runner on the art table, and in the weave of the baskets – would be perfection. And it really was.
I picked up a sample of Sherwin Williams Vanilla Sugar. Don’t you just love that name, first of all!? And that was all I needed for both doors. Oh yes – forgot to show you the other door to the kids’ closet!
Here’s the before:
(You can see the lovely oak railing in that pic too;)
So let’s see the after!
I just think it’s amazing what a huge change a subtle color can make!
And as for the hardware. Here’s where you’ll think I’ve lost my mind…and frankly, I did too. I didn’t even bother with photos of this because I thought it was a joke that I was even doing it! But um…I did.
I added some Plaster of Paris to a sample of black paint and ummm…I painted them.
I didn’t even take them off the door.
And guess what? They look as good today as they did a month or so ago when I did them. Success!
In case you’ve never heard, something magical happens when you add plaster to paint. It somehow adheres to pretty much everything. Google it. I cannot take credit, and I have no idea where I heard it, but it works.
So I gave it a light, thin coat at first. Sort of like a “primer.” Once that layer dried, I did it again. And again. Holy cow, this is WORKING! I did the hinges too. HOW IS THIS WORKING?! I thought to myself. Once it was dry, I sprayed the heck out of it with clear protective spray paint. I covered the surroundings as best I could and sprayed it goooood. I thought, This is going to last like, a day, I’m sure, right?!
NOPE.
Here we are, with perfectly in tact black doorknobs and hinges, hand to God. Amazeballs.
And I couldn’t be happier.
So to sum up:
1. Don’t forget the little details. They’re often the big things.
2. Sometimes it’s good to be a little crazy. Crazy ideas are sometimes just genius things waiting to happen.
3. Don’t ever inspect my basement railing.
😉
Love it!!!
Thanks, Kathi!
When you first revealed this room, I kept thinking to myself that the door color was genius! I like a lot about the room and don’t think I would have ever considered that color for the doors but it really is gorgeous against the white trim. Nice job:)
Thank you so much!! 🙂