A DIY tutorial: Restyling Outdated Hardware

Bringing "Sexy Back" To furniture

A DIY tutorial to restyle old hardware

I love to refurbish furniture!

Most of you that know me and read this blog already knew that. When I talk about refurbishing furniture it usually means that I am repainting it. In fact, I would say 9 out of 10 times I will choose to paint a piece rather than any other solution. Not every piece of furniture should be painted, but let's face it, there is a lot of furniture out there that are not priceless untouched antiques but rather solid wood pieces that need a little TLC. This is why I am drawn to refurbishing pieces. It's like a blank canvas for me. Designing the color choices and paint technique is a form of art that makes me giddy!

Most of the time, I believe a nice new color can make such a change in a piece of furniture that it looks like a new piece all together. But often, if you don't change or update the hardware it will still show it's "age", so to speak. I do a great deal of custom painting jobs and of course all of those clients want to change the hardware. But after I give them the option of simply spray painting the hardware; they love it and ultimately decide against buying new hardware. Here is an example of a piece that I painted recently.

Did you notice the hardware? Well, you may not have noticed it because you were looking at the piece in it's entirety. A reason for not noticing hardware specifically, is because the color choice we made of the oil bronze complemented the piece and didn't over power it. For the most part the hardware should become a part of the piece and not stand out, where that is all you notice. Now here is a look at what one of the drawers looked like before with brass hardware.

The hardware was pretty outdated with the tarnished brass and enamel handle. I used a Rustoleum Oil Bronze spray paint that only took about an hour to apply 2 coats with drying time. When you have a handle like this, you will spray it in the down position first then after completely dry, lift the handle to spray the underside. The two coats will ensure complete coverage. Not only will the spray paint be durable but a can of it is only $5. It is easy to do and a budget friendly update to restoring your piece of furniture. Here is a closer look at the new "sexy" hardware. It is a dark brown/black that looks new and improved.

Hope you enjoyed this easy DIY tutorial! I used the Rustoleum but any spray paint will give you a durable finish for your hardware and the possibilities are endless!

Until Next time.......have fun restyling your furniture!