Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Getting Rid of Household Bling

Oh, the brass in a 90's home.
I don't care what Genevieve Gorder or Candice Olsen say.
Brass in not back in my home and probably never will be.

I have seen episodes recently where both of these designers have put in brass fixtures.
I like brass. I really do
 but the brass in a home from 20 years ago was brass gone bad.
Everything in my home except the faucets was cheap plated stuff.
It was everywhere.
The faucets were real brass but they were so coated with lacquer that they didn't look natural.
Door knobs, hinges, cabinet hinges, faucets, shower faucets, the shower surround, the mirror surround. towel bars, toilet roll holders, light fixtures, switch plates, ceiling fans, hooks.
A complete load of awful.
It was a step by step and room by room process to de-bling my home.

Here is how I did it.
The first thing I did was spray paint some of the light fixtures. I replaced the ones that couldn't be painted with fixtures from yard sales and even with stuff from family.



I sponge or spray painted my awful ceiling fans.I didn't think these could be sprayed so I dabbed black and brown paint on them to make them look like crusty, rusty old southern ceiling fans that had been hanging outdoors. As they broke, I got fans in current finishes.
I replaced towel bars, robe hooks and toilet paper roll holders. I bought real brass with patina from yard sales or I went with sets from big box stores in current finishes. A complete set can run about $29.00. Walmart has the best price on their bathroom stuff.
The shower surround was next on the list. I spent weeks stripping it with Easy Off Oven Cleaner. After I stripped it, I buffed it with steel wool and a drimmel. I am thrilled to say that we are about to rehab our bathroom so this old shower will be history in just a few days!!!
 I stripped the Roman tub fixtures with oven cleaner too. 
We got replacement parts for the showers. Each shower needed shower heads, the connecting pipe, the faucet trim kit. The downstairs bath needed a tub spout. (The kid's bath was chrome:) Thank heavens sanity prevailed in at least one bathroom.


We replaced the upstairs doorknobs with brushed nickel and I spray painted the hinges. 

I spray painted the downstairs knobs and hinges.
We finally bought all new doorknobs for the downstairs.


The last of the bling was on the hinges in the kitchen. They  were painted when we painted the kitchen cabinets.


So am I off base in believing that gold is not back as some of the designers claim?

   

I won't be bringing it back to our home anytime soon. 
What are your thoughts?
Sprinkled with brass from a bygone decade,
Katie   
Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style  
Coastal Charm  
Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Brambleberry Cottage

8 comments :

  1. I have to agree Katie I am not a fan of the shiny brass.I do like my bling ....chandeliers :-)
    xx
    Anne

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    Replies
    1. I agree. I love a moldy, old bronze chandelier, but not the brass I had.

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  2. I don't mind a bit of gold, but brass is a whole other story! You worked hard getting rid of that dated stuff!

    My house was built in the 40's and I have a potpourri of metals throughout my house. I can't decide which I want to keep. Right now I would say antique bronze for everything, but knowing me, it might be something completely different next week!

    Visiting from Coastal Charm.

    Jenny

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    Replies
    1. I don't mind a popcorn of different metals. I love chrome. It seems the most timeless. I also like a smattering of gold with old picture frames.

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  3. I agree with you...bye bye BRASS!!!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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    Replies
    1. They really ruined brass for us by oversaturating the market with the faux stuff. Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. who cares whats in or out, go with what makes you happy!

    ReplyDelete