The Reluctant DIY-er

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a little painting project I had taken on because I was loving the paint I found. I'm usually pretty reluctant to take on projects where I don't hire out a professional, because I think it's important for clients to get the best product they can when they work with a designer, but in this case, we decided to put in a little elbow-grease and I think it paid off.

When we found these sconces, it was hard to know what exactly the beads were made of -- we were hoping they were wood and were a pretty cream, but we knew that there was a chance that things are never as they seem. And, at the amazing price, there was room for a re-do and it would be worth it to either have the beads re-strung and swapped, or have them painted. Fast-forward a few weeks and the beads turn out to be shiny plastic and very yellow. Not so great against the new white paint and waincotting in my client's house.

We also decided that it was something that could maybe be done without the aid of a pro, so hence, my manicure of silver and bronze that lasted for far longer than I anticipated.

Here is a detail of how the paint looks -- it's a mix of bronze hammered base and a light coat of silver hammered paint. I wanted to make sure the white plastic beads were covered, but I was worried about having TOO much silver -- I didn't want it to look cheap or DIY and it HAD to look like it came that way. So hence the base of bronze and more blue tape than you can imagine in order to get every nook and cranny covered.

We also decided to wrap the plastic candle sleeves. My first thought was to use these awesome Kaarskoker sleeves, but sigh, they are out of the pattern I wanted. So we got creative with faux grasscloth in a dark silver.

Another detail

The finished and installed sconce. I'm pretty pleased.