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Tag Archives: do-it-yourself

Wall Sconces…DIY, the finished project

01 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in DIY (do it yourself)

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do-it-yourself, wall sconces

For Part 1 of DIY click HERE.  I started my wall sconce project by cleaning all of the spider webs, dust and dirt off my bargain eBay find with a clean rag and steel wool.  I then cut the wires that were attached since I knew I wanted to use candles instead of having them electrified.  I wasn’t sure I wanted the permanence of having to decorate around them in the library (which is where I wanted them to hang).

This is the before picture. If the sconces hadn't been paint splattered by the previous owner, I may have kept the brass look, it was old and well worn and I like that look.

I purchased some plastic sleeves that go around the bulb outlet sleeve, which is cardboard.  I cute the sleeves to fit but not extend much past the outlet opening.  I then began by painting a very light coat of satin finish black paint.  I kept the black coat very light, you could still see the brass through the first layer of spray paint.  After that dried thoroughly I spray painted a second coat, this time using the oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  I continued to alternate the 2 spray paints until I had the finish I wanted.  Once the sconces were thoroughly dry I applied (with a soft rag) some Behr water base stain in Norwegian teak.  This was recommended by someone who had refinished a chandelier for me years ago.  (I really wish I had tackled this project myself but as you will read in part 1, I was hiring someone to do a lot of projects that I realize I could have easily done on my own.

Here are the paints I used. The bronze was a little lighter than I would have liked so I used satin black as well as the ORB.

In any event, here is the finished project.  What do you think?  I really am happy with the way they turned out and it has given me confidence to try some more DIY projects.  Any suggestions?

I most probably won't light the candles but the sconce adds a little to the wall they are on.

This is the ta-da picture for the first of what I hope will be a lot more productive weekend projects.

Madison approves!

DIY (do it yourself) Weekend Project

31 Saturday Jul 2010

Posted by Karen B. in DIY (do it yourself)

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do-it-yourself

Looking back, it must have been somewhere in my early 40’s when I got lazy about doing things myself.  As an excuse I’d like to suggest I was probably in the throes of motherhood, PTA, avid volunteering and taking care of business around the homestead for hubby and kids.

Here is the sconce before paint.

In any event if a piece of furniture needed to be refinished, a room needed to be painted, pillows needed to be made, etc. I would call up any one of my friends that had similar interests and activities and ask them for a reference for a person that could do the job for me.  I’d get a bid and then present the quote to my hubby—we’d discuss the issue and decide if we could afford to have the job done.

I was able to buy this pair of sconces for only $37 including shipping on eBay.

Not too many years ago I discovered the amazing world of blogging.  There are so many talented people out there who can do almost anything AND they are happy to share the ‘how to’ with you.  Some even give a picture-by-picture tutorial of how to do whatever it is they’ve done.

The samples at left were the inspiration for wanting a pair of wall sconces.  Cost was a factor, the middle and right picture are Restoration Hardware and retail for $149-$159 each.

So, I’ve been inspired to try a DIY of my own.  I happened to be on eBay and bid on a pair of old, brass (the seller thought) wall sconces.  I bid the minimum bid, convinced I’d be outbid by days end.  I actually won the auction and with shipping the pair cost me $37.  When I opened the box I was delighted with the style but knew I’d need to paint them since there were paint spatters on the brass.  There are so many household projects that can be tackled by even a novice (moi).  With a computer you can find detailed instructions on almost any DIY project, I encourage you to give it a try.  It’s very fun!

This is a 'before' and 'after' of a closet conversion. Creative and pretty.

The Lettered Cottage, Mustard Seed Creations and Our Suburban Cottage have all given informative instructions on how to paint various items.  I figured the worst case scenario would be that the sconces would be terrible and I’d have to sell them on eBay!

Stay tuned, my next post will provide the how-to and finished wall sconces…

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