How To Make Old Pulls Shabby Chic

Happy Easter!  It's been a beautiful and busy weekend around here.  Indiana weather is finally seeming more like Spring, which means lots of projects get to move outside... just how I like them!

This weekend, I worked on an old nightstand and wanted to show you how to turn old, ugly brass knobs or pulls into shabby chic beauties!  

First step is clean your pulls.. and clean them good!  If there's any gunk in the corners, when you paint, it will show and look terrible.  I soak mine in water and tea tree oil (you can read my post here about my love for tea tree extract) for a couple of hours, then take an old toothbrush and scrub them.  Let them dry and you are good to go.

Next you'll want to prime, it will give your paint something to grab on to.  I used Rustoleum spray paint primer in black.  Let that dry for about an hour.

The two main products I used were Rustoleum Hammered Black spray paint and FolkArt Chalk Paint in Sheepskin.

To give the pulls a little bit of texture and depth, I decided to use Rustoleum black "hammered" spray paint.  I love this stuff!  It gives a very subtle hammered look.  I did 3 medium coats.

Now, if I am being honest, I was going to stop here.  I was going to paint the nightstand a darker color and thought the black hammered pulls would be perfect.  But after priming it white, I really liked the look of the piece in the lighter shade.  So I ended up painting it with FolkArt chalk paint in "Sheepskin."  

On a whim, in order to tie the light and dark colors together, I dry brushed and lightly dabbed the pulls with the "Sheepskin" paint.  Gave it a second or two to dry a little, then very carefully (with a light hand) smeared the paint... very lightly... did I say that yet, haha.

Once everything was completely dry, I took some 150 grit sandpaper and scuffed the pulls up just a bit.

When I was happy with how they looked, I used some quick dry spray polyurethane and gave them 2 coats for durability.

That's it!  I wish I had taken more photos along the way, but it was kind of all on the fly, hopefully the directions above will help.  I absolutely love how they turned out and anytime that I can keep the original hardware, that's a plus in my book!

PS - I just started a Facebook page so be sure to follow and stay up to date with all of the new projects coming up!  Click here to like.

This post is linked up to the following FAB parties:
Sweet Haute
Chic On A Shoestring Decorating
Shabby Nest
Funky Junk
Huckleberry Love
Inspiration Monday
The Crowned Goat
Skip to My Lou
DIY Showoff
Thrifty Decor Chick