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This guest room makeover has been one heck of a ride. Lots of long weekends spent DIY’ing, painting, and shopping and it really is starting to take shape.
- Stage 1: Install Wood Wall (Part 1 & Part 2…DONE!)
- Stage 2: Paint Room (DONE!)
- Stage 3: Install New Lighting (DONE!)
- Stage 4: Build Fauxdenza
- Stage 5: Hang art, swap out furniture, accessorize (our favorite part!)
The first part of the project went really well. Bridget & I set aside 3 days to get the wood wall done. We finished it in 5 hours. We set aside 2 days to paint the room. We finished it in 1 day. The light installation was another project that turned out to be more simple than expected. We kept beating all of our deadlines & were eager to move forward and complete the space.
With the ceiling light up, I still had to get our wall sconces installed. I knew from the start that this would not be a DIY project since it involved cutting into the drywall, installing 3 new electrical boxes, and rewiring everything.
We were actually able to do it on the DIY show I produce here in Chicago (Weekend Workbench) which was awesome because I got to be a part of the step-by-step tutorial and learn how to do it the right way. (Once that episode airs, I’ll be sure to share the video here on the blog!)
And even though it was an advanced project that I won’t be DIY’ing any time soon, they sure do look pretty! I love the color, size, & shape of these sconces from ATG.com. Plus they look so elegant next to the dark navy wall. 
The sconces currently emit a golden light, so I’m looking for good LED bulbs that fit them to make the light a bit cooler. 
Once I show you guys the fauxdenza, I’ll give you a wide shot so you can see exactly where they are in the space.
Speaking of which…I’ve run into a few problems with the built-in cabinet/fauxdenza. On Monday, I’ll be sharing the entire how-to from start to finish. But today, I wanted to chat about 1 small failure I ran into along the way.
I knew that I wanted to incorporate some sleek hardware on the cabinet doors, but couldn’t find any that I absolutely loved. Brass & gold hardware is popular right now, but there weren’t a ton of options that were in my budget (looking to spend less than $5 for each pull, to stay right around $30 total). So that’s when I had a brilliant idea to find hardware that I liked in silver & use rub ‘n buff to make it gold!
I picked up 6 silver pulls and 1 large towel hook to hang on the back of the guest room door. 
Then I ordered Rub ‘n Buff off of Amazon in the color “gold antique” and got to work! I followed the directions on the back of the tube, putting a small amount on my finger and rubbing it directly onto the hardware.
It was a very pretty gold color, but I couldn’t seem to get it all over the hardware and I especially couldn’t get it to go down into the nooks and crannies. So I did the best I could and let it dry, thinking I would just add another coat on the top to finish it off. 
In the meantime, I got the gold liquid ALL over my hands. Like everywhere. It was not a pretty sight.
But, determined to make it work, I persevered and applied more Rub ‘N Buff to the hardware. Instead of giving it a better coverage, it became lumpy and created a gritty texture all over the sleek hardware.
I took to the internet, reading blogs and watching Youtube tutorials with hopes that someone had the secret to using Rub ‘N Buff the right way. But no matter what I did, my hardware was still a hot mess.
It was a big DIY fail. Instead of saving money, these pulls were unusable and I’d have to buy all new ones. Not fun at all, but just goes to show that not every aspect of a project always works out. You’ve always got to be able to roll with the punches and move onto plan B.
Luckily, after more searching, I found some really cool brass knobs from Anthropologie that were perfect for the fauxdenza. And the best part? They only cost $6 each. Not a bargain…but certainly less than other hardware I’ve seen on the market. 
Here’s your official “sneak peek” of them up on the fauxdenza. 
I love them, and they look amazing next to the white and dark wood on the cabinets. Honestly, I like these ones even better than I would have liked the silvers ones turned gold. As for Rub ‘N Buff…anyone have any luck with the stuff? I’ve seen it used so many times in the blogosphere, but this was (obviously) my first attempt using it. What did I do wrong?!
I also found this cool towel hook when I was at Anthropologie. I added it to the back of the guest room door for guest’s towels. I love the wood & brass together on the white.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Finn & I are actually in Cabo for a couple of days on a trip for his company. I’ll be sure to have an extra daiquiri for ya.
Casey
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