Man, it feels so great to be back writing a tutorial of my own this week! I've been on a mission to finish the living room/dining room on our first floor and this project got me one step closer. I'm absolutely in love with the way this came out, and I have to say, I'm pretty thrilled with the sentiment, too- I have been so blessed!
I'm a big fan of mixing in some industrial elements in my home. Since I just added these lights to my dining room that connects to the living room, I thought it would be fun to mimic the tone of the lights somewhere in the living room.
I had ordered this phrase from one of our favorite shops, 163 Design Company, and had originally painted them three different shades of yellow before finally decided that yellow was going to be the death of me. Thankfully, having a best friend with a good eye (*ahem, Monica) came in handy when she suggested trying a metallic look. Since I didn't want just a flat metal look, I decided to try my hand at faking that awesome, full-of-character industrial look. Here's what you need to do to bring some metal into your life: 1. Lay your letters on a drop cloth and spraypaint them in Krylon's Stainless Steel. It took about 3 light, even coats to cover all that hideous yellow. (Sidenote: I'm a huge fan of using spraypaint whenever possible, since it's fast and easy and I'm lazy. )
2. Using Valspar Brown Velvet Spraypaint, lightly spray the letters from a good distance. You don't want to be up real close to the letters when you do this. Splotchy and imperfect are the looks we're going for here! This step takes away a bit of the shine from the stainless steel.
3. Using a makeup sponge or paint applicator, dab black acrylic craft paint on the edges and corners of each letter. There is no exact science to this. I just dabbed it on, rubbed it in and on some occasions, used a damp cloth to wipe it down. If you'd like to add a rust effect, use Burnt Sienna craft paint on the corners and areas that would naturally rust. I didn't do this as it made it a bit too warm for me. That's it!
To hang my letters, I used picture hanging command strips. After measuring, leveling and measuring some more (that's a whole OTHER tutorial), I was finally happy with the arrangement!
I'm loving the look of my new"old" metal letters. Other surfaces in my house, better watch out! I'm on an industrial metal rampage!
Monica used 163 Design Company to create a unique statement in her entryway, too!
So now, what will YOU give this industrial metal look to? P.S, We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to the charity of our choice! We need your help, though- you can learn more about our project and the charity we chose here, or go vote for us every day for the next two weeks right here. Thank you!
