How To Update Old Brass Fixtures

Have you ever found something really cool at a thrift store and you bring it home and that one little thing ignites a spark that makes you change a bazillion other little things in your house?

Well, that happens to me on a weekly basis. For my own mental sanity, I should really just stay out of thrift stores, but dangit they draw me in like a gnat to a porch light.

This past weekend, I came across a brassy little lantern chandelier at the thrift store. I had been looking for something like this for awhile, so when I saw a $5 price tag on the lantern, I think I yelped outloud. Seriously, this thing should have been more than $5.
High-five to the awesome person who donated this to the thrift store.

When I saw this thing, I knew immediately where it would go. 

The above picture is from the first set of renovations I did to our master bedroom. I found that giant chandelier (also originally brass) and decided that it was better than the dark brown ceiling fan that was there before. 
You have to go see the before pic of this room with the dark wood paneling and old ceiling fan. 

After a while of living with the giant chandelier, it began to really annoy me. It was just too large.

The little brass lantern seemed like a much better fit.

So, I decided to spray paint the little brass lantern, too.
Here's what I ended up with. 

I really love the way it turned out, and the size fits the room much better.

To update the chandelier from brass to brushed silver,  I used one of my favorite silver spray paints, Rustoleum Titanium Silver (amazon affiliate link). This is the same paint that I used all over my kitchen and on my bathroom faucet. I like it because it creates a brushed nickel finish rather than a chrome silver finish. So, it's perfect for all sorts of home decor stuff, especially fixtures.

Once I had my chandelier hung, it got me on a redo-tons-of-other-stuff-binge. So, I completely redid my vanity area. If you read my blog a lot, you might notice what I did. 

 I spray painted the vanity mirror silver, too. And I also painted the table satin black, and completely reupholstered the chair.

See how this thing looked the day I brought it home from the thrift store here.

I love the way it looks in the evenings, with the little lamp on. Here's what it looks like during the day now.

I like the new vanity colors much better. They complement the green rug and embroidered pillows now. 

And that's not all. While I had my spray paint out, I spray painted another thrift store find. I found a little gold  mirrored vanity tray at the thrift store for $2. I thought it would be perfect to hold some of my jewelry. 

Most of this junk is from Target and thrift stores. And Forever 21...or Forever 29, as I like to call it.

And one last thing, I decided to sell my old vanity stool that sat under my antique flip-down desk. It was too small. So, I pulled an old piano bench out of a storage closet and painted it black. It's not a permanent solution, as I really have no idea what to do with this room long-term. But, it's okay for now.

Check out how I later upholstered this stool with stripes here.

And those are all of the bedroom updates for today!
Thanks so much for stopping by! 
*To see a complete history of the evolution of this room from the day we moved in to months after this post was written, go here.

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