DIY Door Knob Makeover

Thanks to various sources of inspiration, including my friend Annaliese (who spray painted her air vents--something I still want to do) and Beckie from Infarrantly Creative who showed us how to spray paint door knobs... I decided it was time to stop staring at my nasty old door knobs and do something to make them less painful to look at (without spending at least $20 per set).

My bathroom door knob was definitely the worst of the set. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you feel about scum grossness) I didn't get a "before" shot of behind the knob, where it connects to the base. Let's just say it was green and nasty, it took a lot longer to sand/clean, and the original varnish came off completely by the time I was finished prepping it.

It me an afternoon (while watching Buffy) to sand and clean all of the interior door knobs in my house for six doors. I should have worn a mask because it got pretty dusty. So now I probably have nasty metal and chemicals in my lungs.

Then I primed them with white. I wish that I had primed them with dark gray instead because the final paint came out lighter than I wanted. Oh well.

And then with the "satin nickel" spray paint. It was more glittery than I had thought it was going to be. Again, hindsight.



Even with glitter I think they look better than the nasty green-scum brass.

Before (inside bathroom):

And After:


Before (outside bathroom):

And After:


Now that I know how easy it is to transform with spray paint it is super tempting to go back with a darker gray or one that it more matte or... well, the possibilities are really endless. And dangerous. In reality I think they're good for now-- and for less than $20, they look pretty darn good if I do say so myself.