Entryway Progress- Black Hand Rails

Here is a close up of what these hand rails actually looked like.  See the fading?

After everything was taped off, I sanded down the banister.  This is what it looked like after sanding it and wiping it down to remove the dust.

Next, I got busy painting.  I used the same color black paint I used for my kitchen door and my front door.  I used Behr premium plus paint in the color broadway.

And here it is after three coats.  After the third coat was on, I quickly removed all of the painters tape.

After the tape was removed, I let the paint dry for a full 24 hours, and then I painted on one coat of polyurethane.  I actually used the left over protective top coat from when I painted my kitchen cabinets using rustoleum cabinet transformations.  I knew it would hold up well because my cabinets have held up very well.  And now for the after pictures, enjoy!  I think just this first step made a world of difference.  This entryway is finally starting to look like I Imagined it would look. (Say hello to my new shoe cabinet down there on the landing).

If you look closely, you can see a couple of spots where the paint bled through the tape.  I am not worried about that because I am planning to give the the white parts a fresh coat of white too.

Here is a view looking up the stairs.  I don’t know if I have ever shown you this gallery wall going up the stairs.  Why yes, that is Tom Cruise you see there!  If you know me personally, you know how I love him!  I found this authentic autographed picture during a trip to St. Louis years ago.  It is the most expensive piece of art I have ever purchased, at $250.  I could not pass it up, and It is from his Risky Business days, which is all the better.  When I bought it, it wasn’t framed, and it sat in the bag for years before I finally spent the money to have it professionally framed.  Tom, welcome to my world!

The Etsy print to the left of Tom (we’re on a first name basis) was my Valentine’s day gift to myself LC.  I purchased these cute little fish plates from a friend who sells Celebrating Home.  They were on clearance for less than $10.  I had liked them when they were full price, and asked her to tell me if they ever went on sale.

You might remember my horseshoe art from this post.

I debated and debated whether to paint the bigger posts black too.  I even asked for advice on instagram and facebook.  There were 9 votes for black, and 16 votes for white.  LC thought I should paint them black.  I left them alone for a couple of weeks, and I finally made a decision!

I chose…wait for it…

Black!  One of the biggest reasons I chose black was because of a comment that someone made on Facebook saying that the black would ground everything more, and that leaving them white made the hand rail look like it was floating.  After looking at them the way they were for a while, I agreed.

Here is a close up of the black paint with the protective top coat.

And here is a before and after shot for you.

This entry has come a long way, baby!  What is next, you ask?  Well, I have already started painting the posts black, and I will show them to you when they are finished.  After that, I am going to attempt to paint the walls by myself.  Well, I am sure LC will give me some help with the high parts.  I am terrified of heights!  And we have a professional painter as a next door neighbor.  He told LC that if we painted as much as we could get to on our own, he would come over and get the hard to reach spots for us.  That sounds like a much better option than one of us breaking a body part, don’t you think?And after that, eventually I want to give the rest of the railing a fresh coat of white, and also the risers on the stairs.  I am also planning to paint the landing.  It is also really faded from the sun.  You can see where the previous owners had a rug.  The floor underneath the rug is a different color.  Unbelievable how the sun can fade things.  I am thinking of a distressed and faded looking checkerboard pattern like this.

What do you think of my black hand rails?  Are you one of those people that would never paint over solid oak?  I am loving the change!  Everything seems so much more fresh and modern when you walk in my door.  I can’t wait until it is completely finished!

Have a great day!

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