Oil Rubbed Bronze to the Rescue!

I have been wanting to replace the light fixtures on the deck since we moved in.  The lights we had out there were tiny ugly brass boxes…  So, when I spied these beauties at the Habitat Restore for $15, I snatched them right up.  They were a pretty white color, but had a couple scratched places.  And they were missing some screws, but I figured they didn’t really need all six screws anyway.  :)

I cleaned them up, disassembled all the parts and gave them a few coats of oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  Then Papa helped me install them on the upper and lower decks.   Ah, lovely…

Here is the before and after:

 

While I was sprucing up the light fixtures, I had to spray paint a couple more things, too.  We bought two of these plastic urns at Dollar General for my sister’s wedding back in 2008.  They were a concrete gray color:

Three years later, we finally decided to spruce them up a bit.  After a couple coats of oil rubbed bronze “universal” paint (which supposedly sticks to plastic—so far, so good!) they looked like a million bucks… okay, maybe not a million, but twenty at least.  Considering they were only $8 each, I think it was a good deal for a lightweight planter urn that has lasted three years already!

Now they look right at home on my front porch, overflowing with petunias and impatiens:

 

It’s amazing what a couple cans of spray paint can accomplish.  But that’s not the end of the story!  I decided to hold on to the little brass light fixtures, since I can’t imagine someone else would want them in their current condition.  I have plans for them anyway… with a good scrub and a some paint, I think I can make them into a couple of cute little lanterns!  Stay tuned!