Project: '80s Brass to Millennial Brass

I love furniture.  Especially wood furniture.  Especially wood furniture sold for a steal at thrift stores.  Which explains why in my living room alone I have six large pieces, all bought second hand.  Of these six pieces, one is a china cabinet, one is a chest of drawers, one is a roll-top desk, one is a desk-cabinet, one is a tall hutch, and one is a dresser.

Almost all of this furniture needs updating, however, so this fall I'm hoping to tackle some painting.  In the meantime, here is a quick thing I did in August.

Our china cabinet is a rather magnificent piece with solid brass handles and hinges.

The wedding dress isn't usually there. This was on the occasion of my SIL's wedding.

When I found this at the second-hand store four years ago, I told myself I'd update the look by spray-painting the brass black.  I never got around to it.

Then after copious research this summer and deciding that I like a little of the distressed look, I threw caution to the wind and used steel wool to rub all the 80's lacquer off the brass and let it begin to age naturally.  I may regret it in 10 years.  But then I could get out the spray paint after all.

In the picture above, the left handle still has the yellow-gold lacquer, and the right handle has the steel wool treatment.  It's a subtle difference but it gives an entirely different "air" to the cabinet.

At least, that's what I tell myself.  Check back in several years from now and we'll see what the patina is doing!