Hi, I am in the process of doing little fixes and updates around the house, planning on putting it on the market in January. I have a beautiful house, a 7 year old nostalgic-style cottage with high ceilings, heavy crown molding, dome and trey ceilings, hardwoods, etc. One thing I never liked about my house is the doorknobs and hinges. Everything is gold! I would like to change everything out to either nickel or oiled bronze, but this is a HUGE undertaking. There are 24 doors in total. The doorknobs aren't such a big deal, it is the HINGES. I couldn't do this myself, I would have to pay someone to replace approximately 72 hinges!

My question - is it worth it to do this? Do people really care? The kitchen cabinet hardware and fixtures are nickel.

Also, the bath hardware has a lot of brass, and I would like to change these, but worry it would look weird if the adjacent doors are all gold (master bath has four doors in it).

Is it possible to paint the hinges? I know people take them off and spray them with that metal paint, but I was hoping not to have to take them off.

Also, the master bath shower door is gold accent. Any way to fix this without replacing it?

Many thanks, I am doing this on a budget. My sister thinks the gold doorknobs aren't a big deal, but I think it is a big deal. Just not sure I can afford to outright change everything.

Piglet, IMHO, your particular doorknobs and hinges are NOT a big deal. Sounds just like it is a personal preference of yours, not that they're old and yukky and corroded, etc. We replaced all the doorknobs and hinges in this house we are now trying to sell (replaced them unrelated to the sale) because they were OLD and they looked so yukky and made this drab house appear even drabber and depressed the daylights out of me. If yours are 7 years old and in good condition and you're going to sell your house anyway, I'd just leave them. Many people love gold--I do. You have so many other things in your house that sound so "wow," I doubt anyone is even going to care about the hinges and knobs. Don't stress yourself out about that.

Thanks, I didn't really want to replace them. I guess my real issue is I want to change out the hardware in the master bath (it is presently shiny chrome with brass accents - yuck!), and I think it will look strange to have either plain chrome/nickel or oiled bronze when all the doorknobs AND the shower door are gold. What thinks you?

quote:

Originally posted by piglet66:
Thanks, I didn't really want to replace them. I guess my real issue is I want to change out the hardware in the master bath (it is presently shiny chrome with brass accents - yuck!), and I think it will look strange to have either plain chrome/nickel or oiled bronze when all the doorknobs AND the shower door are gold. What thinks you?

Once again, IMHO, if the hardware in your masterbath isn't corroded or yukky looking, I'd just leave it alone. If you weren't moving, I'd say change it to whatever your heart desires. But, if it's in good condition and looks nice, personally, I'd just leave it.

Hi Piglet!

I refinished nearly every doorknob/hinge etc. in this house...the only ones I didn't refinish were the antique ones.

I tried just about every method...I do not like the spray painting thing on hardware...maybe some ppl can make it look good but I can't. I haven't seen a spray paint yet that gives you the "sheen" that true metal has.

Here is what I did...we have a Victorian house with a lot of antique brass chandeliers, sconces, etc. So in the "old" part of the house I refinished the bright brass knobs/hinges with a soft "old gold" look.

In our addition/sunroom & the rooms that adjoin it (more modern rooms) I did the bright brass stuff in a satin nickel finish. It made a LOT of difference...

Through much trial & error, the best product I found was something called "Liquid Leaf." You can get it at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, places like that. You can paint the doorknobs/hinges in place, this stuff dries quickly.

You may want to mix several colours of the Leaf to get what you're looking for, for your particular place. I darkened the Classic Gold colour with a little Pewter to get the "old gold" look.

To do this: first get several of the LL's in different colours, and get you a piece of metal to experiment on. Once you have something close to what you want, you're ready to go.

First, tape off where you're going to paint unless you've got a real steady hand. But as you are painting, act like the tape is not there...be careful & persnickity with it.

Then go over the doorknob with either denatured alcohol or paint thinner, and let it dry.

Paint a coat of LL, & then about an hour or so later, add a second coat. (Take off your painter's tape after this.)

Let it cure a couple of days & then look at it again...if you are not satisfied give it another coat, or just some touchups if needed.
Once it has dried/cured, then give it a coat of sealer. I prefer the brush on lacquer. THEN let it dry according to the directions on your lacquer or sealer.

On doorknobs that get a lot of use, you may want to remove them to do the painting/drying. Most of mine I just did in place.

I experimented with oil metallics, acrylic metallics, rubnbuff, treasure gold...I don't know what all till I found the Liquid Leaf. It is about $5 a bottle so it is VERY cost effective. One bottle will do probably 5-6 doorknobs or more.

Once you get going with this, I bet you end up painting a lot of stuff...I did. Including a brass ceiling fan, porch lanterns, lamps...all kinds of stuff!

So what's the worst thing that can happen? If you mess it up, use your paint thinner, take off the Liquid Leaf. You'll be right back to your brass stuff, no problemo!

Go for it...I think you'll be pleased with the results!
And good luck!

On your shower door: if you want to change this out, I would use an oil metallic. Prime first. Once you have the oil paint on, and then a sealer, DO NOT use your shower for at least 5 days. You want it to dry out & cure very thoroughly.

We painted tile in our bathroom with this method...it was aggravating not to get to use that bathroom for a week BUT...the results were well worth it.

WOW Peri you did a lot of work I bet it looks fantastic! I would probably do what you did, instead of buying all new hardware, what if you spent good money on the bronze and the buyer didn't like bronze or vise versa w/the silver at least this way you're not putting a lot of money into them. I don't particularly care for bright brass that's what's currently in my house I plan on changing them all out but I expected brass to be here when I was looking at the house and didn't let that have any affect on me liking the house or not. I Say do what Peri did or leave them as they are!

Wow, Peri thanks so much for the tips! I am definitely going to try the Liquid Leaf (on the hinges, I think I would rather just replace the doorknobs).

But can you tell me what you are talking about for the shower door? Oil metallic what? Is that still the liquid leaf?

Piglet....the aged brass is just a passing fad.
I have it in my 1970's built house but will change it out to shiny brass before I sell it.
About the time everyone has the aged brass look, the shiny brass will return as it is a very traditional look.

Love,
Lu

quote:

Originally posted by piglet66:


But can you tell me what you are talking about for the shower door? Oil metallic what? Is that still the liquid leaf?

I need to find the names/brands for you; I have my paint put away right now but will look tomorrow.

LL is not an oil; you need an oil based paint to be able to hold up in a room that gets all that moisture. They make some paints now that are oil based metallics...like in copper, silver, etc. Depending upon what metal look you want, you'll probably want to mix 2 or 3 of these together. (You can get them in little bitty cans.) Example: iirc when I wanted the dark bronze look, I mixed brown oil paint with silver & some copper.

I think soem of the major paint brands carry colours like this in the oil; I got some at Porter Paint a while back. These latest ones I used I got at an art store...I found the ppl there VERY helpful with ideas about which colours to mix etc.

quote:

Originally posted by beantown2008:
what if you spent good money on the bronze and the buyer didn't like bronze or vise versa w/the silver at least this way you're not putting a lot of money into them. !

I agree...you never know what someone else's taste will be. And geez, it would cost a LOT to replace all that stuff...way beyond my budget!

I think the gold is fine,, since you have so many to replace. Concentrate on other things.

If you grab a yellow pad and start at your walkway, and think like a buyer.. tour your own home..and your probably end up with a list. That
baseboard needs caulked or painted, kitchen door hinges need tightened,need to paint under the kitchen sink interior cabinet (stain). Touch up paint here..or there.

Look, look, look....inside and outside.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

Thanks REL and everyone, I was reluctant to do that but I have had 3 different agents go through and tell me these things. They say that in my price range there is a lot of competition, so I have to make the house model home perfect, and then price it at basically my break even point, 20% below the last appraisal, if I want to sell it. I disagree, they are comparing my house to homes in less desirable neighborhoods, that are plain brick boxes that happen to have more square footage and granite kitchens, but less character. My house has some unusual aspects that differentiate it from the competition, like some beautiful architectural details, and over an acre of woods that back up to a horse farm in the middle of a subdivision! The realtors say nobody cares about that, just make everything model home perfect then price it super low.

My house is only 7 years old, it's very pretty and in an upscale neighborhood, yet they want me to redo the kitchen. It is all white with white laminate counters. I have been told everything from change the countertops to granite to GUT THE ENTIRE KITCHEN! A lot more expensive than just changing out the brass hardware, so that seemed like no big deal. Painting and decluttering is obvious, and repairs, and yes painting the insides of the cabinets. I will neutralize the colors, but I won't paint my eggplant dining room, it is beautiful with the white judges paneling.

Next time a Realtor tells you that .. ask them when was the last time...they gave their home away!

I have the same kitchen. White cabinets. However I have some really great decorating.
Tropical - in earth tones. I bought a fish tank with nice wood stand..and put a few things in the fish tank to match decor/colors. Everybody loves my kitchen.

Don't ever tell me some buyers don't get side-tracked on decor..and end up buying. Then when we go to walk-thru.. in prep for closing.. they say.. wow this looks different(?@!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

Once again, IMHO, if the hardware in your masterbath isn't corroded or yukky looking, I'd just leave it alone. If you weren't moving, I'd say change it to whatever your heart desires. But, if it's in good condition and looks nice, personally, I'd just leave it.[/QUOTE]

Piglet, I agree with this.
We have changed everything to nickel and glazed bronze except in the powder room.
There are french gold sconces and other fixtures. I do not want to replace all of it.

This weekend we replaced 14 outside lights (lanterns beside garage and on decks and the apt) All to bronze) We also replaced door knobs to bronze in the house and nickel in the apt. No one has suggested this but I had wanted
to replace them for a long time.

Good luck on refreshing the house.