Right light, wrong color.

When I found the light I wanted for our bedroom, I loved everything about it - the oversized scale, the geometric vibe, the airiness, but NOT the color options - it was either antique bronze or silver in stock and I knew I wanted something in the gold family.

In the process of picking out...about 22 light fixtures, I thought - I can fix that later!  But then it was up...and the thought of taking it down to spray paint it seemed like a speed bump that could turn into months.

The antiqued bronze was too much dark with the wood of the headboard/footboard of our new bed, the dark wood trim that is in the entire house, and the dark navy of the curtains - as T would say, Same, Same! Too much matchy-matchy for my taste.  The room needs some lightening up and some bling.  Thankfully, Benjamin Moore's Glass Slipper paint is pulling its airy weight on the walls, but we need some metallic accents.  

Enter Rub n' Buff.  The name...is too much, but I think it's basically oil-based paint mixed with wax. It comes in tiny tubes.  I got the Gold Leaf tone from Amazon - so cheap it was an Add-on item. I followed the directions, cleaning the light and letting it dry before I started applying.  I figured - about an hour? Silly Liz...so many surfaces/angles to cover!

I used an old piece of cotton clothing I didn't want anymore to apply the stuff.  It said finger or cloth...I thought I'd try to keep clean. Again, silly Liz. It seemed darker than expected as I started to apply it, but I figured I was going for it now.  Unsurprisingly, the 2.75 year-old interrupted the process about an hour in and I had to go back later to finish, but I don't think that down time affected much. I probably would just cut my nails really short and use a finger next time (I think it will be under my nails for weeks despite the cloth and using nail polish remover to clean my hands afterwards).  As I got used to working with  the material, I think bare fingers would have made for an easier application. I was able to finish the application in about...2.5? hours.  Perhaps removing the fixture and spraying it would have been faster....but I do like the finish.
Here is how it looked applied, but still drying and not buffed yet.

It is already feeling much lighter!

I will update the post tomorrow after I buff :)

In case you're curious:
Curtains (Overstock.com)
Rug (Overstock.com)
Bed (Jordan's furniture, but I believe it was discontinued...hence the deal :)

Update:

I'm unsure how much a difference my attempt at buffing made, but I think it's a little shinier?

The lack of any flat surfaces made buffing feel futile, but I do think it helped. Seeing the gold in the room also inspired me to dig into the coat closet where ALL of our hanging pictures and mirrors are living for now and find Nonny's mirror.

It had hung in her dining room, and then ours in the last house, but it felt perfect for between the two front windows. I'm getting used to using the picture rail trim - no holes in the walls is nice, but the tipping forward is slightly annoying.

I think I might do spray paint for the bedside lights...to save time and dirty fingers.  I would ideally like to have sconces some day, but for now I'm more than happy to spray our very budget-friendly Ikea lamps.

The master is inching closer and closer to completion!

Remaining on the punch list:
1. Find art to hang to left of the side window.
2. Swap out the pulls on Brent's dresser for oblong round antique brass ones.

3. Find new bedside tables - Brent made our current beauties, and I have plans for them in our to-be-furnished Living Room.  Plus, they are  too low with the new bed.  Since we have different amounts of space on each side, I doubt the new ones will match.  They are on my running list of things to hunt for in Home Goods etc.

4. Long term - replace brown Ikea love seat I've had since my Southie apartment with a chaise.