Losing Sleep over Clashing Grays

The darn railing was completely clashing with our new paint color.  I knew it.  Chris knew it.  And Missy knew it.  I'm sure a lot of you were thinking the same thing.  Last June, I painted the small divider railing a medium gray and the large staircase railing, too.  It was pretty tedious, but free with a coupon for a free tester pot of Benjamin Moore paint--the results were worth it:

With the new paint in the family room, Martha Stewart's Zinc, it suddenly didn't look that great:

Not only was there a gray overload, but the grays were clashing.  I wasn't lying when I told reader Missy that we do have plans to switch out both the staircase railing and this divider rail--we do.  Right now, we just don't have the budget for the look Chris and I both have been eyeing and I have been pinning like this example via Houzz:

Until we have enough pennies saved for the clean-lined and clear railing of our dreams, we will have to live with the current railings.  But that doesn't mean we have to live with a clashing-color railing.  A few minutes after I responded to Missy's comment, I got a text from Chris that said, "I think if we're going to wait to paint the railing a different color, we should do it before putting the bookcases up. Thoughts?"  It wasn't what I wanted to hear, and definitely not what sounded like a fun time--but at that point we both knew that it needed painted and it would be easier done before we build the bookcase on that side of the doors.

After a quick discussion on what color to paint them, we decided on oil-rubbed bronze.  Tuesday night, we put on the first coat of oil-rubbed bronze and I put on the second and final coat yesterday during Greta's nap.

When Chris asked how I like it, I responded with a "Hmmmm."  To which he quickly replied, "Oh great.  What color are we re-painting it?" Ha!  Well, we aren't re-painting it, that's for sure.  It's better than the clashy gray, but I still can't wait to replace the railings all together.  I think it is the busy railing that is bothering me more than the color now. Although this quick fix only cost us $8 and time--so it was the smart decision right now.  I was pleasantly surprised they made oil rubbed bronze in a can. Did you know that?

I was unpleasantly surprised it was oil based--especially since there was no sign of it anywhere on the can.  Although I guess the "oil" part in oil rubbed bronze should have given that away.  When we went to clean up our brushes and hands, it became very apparent and that's when I noticed in fine print on the back to "clean up with mineral spirits."  Gah.  Okay, the smell tipped me off a bit, too.

The coverage was nice and it is the exact color you would think of.  A sort of metallic brown-black.

I still haven't started on the main staircase.  I am admittedly dreading it, but as soon as it is done--you better believe you'll see the photos.  Here's a recap of the transitions this little railing has gone through in 9 months:

P.S. Chris's brother, Brandon, and his wife Stephanie finally put up photos of their new home on their blog.  Take a good look at the before pictures because so much has changed!