Textured and Glazed Handrail

 I love iron spindles and railings, so in planning our new house, choosing iron for the staircase was a no-brainer. The difficulty for  came in choosing a specific design. I initially was hoping to have an all iron look with swirled iron panels and an iron handrail, but the cost was exorbidant. This was probably fortuitous because that treatment probably would have overwhelmed given the scale of the area. So, I went with a simple spindle and wood handrail.

Here is a pic showing the raw wood hand rail at the bottom of the stairway.

Since I wanted an all-iron look, I decided not to stain the handrail. Instead, I did a metallic paint treatment that had texture that mimicked metal. After priming the raw wood, I applied texture (weathered bronze lusterstone) with a chip brush, and lightly sanded after it dried. Here is a pic of the lusterstone after sanding.

I then applied a metallic paint glaze (mixture of two Modern Masters metallic paint colors plus some glazing medium) to match the spindle color.  Finally, I topcated with two coats of  polyurethane.

Linking to:

Project Diaries at Stories of a House

Kim at SSS Before and After Party

Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking

Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick

DIY Project Parade at DIY Show Off

Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Flaunt It Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different Act Normal

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest

Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming

Remodalaholic Friday at Remodelaholic

Weekend Wrap Up at Tatortots and Jello

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On the Porch