Dining Room Sconce Makeover, Bench Color Options, and Artwork Inspiration Mockup

I started painting these sconces last week, but then I had an issue with the gold spray paint leaving horrible streaks in the finish that felt smooth but looked like the paint had been applied too thick and had run down the side of the shade.

Then I started gold leafing the base on one of them only to realize that the gold leaf finish would clash with the antique gold finish on the other sconces and the chandelier in the room.

So I went back to spray paint, and this time it worked out. In my effort to finish this room while trying to use what I already have on hand when possible, I decided to keep the sconces that have been in this room for years. But the black finish that was on them didn’t go with the new selections for the room.

After giving the sconces a good sanding with 220-grit sandpaper, I used the following sprays in this order — B-I-N shellac-based primer (my favorite primer), Behr Metallic Gold spray paint, Krylon Metallic Gold spray paint, and Rust-Oleum matte clear coat.

The reason I used two different golds is because, once again, I’m trying to use what I have on hand, and I didn’t have enough of either one to spray several thin coats with only one color. So I got both sconces coated as well as I could with the Behr gold, which was too light of a color to go in the room and coordinate with the other fixtures, and then I followed up with a light coat of the Krylon gold, which was a much better match to the other fixtures. It worked out perfectly.

I think this will look great above the artwork and the bench with the dark pink fabric, and the color goes great with the other sconces and the chandelier. This time, I made sure to shake the can constantly as I was spraying to keep the paint mixed well, and I did very thin coats.

And speaking of the bench, I’m still unsure what color to do the base, so I did three mockups with different colors and the dark pink upholstered top. Here’s what it would look like with a white base.

Here’s what it might look like with a stained base. I don’t love this heavy look or the way it looks with the pink fabric.

And for something a little out of the norm for me, I also tried a black base. I like small touches of black in a room (as you can see from the previous black sconces and black framed artwork), but I think this is way too much for me.

The winner for me is the white base. My upholstered top won’t look quite like this. This one looks too thick, and it looks like a separate cushion. Mine will actually be upholstered so that it’s attached to the base. It won’t be thinner and it won’t have cording around the top edge. It will be done more like the previous benches I had here.

For a moment, I actually considered doing the sconces in a green color. I even had the green spray paint in hand and was about to start spraying the freshly primed sconces green when I decided to pause and do a couple of mockups to see what these walls might look like with green sconces and gold sconces along with the other elements I plan to have here. I haven’t made the artwork for these walls yet, but I did do this mockup of a green sconce, textural and colorful artwork, and the pink and white bench, just to see what it would look like.

It’s fun, and I did like it, but I’m really trying to elevate the look of this room while keeping it colorful and fun. To me, the green sconces were a little over the top. So in the end, I decided to stick with the gold. It’ll still be fun and colorful, though!

Now I just have to figure out how to make that artwork! 😀 I uploaded three of the artwork inspiration pictures that I shared with y’all in this post and asked ChatGPT to create a piece of colorful and textural artwork inspired by those images but using colors that coordinate with my striped fabric that I made for my dining chairs, and that’s what it gave me. I love it!! But as of this moment, I have no idea how I’m going to make it. I’ll figure out a way, though!