HOUSE: Newburgh + Vanity + Wearables

Locks + socks.

I said I would finish repairing/painting the three living room windows during my vacation, and…I did! Late last night I finished stripping the last of the many coats of paint off of the locks. In a few minutes, I’ll screw them onto the sashes and cross an item off of my list that has been hanging over my head for far too long. How satisfying!

It’s a rainy, dreary day, one that definitely calls for stripey socks, bagels, and plenty of coffee. All three of those requirements are currently being tended to, rest assured. (Goodbye, vacation!)

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28 Comments

  • Reply Meghan April 25, 2010 at 10:06 am

    Anna,

    I am not sure how you are removing the paint, but I read a tip in an old “This Old House” magazine. They recommended using an old crockpot filled with water and a touch of laundry detergent set on low. I tried it awhile back on some cabinet hardware and it worked quite nicely.

    Meghan

  • Reply Moon Bee April 25, 2010 at 10:07 am

    I love your socks!! The weather in France is not any better, no rain at least!! Enjoy the rest of your day!! 🙂

  • Reply a perfect gray April 25, 2010 at 10:16 am

    great lox and sox…

  • Reply Pennyrounds April 25, 2010 at 10:34 am

    For some reason I thought this post was going to be about Bowersox. 🙂 Glad you got so much done on your vacation!

  • Reply Adam April 25, 2010 at 11:22 am

    The locks look amazing, as well as your socks! I can’t wait to see the finished windows!

  • Reply Anna at D16 April 25, 2010 at 11:35 am

    @Meghan: Yes, that’s exactly how I do it — I’ve removed a lot of paint from a lot of hardware over the past four years, and I have a crockpot specifically designated just for that purpose. 🙂

    @Pennyrounds: Yay for Bowersox!! 🙂

  • Reply callie grayson April 25, 2010 at 11:41 am

    The hardware looks fantastic! I need to do the same…. I will try the tip in Meghan’s comment! How did you remove the layers of paint?

    great socks:) perfect for a rainy day. It’s raining here in chicago to, got up early to get a bit of gardening done before the rain hit. Now on to an inside list item.

    Enjoy the rest of your day!
    callie

  • Reply melanirae April 25, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    Have you seen happy socks? awesome.

  • Reply erin@designcrisis April 25, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Sorry to hear your vacation is coming to a close, but looks like it has been good to the last drop.

    ps: dang, those are some cute socks!

  • Reply Caroline, No April 25, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    Those locks are beautiful. The socks are good too. They’re, like, very on D16 brand. 🙂

  • Reply PhillyLass April 25, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    The locks look great. Do you paint them black once you remove the old layers of paint?

  • Reply Raspberry Swirly April 25, 2010 at 3:01 pm

    Those socks are fantastic. I used to be obsessed with socks and now I kind of miss my crazy collection.

  • Reply Tess April 25, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    Love your stripey socks!!! 🙂

  • Reply Fiona April 25, 2010 at 5:41 pm

    Great job, and really green way of doing it. The locks are such beautiful objects and will look lovely in black on your white window frames. My DIY job for this month is to strip layers of old paint in situ from the fan light window over our Georgian door. I’m told the only option is horrible Nitromors. What do you do if you can’t detach the hardware?

  • Reply Anna at D16 April 25, 2010 at 10:21 pm

    @callie grayson: I use the technique Meghan mentioned. Here’s the original article on the TOH website.

    @PhillyLass: Yes, since the locks have a lot of rust and corrosion going on under that paint, I like to hit them with a quick coat of Rust-Oleum once they’re stripped. I do the same thing with door hinges.

    @Fiona: I’ve never heard of Nitromors, and since Googling the name gives me UK-based results, I’m assuming you’re not in the US. That said, I would look for something similar to a product called Peel Away. It has zero odor and is very effective, though a bit messy.

  • Reply Mopar April 25, 2010 at 11:09 pm

    Very satisfying. How beautiful the locks look. I too am on vacation this moment for the purpose of fixing the house. Day four of plastering and priming, got most of one floor done. It’s totally exhausting.

  • Reply ryan james April 26, 2010 at 4:49 am

    WHOA!
    I started renovating/repainting my bathroom this weekend, and stripped back the windowsills and have the same lock dilemma. So many coats of gross disgusting paint when all you want is some nice gloss black.

    Can I ask – what’s your advice on the best way to strip back the paint on the locks like these??

    x

  • Reply Fiona April 26, 2010 at 5:54 am

    Thanks Anna.

  • Reply Anna at D16 April 26, 2010 at 8:12 am

    @ryan james: Take a look at my earlier comments — there’s a link to a good article that should help!

  • Reply Lori April 26, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    Love the socks!! I have a thing for stripes. I still have a pair of black and white over the knee socks from high school. I just can’t bear to gt rid of them… Fortunately, for those around me, they never see the light of day… lol

  • Reply Luciana April 26, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    I love your blog! By chance I came upon it when I googled “how to paint hardwood floors ” . I’m painting mine white and I already have my super white (not simply-super reflects light better and our house doesn’t get lots of natural light) some walls are charcoal gray. The only way to modernize the New England style 😉

  • Reply ryan james April 26, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    Thanks, Anna!

    What’s the Crock Pot got that makes it so successful? I’m not based in the US so getting my hands on one could be a tad tricky… Would simmering in a regular pot work do you think?

  • Reply Meghan April 27, 2010 at 12:23 am

    Yea. I am glad that you used the TOH method ’cause it is so damn easy! Also- my happy socks are always merino wool (smartwool, icebreaker) YUM.

  • Reply Ella April 28, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Haha, I thought the first pic depicted licorice…
    Wishful thinking, I guess.

  • Reply w April 28, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    HA! I loved those same socks so I made them in to a sock monkey—check out Evelyn!

    http://monkeywonderland.com/monkey%20pages/evelyn.page.htm

  • Reply jen @ hau April 30, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    Thanks so much for all the info on the crockpot paint removal process. I had been trying to achieve the same results with paint remover and it’s been an unsuccessful mess. Definitely worth investing in a second hand crockpot to do this!

  • Reply Vintage Simple May 6, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    I love your socks. And locks. And bagels and coffee. It all sounds like a beautifully mellow (yet filled with a sense of accomplishment – the locks) dreary day.

    Pure bliss.

    Glad for you.

    warmly,
    -maria

  • Reply ryanjames May 24, 2010 at 2:38 am

    ok, so your hardware-stripping tip worked AMAZINGLY well, i’m totally indebited to you.

    do you have any advice on how to revive a window that has been painted shut by former tenants, when totally stripping all the paint off the windowsill isn’t an option? i’m renting, after all… but i have one window that’s just been painted shut for some reason. horrible, such a waste.

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