Painted banisters & a credenza vignette

'Credenza vignette' -- how did those two fancy words find their way on to this blog?   It's like they hardly know me.
This story started with the battered banisters that have been taunting us since we moved in (2007).  

They look a lot better here than they do in person.

So after putting Quinn to bed one night, I dug out a sanding block & started tackling the beasts.  I should have been catching up on cleaning.....or at the very least, I should have been on Pinterest pinning things about cleaning.
We have no intentions of moving any time soon & we would like to replace these banisters altogether.  They're quite dinged up.  Meanwhile, I sanded, primed, & coated them with two coats of semi-gloss black paint.  It took a few days, but we quite like how they turned out.

I also switched up the look of the top of the credenza (or sideboard or buffet or whatever).  I find that if I style the surface of something, we're less likely to pile junk/clutter there.  Not that it still doesn't happen, but my intentions are good.  

Boldly staring equines photo courtesy of our friend Ben.

This behemoth is from 1959 (mid century modern, yes?) & was a Craig's List find that we scored in 2010 (& looks more orange here than in real life).  It's still a much-loved piece, as in it hides all our house junk.  It would take a dig of archaeological proportions to unearth what's in 80% of those drawers.

Nothing here is new except for the bejeweled lacquered boxes.  Do you ever "shop" your home for decor items?  Infinite possibilities.  The Mr.'s geologist tendencies have infiltrated my decorating sensibilities, by way of geodes (his from years ago actually) & framed agate.  Or perhaps he's always known what's chic. No, that's just ludicrous.

Our first family photo shoot.

Faux coral & sea urchin lamp. What do you mean we're in landlocked Colorado.

I'm off to tackle the debris that Hurricane Quinn has left behind.  The Mr. travels a fair amount, & you'd think I'd be used to this solo-parenting thing by now.  And I only have the one!  Either I'm getting old fast or Quinn's getting crazier more spirited because I'm just as exhausted as I was the first time I solo-parented (when she was 4 months old).  Yes, I think there's a strong correlation there.  Toddler tornado = premature parental aging. #sendmorewine