Vintage Key Pottery Barn Knock Off

Who doesn't love a good knock off?  The whole idea behind the knock off is to save bundles but get he same look and I try and do this every chance I get with Pottery Barn decor.

Last trip to the outlets Shanna and I swung by the Christmas Tree shops, I think this place is now a regular stop in our route to the Pottery Barn outlet.  We bought a few things for Christmas and some picture frames and then hit the road.  As I am trying to think of ideas to fill my new frames that will go in the front entry way (you will see these soon) Shanna mentions vintage looking keys she had seen in the Christmas Tree Shop for $1.99 each, ummmm SCORE!!!!  I had been away at the time but she took pictures when she went back to the store so I could see them first.  I have to say they looked giant in the picture but I wanted to see them in person and for $1.99 a piece it was worth the risk. 

Now wouldn't you know, the keys are pretty much an exact replica of the Pottery Barn style Vintage keys!  Fancy that!!  OK well the only difference is that the PB keys are already distressed and aged looking and mine were bright silver so I had some work to do.

Here are the PB Vintage Keys:

This will be fun, kind of like a puzzle :)  Can you tell which keys match to the PB keys?

These are my keys, I admit I was a little too excited to spray paint them the oil rubbed bronze so I do not have a silver key picture but here they are painted.  It's actually pretty hard to capture the oil rubbed bronze effect through my camera so they look black here, I assure you they are very rustic looking.

Now to try and get that white paint distressed look.  I used a sponge brush to dab on Sherwin Williams Dover White and then had a paper towel handy to rub it off in certain spots.  It was helpful to have a wet cloth and dry cloth.  The dry sort of rubbed the paint in and the wet took it off in spots where I didn't want it at all.
I think I have a little work to do and I am still deciding if I want them all distressed with white or will just leave the one bumpy key distressed and the others will remain dark. 



This is what they will look like on the burlap once it is all set up in the frame.  It is not quite there yet and next time you see it, the frame will be hanging and looking beautiful but I wanted to give you the key/burlap effect (a sneak peak if you will!).


What do you think?  Anyone decorating with vintage keys?  What would you do, keep everything oil rubbed bronze, just a couple, or distress all three?  I am on the fence so I need your help!

See you swoon,




7 comments:

  1. I love the look. What about a little Rub n' Buff in Antique Gold on one of them? You could leave a little black showing through so that they look even older.

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  2. Maury! This is a fantastic idea, I am definitely going to do this!! Thank you!

    All the exlamations points are totally necessary, now I need to go to Michael's at lunch :)

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  3. WHAT a score!! Love those!!! What section did you find them in?

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  4. Shanna actually found them, she said they were near the picture frames on a shelf near the floor. I hope you find them!!

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  5. I was looking for vintage style keys for a photo frame / shadowbox I wanted to assemble. I didn't think of Christmas tree shops! I hope the one by me still has these. And I'm, partial to the antique gold finish :)

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  6. I hope they still have them! If you find them and display them send pictures over, I would love to see what you do and feature your project!

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  7. This is a useful article for me. Because I was looking for vintage keys to make a shadowbox or photo frame. I had no idea Christmas tree farms existed! I'm hoping someone close by still has these. In addition, I prefer the antique gold finish. However, I am using the law essay help service to accomplish your academic work. I'm sure you'll find it helpful because I always utilize this service for homework assistance. I thank you.

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