I have lots of wrought iron, and this is what I found to be the most effective. I use wire wheel attachments on my cordless drill to take off any rust, obvious chipping and other rough patches, sand lightly with a sandpaper foam block (it forms better to the different kinds of surfaces) to rough up the painted surface, dust and clean well, then paint with a good primer and three top coats. I use Rustoleum in the spray cans, but I my iron is mostly outside. The spray cans are more expensive and messy, but I cannot duplicate the smooth surface no matter what kind of brush I use. I have also used spray paint indoors, but only after constructing an elaborate "tent" from boxes and plastic bags, and opening all the windows and covering everything within reach. Using spray paint this way would be the most timeconsuming part of the process, but worth a test run on a small section and comparing it with a handpainted section. If you decide to handpaint it, foam brushes work best. I use the new kind that are pads with a silky "fur" on the top...they make small ones meant for window sashes, but it can be time consuming and you can go through a lot of pads (they're cheap though). And if the new paint chips or rusts, it's a simple matter to touch up with a little sandpaper and paint. Hope this helps. PS: Also use plenty of protection -- My house was built in the 60s, and I bought it from the guy who built it, who left me every paint can he ever used on/in the house, so I have no lead paint.

I did a google image search for that and got this; hope it helps: wrought iron spindles with wood railing

May I ask what type of contractor you are calling for estimates? My husband and I would like to do this and we are debating whether to DIY or hire someone - the problem is we don't know what type of contractor we should be looking for...I need someone to add in the iron and re-finish or replace the handrails and posts. I have NO IDEA how much a contractor would charge. I do know that for our staircase it's about $500 worth of material just for the spindles - we priced it out at Home Depot.

If everything else is going to be white, then the headboard will look out of place being black. Does everything have to be white? fwiw, Shabby Chic stores have many vintage pieces and they are not white. Actually, Ashwell has headed away from all furniture being white. Even the wooden beds the stores sell are a soft gray. There is a white poster bed with a distressed finished. Check out her blog (linked on the home page, far right) for more pictures. Her website does not show vintage pieces for sale, but there are some in the photos. Can you post pictures of the room and other things going in it? DD1 lives in San Francisco and has been decorating with SC furniture and bedding for five years now. She has gone from mostly white and pink to mostly soft gray with touches of color in accessories (pillows, artwork, etc) Here is a link that might be useful: Shabby Chic website