Did you ever have one of those days where everything intersects perfectly to create the Perfect Storm? It is like a mean example of Murphy’s Law where everything that could go wrong… does.
Category
Home Improvement
Brand New Door
A few months ago, Brian and I made the decision that we needed a new front door. Even though, I had painted the door to “help” it cosmetically, it never seemed to work right. It would stick, the deadbolt never seemed to work exactly right, and few weeks ago, the frame of the door pretty much started falling apart.
When it comes to holding a door together like this, it is time to get a new door.
We shopped around at a few different places in our area for front doors. We had an idea of what we liked and about what we would like to spend. We ended up getting a craftsman style door by a brand sold at Home Depot called Feather River.
The biggest decision for us was color. While we liked the idea of a bright colored door, our house faces directly west. In the afternoon we get tons of sunlight, and we new a painted door would fade fast, where a wood stained door would need much less maintenance over time.
We also opted for a new storm door, which is much quieter and looks a lot better than our old one.
Since Brian and I are newbies to DIY, we figured that having the door installed by professionals was the way to go. It added to the final cost of the door, but our theory was that a door is only as good as is installation. We are glad we did.
Here are some before photos:
Bye bye, Old Door!
Why, hello there!
There is a slight flaw in the door, but the Home Depot installers noticed immediately and have will be bringing us a new door sans flaw as soon as possible. Since our old door situation was horrible, we are keeping the new door with the flaw until the new one arrives. This should only take a few weeks.
So far, we are loving the new door. It is adding a lot to the curb appeal of our home.
Anyone else out there working on their curb appeal?
Finally: Upstairs Bathroom
A few weeks ago, after painting stripes in the downstairs bathroom, I thought since everything is already out I would paint the upstairs bathroom as well. We had lots of paint leftover from the downstairs bathroom (Behr Barnished Clay in Satin and Behr Perfect Taupe in Satin) we thought it would be nice to give the upstairs bathroom a little spruce up.
I painted the walls surrounding the sink Behr’s Perfect Taupe for a bit of contrast.
Goodbye Green: Another Bathroom Update
When I start a painting project, I typically like to paint a bunch of other things in the house too since all of the stuff is out. Since I just painted some stripes in the downstairs bathroom, I decided I could do a little facelift in the upstairs bathroom too.
The upstairs bathroom had a floral border and faux finish when we moved in along with a bunch of other dated things. We did a small upgrade back then with a new toilet, some new tile, painting the vanity, and removing the faux finish and floral border. You can read about the updates we have made so far here.
However, I never really liked the color we painted it. I love green, but this was too saturated, and seemed to suck out a lot of the natural light we had in the bathroom. Also, it was too olivey, and made the bathroom seem a little dingy. I would have repainted it sooner, but there was so much else going on in the house at the time (furnace replacement, painting kitchen cabinets, painting every room in the house, new flooring, new trim, new doors, tearing down sub basement, mold removal, tuck pointing, etc.) that I finished painting and moved on. There was just too much else to do, and we really wanted to move into our first house.
After painting the downstairs bath, I could not believe the change it made and decided to paint the upstairs bath too. Since everything was out, Brian agreed it was the way to go. He too liked the change downstairs, and thought upstairs could use a little sprucing. Also, I could sand a little more and try and remove any remnants of faux finish that were still a little visible.
In the coming days, I will have a reveal for you. So far, the bathroom is so much brighter. Stay tuned!
Anyone else out there have paint on their favorite yoga pants and in their hair? No? Just me?
Don’t forget to vote for Home Everyday in this year’s Homie Awards 🙂 Click here and show your support! Also, my good friend Jocelyn and her blog Grandbaby Cakes was nominated in the Best Recipe category.
Privacy Please: Frosted Windows
Here is the deal. Sometimes, I don’t want to answer the door for solicitors. I know, its mean. However, hear me out. Sometimes, they just catch me at a bad time. As in, I’m still in my PJ’s, the kids are still in their PJ’s, I’m trying to make lunch, someone spills apple juice, the phone is ringing… oh and did I mention I’m still in my PJ’s? There are just times when it isn’t possible.
I thoroughly sprayed both the window and the sticky side of the film with the solution that comes in the application kit.
I, then, applied the film, and used the squeegee like tool to work out any air bubbles. In the corners, there seemed to be a build up of the solution so I would gently pull back a corner, dab the with some paper towel to remove excess solution and then smooth out again with the squeegee tool.
Flashback Friday: Family Room
Welcome to another installment of Flashback Friday. If you would like to read more about all the sprucing up we did upon purchasing this home you can check out our kitchen progress, the bathroom spruce up, the living room/dining room updates, and the upstairs bedrooms.
The family room needed very little work when we moved in. The floors, crown molding, paint, and fire place mantel had all just been replaced right before we purchased this house. The bathroom on this level was also recently remodeled. The only change that was made is the wall behind the bar was painted from blood red, to the same sage green that we used in the upstairs bathroom.
Here are a few before pictures.
This room is where we spend most of our time. The kids toys are here, the TV is here, and the comfier couches are here. Because this room is usually a mess of toys and Brian and I’s projects stacked up on the bar, we are just happy that it happens to be sort of clean right now (just keeping it real). Here is what our family room looks like now.
Getting Down to Business: Front Hall Closet Organization
This project has been a long time coming. With three little kids who are pretty active, and who are now about to start pre-school, I was starting to stress about an area for them to put backpacks, lunch pails, shoes, coats, not to mention soccer cleats, shin guards, swim goggles, and all the other crap stuff that kids come home with. This is what our dumping ground looked like last week.
Martha Stewart would be appalled. I’m appalled, and honestly cannot believe I’m sharing this photo.
Anyway, the first step was to find a place for mail, keys, and papers. I painted an old dresser for all of those things, which you can read about here.
Then, I decided we should have a place for everything else that comes in the door. Since my kids are too little to do the hanger thing, I decided on hooks for coats and backpacks, and plenty of baskets for shoes, hats, and other gear. I also thought it would be nice to have a place to sit and put on shoes or set things down. So, I made our closet into a mini mudroom.
I bought three Ikea Lack tables for $8 each, and put them in the closet to create a bench with a place for baskets and boots. Then, I added some shelving which I turned sideways to create cubbies for more storage. Next, I removed the hanger bar, and added lots of hooks.
Now, the kids are ready for school. We all have places for our things, and we have extra hooks and space for guests.
I think I would like to make some cushions for the top of the bench, but I am just happy we are organized.
I am so happy to be linking up with Honey We’re Home. There is a home organization link up party going on there now. This is one of my favorite places for ideas!
I am also linking up with I Heart Organzing. Today is a link party sharing everyone’s back to school organizing ideas. I think I’m going to be on a Pin frenzy today!
Flashback Friday: Upstairs
When we purchased this house, we knew that the upstairs would need a huge overhaul. The reason for this being, the previous owners had 3 dogs, and carpet. For people with allergies, this is a HORRIBLE combination. We all suffer from allergies, so Brian and I asked my Mom if we could bunk up with her a little longer, and do some projects to get the house livable for the kids.
So, in all three bedrooms, we removed carpeting, baseboards, and doors. We also painted all the trim around the doors and windows as well as painted all the bedrooms, ceilings, closets, and hallway. We also switched out all the light fixtures as well as all the HVAC registers and returns (we had replaced the HVAC system, and had the ducts cleaned so we decided to replace all the registers and returns because they were all gunked up with dust and fur…ew). We had help with all of these jobs. Friends and family pitched in, and since this was before Brian was handy with a miter saw, we asked a contractor to install the flooring for us.
Keep in mind, I didn’t know we would have a blog about our home, so I don’t have too many before shots. The upstairs had different color bur bur carpeting in every room, dark walnut trim and doors (except for my daughter’s room) and muddy colored walls.
Without further ado.
Flashback Friday: Living Room/Dining Room
This week’s installment of Flashback Friday covers the Living Room and Dining Room. These rooms required a coat of paint for move in purposes, but there are some plans that we have for the future of these rooms.
I think our eventual goal would be to make the Living Room more family friendly. One of the projects that is coming soon is a desk that Brian will be building (we already have the lumber).
I have one before picture, but this level consisted of more mustard yellow. You cannot tell from this picture but we are talking French’s Mustard. Also, all the walls and some of the trim had marks and dings from the previous owners.
Then with a little help, I chose the perfect shade of blue and started painting. These rooms flow into each other so I knew I would have to choose a color that I really liked as it would be everywhere. I didn’t want to go the neutral route as a lot of the furniture we had planned for the room, was pretty neutral. Also, I wanted to play off all the light these rooms get. I wanted something clean and bright so we chose Behr Aqua Breeze (I apologize for the iPhone photos. I didn’t know I’d be writing a blog when I took these).
New Kitchen Light Fixture: Bye Bye UFO
Ugh, I could not stand this light fixture above our kitchen table.