Sunday, September 9, 2012

Sunday in Suburbia: Projects on a Whim


As much as I would love to have completed nightstands I do not.  Apparently JoAnn's needs a better supply chain analyst because of the five times I have been there in the past three weeks there has only been one roll (which I purchased and used) of the nickel finish nailhead trim.  Sure I could just spend a thousand years individually hammering in each nailhead, but there are other ways I plan to torture myself.

Like when we returned home from church today, and I on a whim thought "time to repaint the patio door"  - with its 15 freaking panels of glass.  Oh, and lets paint both sides.  Possibly my least favorite project thus far.  I still need to do a second coat and then a little bit of cleanup on the glass - it's not slopped all over it like some people do, but there are a few mistakes.  Especially on the inside which was done second - when lunch started to wear off and I began to lose my steady hand.  Told you I had plans to torture myself.

Some Progress on the Patio Door - Chloe in the window, and my kitchen is a disaster
Also completed this weekend - ripping off the brass house numbers, kick-plate, door knocker, entry set and light from the front entry.  Everything but the light was SHINY 1990's brass.  Brass may be temporarily making a trendy come back in its more antique finish, but SHINY brass is still an eyesore.  {In my humble opinion.}  After sanding, wood filling, and sanding some more I repainted the door and installed a satin nickel door knocker and more contemporary entry handleset.  


Front Door Update
Front of House Before - Photoshopped out a few house numbers...

The light is not much of a design feature - it was two for $75, so it was more out of budget than love.  Perhaps one day this one can move to the back of the house with the other one it came with and a new fancy schmancy one can debut at the entry.  Not so sure the HOA will let me do this one, but it would be pretty fantastic.  
This modern beauty would also perfectly complement the new handleset and the hopefully soon to add pathway lighting...just need to spruce up our poor, pathetic, forgotten about flower bed.  However  this oh-so-dreamy sconce is also almost $300...okay...this is just a pipe dream, but something to keep an eye out for in a "value engineered" version.

Luckily, another project that I initially expected to be another attempt at self-torture turned out to be super simple.  So, while I have yet to determine how I want to stain it - I have all the pieces of my table top cut!  This was yet another on a whim decision Saturday morning right after I woke up, feed the dogs and said "I'm so tired of looking at those stupid pots!."  So it's now just a pile of dirt...covered in weeds...but it's better than those stupid pots.  Well, the pots aren't stupid; it's just the little vignette the previous owner had going  is not my aesthetic.  Little too cutesy.  I'll save my rant about not being able to find non-cutesy Halloween decor for another day.  Seriously - it's all cutesy, cheesy, cheap, or looks like something those reds on "reality" TV would like.  Sorry - I said I'd wait till another day :)


So, have you had any successful "on a whim" projects?



2 comments:

  1. How is your door now? While reading your post, I could sense that you felt a little frustration over your patio door project. I know doing some DIY can be a little antsy sometimes. But when you see the end results, you can breathe a sigh of relief and appreciate what you did. :-)

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  2. The door looks wonderful now Marla! I also have the solar lights installed up front now, and they look fantastic as well. Thanks!

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