Summer Spruce Up: New Outdoor Lights and Porch Floor Painted

The outdoor lights on the front exterior were fine and fully functional, but I had a few things I didn't like about them. First, they were a bit ornate for my liking and their grayish color blended into the siding. With me now incorporating more contrasting features like the shutters, columns and rails, and the front door, it was only appropriate to do the same with the lights and balance out the front of the house. Here are the old and new images of the ceiling light under the front porch.

The real difference in appearance came from changing out the wall hanging lights. The old ones were a bit small so I wanted the new ones to be slightly larger to make more of a statement. That, along with the black instead of the gray color helped to do so. We changed out four of the wall lights - three on the front and one on the side. A big thanks to my husband for doing to installing for me.

I also was able to get the front porch floor painted. I hadn't done this for three years and it was definitely looking grimy. I used the same gray porch paint I had in the past, but just gave it a couple fresh coats of paint after cleaning it up really well. It's now a refreshing sight.

So, I have a few more things to do including the rest of my plants, the porch furniture and some finishing touches. I have to admit, I am a bit stuck on some color decisions that have to be made so it might take me a little while longer to get these things done.

--Stacy

Summer Spruce Up: Front Door Painted

The next tackled project for the exterior is the front door system. It had to be painted for a couple reasons. First, the door was a different color than the sidelite, which also had a color inconsistencies. See the yellowed grilles?

Second, now that the wood columns and rails have been painted white (see post), there was too much white at the entry. I knew I wanted to create contrast, so I painted the door the same almost black color that I painted the shutters. You can read about that post here. But first, prep work. I cleaned the surfaces really good and allowed them to dry. Then I taped off any areas that I didn't want to get paint on like the glass, the trim and the handle.

Since the door was going to have to remain open for pretty much the entire day so the paint could dry properly, I built this barrier out of plastic bags and painter's tape to keep bugs, birds or other critters out of the house. Is that a little crazy? For me, it was better to be safe than sorry.

I kept the door in place with wood shims and began the next step of priming. Whenever I am painting a dark color on something light, I always tint the primer by mixing it with some of the paint.

This will help to provide better coverage when painting with the dark color. It doesn't have to be as dark as the paint but it helps to be somewhere in the middle. I ended up with a medium gray.

I've also found that priming your surface twice provides even better coverage and makes painting go faster. This applies even for paints that include primer. It really just depends on what you are painting.

After the primer was dry, I added two coats of the paint and let the door sit open for the remainder of the day. And now there is consistency in color and great contrast.

Love it!

Next up, new lights, porch floor painting and my plants. More to come soon. Thanks for stopping by!

--Stacy

Summer Spruce Up: Columns and Rails Painted

If anything on the house needed some TLC, it was the columns and rails at the front entry. I've been indecisive about the look of these since we moved in over three years ago. I did like the rustic feel it gave the front and the stained wood was a nice tie-in for the brownish brick and gray siding. Two years ago, I went to the pain staking effort of stripping off the orange colored stain that was on them when we moved in. I sanded them down and re-stained them hoping for a more rich brownish color, but it didn't quite turn out that way. The whole time, my husband told me to just paint them. He hated the stain. I said I would give it one time around staining and if in a year or two it looks bad, I'll paint them. And here we are.

You know when you live in your house and you don't realize how bad something looked until you change it? Well, I have that feeling about these columns and rails. There are a number of problems here. First, the columns are all scratched up from the winter holiday lights and greenery that I hung from them. Second, the sun just beats on them in the afternoon and fades the lower portion. Third, the color is gross because it yellows from the sun and the stain never really went on very even.

To get them ready for painting, I first had to properly prep them. I sanded them down and got as much stain off as I could. I planned to use my sander for the larger flat areas, but in the middle of it all, I realized I was out of sand paper for it. I decided that by the time I clean up and go to the store to get some more, that I could have it done by hand. Let's just say, my triceps were burning by the time I was done. I probably won't make that mistake again.

Here is a crappy photo I took of myself with my phone while I was sanding. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

After sanding, I washed everything down and let it dry for at least 24 hours.
Here they are all cleaned and ready for the next step.

Next, I had to fill the gaps that had occurred from probably shrinkage over the years. The gaps at the base of the columns were quite large in some areas so instead of trying to fill them all with caulk, I first filled them with wood shim, secured the bases with long nails and applied a paintable exterior caulk.

After filling any gaps, cleaning again and taping off, I was ready to prime and paint. Yes! My favorite part. I chose a white that would match closely to the windows and exterior trim. The color is called Powdered Snow by Behr.

I was blown away at how bright and clean it all looked after finishing.

And here is the after shot.

I am SO pleased with the outcome. I should have done this two years ago. Does that mean I have to admit my husband was right? Just kidding. You can see that I am prepping for the front door to be painted. I'll share that transformation with you soon.

Have a great weekend!
--Stacy

Summer Spruce Up: Shutters Painted

We've had so much rain lately, but as the weather permits I've been painting the exterior front when I can. I started with the shutters, which were a medium gray, slightly darker than the siding.

I'm not sure if they were that color when the house was built or if they've faded over the years, but I wanted them to stand out a bit more and decided to paint them almost black.

The chosen color is called Cracked Pepper by Behr. Below you can compare the difference before and with just a single coat of the new color. The paint is still wet here, so it doesn't appear as dark.

And here they are with two coats and dried.

Not a huge change, but definitely a fresh pick-me-up from before. I am pleased with the result.

Next, I'm working on painting the wood column and rails at the front entrance. Stay tuned.

--Stacy

Summer Spruce Up: Exterior Front Before

I decided the first project that I was going to tackle for the Summer Spruce Up series was the exterior front of the house. Now that the weather is nicer, I am eager to clean things up and add some color. First, I thought I'd share with you some before pictures and give you the run down on what I plan to work on.

1. New wall and ceiling lights
2. Paint wood columns and rails
3. Paint front door system
4. Paint shutters
5. Spruce up and/or replace furniture
6. Add potted plants
7. Clean up front entry

I wanted to tackle this project within a two week time frame, but it has been raining a lot so we'll see if Mother Nature wants to cooperate with me. I'll follow up with changes as they are made.

--Stacy

End of the School Year Teacher Appreciation Gift

Today is the last day of school and I always like to do something special for the teachers who do so much for my children. This year, we made up these sweet treat boxes for each child's teacher to show our appreciation.

I started with a craft box and some crinkled paper shred. The box was $1.00 at Hobby Lobby and the shred I had on hand.

To decorate the box, I wrapped the bottom portion with a good quality, heavy weight wrapping paper.

Because the paper is so wide, I was able to get away with only one seam.

I then added a  scallop border out of card stock to finish off the top. I like simple decoration, so I could have definitely done more embellishing, but it's just not me.

I love to bake so I made some of my staples. A stack of brownies with a cute tag that says "brownie points".

And a mini loaf of banana bread. I used clear treat bags and some baker's twine for packaging.

Fill the box with the paper shred and insert the treats. I finished off the box with a couple bows and it was complete.

We also gave these super cute teacher's cards with a special note and gift card. The card template was a free download from Caravan Shoppe. I printed it on my home computer on a flecked card stock for a bit more of a natural feel.

It's a bittersweet day. The kids are getting older, but now we get to spend more time together for a few months.

--Stacy