New Front Door Part 2

It took a couple of days longer than I anticipated, but we finally got the new front door finished up.(If you missed it, you can see Part 1 HERE). It ended up being a little more involved than I thought it would be. We had to trim out the door opening a bit to fit the new door in. We also had lots of nail holes to fill, sand, and paint, as well as having to tackle the trim inside and outside around the new door.

I love the new door handle. It is so pretty and works well with the blue door. It gives it a good contrast.

When I painted our old door this blue color, I had debated whether or not to paint the side windows to give the entrance more of a pop of color, but I never did. This time, I decided to go for it. At the end of the day, it's just paint and if we decide we hate it, I can always paint it back white. For now, I actually like the extra oomph that it gives our front entry and plan to leave it as is. The hubs wasn't quite as convinced as I was but if decides he can't stand it, I'll paint it back.

Our entry has a more finished look now that the new door is in, but it still feels a little blah to me. I'm not sure if it's the planters or what. Maybe I need to use these planters on the back patio and get a pair that are a little larger for this area. I'm not sure yet. I can't quite put my finger on what is bothering me about it all.

While I was in my painting frenzy, I decided to go ahead and paint our garage door the same color as the front door. I realized while painting it, that it had NEVER been painted before. Like never. When the previous owners put it in, they just left it in the primed state it came in. I can't tell you how much better it looks now, or how much better it makes me feel to see that pop of color amidst the sea of white in the garage. Getting that one project done also inspired me to get the garaged cleaned out and organized.

The garage door also got a vinyl decal from Leen the Graphics Queen. I love the happy little greeting in that cute font.

 

 

I'm so glad I went with the blue on the front door. It definitely packs more punch than the white door did. Three years after buying our home, we finally have a functional and pretty front door! I'm so used to using the side door, that I've caught  myself using it when I could've used the front door to make it quicker. I guess we'll get used to it soon!

 

 

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New Front Door Part 1

We've now officially been in our home for three years and have FINALLY gotten around to an item that's been on our to-do list since day one. Yeah, I painted it and pretty much "put lipstick on a pig" just to hold us over until we replaced the door. That quick fix served us well, but it took us a lot longer to get to this project than we anticipated. That's life.

We could not wait any longer to fix our front door problem! I drew the line when our dog, Molly, decided she liked to scratch the front door where there was some damage. "Let me in, let me in!" Poor Molly.

Molly's favorite place to scratch.

Out with the old.....

.....and in with the new!

Buh-bye, old broken door! Hello, new, more durable door!

We decided to go with this door from Lowe's. It has a cute little window that would allow for more light in the foyer. Yay! It's also fiberglass and should be a lot more durable in the long run that just a wood door.

As far as the hardware for the front door, we went with oil-rubbed bronze. The one we chose looks almost exactly like this one, but I couldn't find the exact one we bought on the Lowe's website so I could show you, but you get the picture. The one we bought, we found at the store and it was a bit more inexpensive than this one.

So now, the door is in but I have to finish painting it (no, it isn't staying white). My hubby spent this morning filling in nail and screw holes that are in the trim and then I have to lightly sand and paint it on the inside and outside. I also have some places to touch up on the foyer walls around the door. I'm going to be working on it today and will hopefully get it all done and will be able to share the finished product with you by the first of next week. Be sure to check back!

Painted Parquet Floor

This is my parquet floor in my foyer. You know....pronounced Par-KAY. 

But not to be confused with this Parkay.....

Before all of you Parquet Floor Purists get all in a tizzy, let me explain why I decided that painting our floor was the best thing to do. 

Our home once boasted cream colored carpets in ALL of the living areas; great room, formal dining, office, hallway. The carpet was not in good shape and we replaced it with espresso, wide plank, laminate wood floors.  We bought enough flooring to replace the parquet floors, but that stuff is glued down to the sub-floor and it was going to be a big mess to rip out. 

Other than a little water damage, which is repairable, and some cosmetic issues, the floor itself is in good condition. So, thus, the decision to paint it. 

When we bought this house, this floor already had some paint spatter on it, and we had planned on replacing it or painting it so I didn't worry too much about getting more paint on it during the two times that I have painted this foyer already in the two years we've lived here. I am the President of the Messy Painter's Club!

Besides the obvious paint spatter issue, there was the issue of the flow.  The orangey glow of the parquet floors clashed with the espresso floors in the rest of the house. This further bolstered my decision to paint it. 

So here's how I prepped the floor for painting.  

I sanded down spots in the floor that were a little raised from water damage. Then I filled in gaps with wood filler and sanded again. I only sanded the damaged area, which is a small area confined to right in front of the door. 

Once that was completed, I was ready for primer.  I used Zinsser primer.  I can't say enough about this stuff. It eliminates the need to sand. (The only reason I sanded was the damage.)


And here is the foyer with one coat of primer on it.  Even though it is splotchy, it is already an improvement. I will be working on this project today and will hopefully get it finished. I have to put one more coat of primer, the base coat of paint, then the paint treatment that I am doing. But I'm not gonna tell what that is yet.  You will just have to come back and see when I am finished! I hope you will!

**You can view Part 2 HERE!

Spring Curb Appeal

Since the year I got married, nine years ago now, and had a home of my own to beautify, I have been faithfully decking out my porches, pots, and flowerbeds with beautiful spring color.  As soon as Southern Belle Nursery gets their spring plants in, I am chomping at the bit to get there and pick out plants for the spring and summer. (And Mrs. Jan Bloxham, owner of the quaint little nursery, has patiently answered my many, many questions about the plants each spring.  I knew absolutely nothing about gardening and plants when I first got married and have been gleaning all the knowledge I can from those in the know.) 

Since we have only been in our current home for almost two years, I am still getting adjusted to what I can plant where.  I have a lot more shade in the front yard than I did at our other home, so I have had to change up some of my go-to plant selections.  To fill my pots, Mrs. Jan helped me pick out some plants that coordinate well together and compliment each other nicely. 

I have two rather large pots at either side of our side entrance.  The picture really doesn't do it justice as to size.  All I had planted was some asparagus fern that my friend Stephanie gave me. (I'm not going to say, "Thank you," for the plants she gave me.....because as any avid gardener here in the South will tell you, if you say thank you for a plant given to you, it will die. You have to say, "I appreciate it.") So, Stephanie, I appreciate the lovely asparagus ferns you gave me!  (And I still appreciate the Scrabble tile you gave me as well.)

I put the plants in the pot in their little containers to see how I wanted to plant them all. It's always a good idea to do a trial run to make sure it will look like you want it. 

And here it is with everything planted in its place.  The pot on the other side of the doors mirrors this one. 

I used:

Asparagus Fern

Purple Fountaingrass

Joseph's Coat

Dusty Miller

Red Hot Sally Salvia

I look forward to it all growing in together.  The Fountaingrass in the middle will give the pots some nice height and the asparagus fern and Joseph's Coat should spill over nicely.  I love the green, red, and purple together. It is a good contrast against the orange brick. 

And here is what our little corner looked like at the beginning of this week. Last year, I used the ladder as a plant stand and it looked so cute.  But now, the poor thing has seen better days.  And the freezes we had killed a lot of my plants so I didn't have a lot to fill in anymore.  This corner had been pretty neglected through the winter and was looking pretty bad. 

I am kind of at a loss as to what to do in this corner because our gas line and dryer vent is right there.  I might try to plant something permanent there later when I figure out something that might can live there.  For now, I added a plant stand with ferns and few pots below to fill in that corner. (I still need to add pine straw to the ground there to make it look nicer.)

We just planted our landscaping last in the front early spring last year.  Everything is growing and filling in nicely for the most part.  (To see the before, go here.)

We still have a few bare spots to fill in, but for the most part I am satisfied with how it is looking. 

But on this side of the house, we have some issues.  Nothing is growing as quickly as the other side because of the shade here.  There is a large Crepe Myrtle and River Birch that keep the flowerbed shaded most of the day.  I think we will have to find some shade tolerant plants for this side and move the Knockout Roses somewhere else so they can thrive as the other side has. 

The two pots at my front door have coleus, alyssum, and I forget what those flowers are. 

I added Petunias and Alyssum to the flower box.  Right now it looks kind of puny, but I hope that it will grow well and fill in and spill over eventually.  

Just look at those puny Knockout Roses and Boxwoods compared to the other side of the landscape!  Too much shade to grow well. 

I really need to figure out what to plant on this side so it doesn't look so sad compared to the other side of the house. I think I will add some hostas and holly bushes like that one in the background that does well in that spot.  Not sure how to bring color on this side, though. 

And this little guy is my Canadian Hemlock.  He isn't very big now, but he will be.  They are so pretty and I can't wait until it grows. I planted it last fall. (I ordered it from the Arbor Day Foundation.)

Can you see my little friend there on my daylillies?  We have lots of those around here. 

And we have lots of these guys, too. They like to torture our dog, Molly. 

So here is where I need your help.  This tree I'm not sure what the name of it is.  It has little yellow blooms that smell just like banana Laffy Taffy.  We just call it our banana tree. 

Anybody know the correct name for this tree?  

Also, I'm not sure what this one is, either.  It has pretty white blooms.  Anybody know what it is?

Okay. I will stop over-sharing about my yard and flowers now.  I just can't help myself.  I love, love, love to get my hands dirty then see my hard work pay off when my plants thrive.  Have you had spring fever too? 

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