No worries

When we last spoke about my front door, several people commented that the color might be too dark to go with the overall color of my house.  Don't worry, my house is NOT staying baby blue and ugly pink forever!  (I love me some pink, but hate the pink of my house, as a side note!)  Eventually, when I win the lottery, the vinyl siding will come down and be replaced by Hardi Plank.  The entire house will then get a coat of taupe/grey paint and trimmed out in black and cream.  My front door is painted to go with that one day color scheme, not the tackiness it's currently rocking.  Just bear with me until I win the lottery, which is going to be quite difficult since I don't play the lottery, and it will be BEAUTIFUL!!

An orange explosion...

I am addicted to Pinterest and discover lots of ideas i think I'll have time for (ha!) and want to try. One of those ideas was a faux wood door. I have a plain white Fiberglas front door with great potential. After seeing Rachel's post on Lovely Crafty Home, which I had pinned and thus reminded myself daily, I decided that I needed to bite the bullet and go for it.

I started with a freshly cleaned white door.  While I was at it, I scrubbed the siding and windows as well.  I figured that it had been at least five years more or less since it had been cleaned.

I took my freshly cleaned door and promptly painted it burnt orange.  Home Depot assured me the color was really "glazed pecan," but I'm not buying it after seeing it on the door.

I doubled coated the door, letting it dry between coats. Rachel didn't mention this that I recall, but my one coat was super streaky and messy.

It was holding the quart can for the 2nd time that caused a slight mess. Apparently my hand was cramped more than I thought and all of the sudden it spasmed and let go of the almost completely full quart of paint.

My first thought was d@mn.  My second thought was, can I reach the camera without moving?  Score!!  Believe it or not, this isn't the biggest mess I've ever made with paint. Ha!

(In honor of all my friends who support the Texas Longhorns, I left the orange door for a whole 24 hours.  Let's not mention the fact that I had to because A.) the paint had to dry and B.) it was dark outside and I was working on an exterior door...  Sic 'Em Bears!)


The next day, yeah, patience isn't really my thing, I taped off sections of the door. My door has panels but doesn't have any line where panels would have been joined to make it look like real door.   So, I fauxed them in with blue tape.  I then used a chip paint brush to brush on Walnut gel stain.

Wow! Even after one coat of stain, it gets two, it is amazing the difference in the look. I am in love!

After a week of good weather and another coat of stain, all my door needs now is 3, count them, 3 coats of poly and some custom door numbers.  Does it ever end???  ;)

 

What do you think?

Yet Another Door...

Not to worry folks, I've been keeping busy on my to-do list.  

One of the things recently mentioned was refinishing the original pocket door from the living room that will be the laundry room door.  Texas has been having a record breaking drought lately, so I figured I was safe to paint the door in my carport.  Guess what?  It rained the day after I started working on the table.  Had I known painting the door would have put an end to the drought, I would have done it weeks ago!  

Anyway, it is now painted and laying in wait for installation.  It will need a touch-up, but that's easy enough once it's been hung.  (We haven't hung a single door that HASN'T needed touch-up so...) I can't wait until it's hung.  It's one more element on the way to having a finished kitchen!!

Sooooo much better

My hallway, with the addition of the caulking on the trim is almost finished.  I still have plans for can lights running the length of the hallway, but...  Anyway, as you can tell, when I moved in, the entire house was painted an awful shade of mint green.  AWFUL!  They painted everything, ceiling, trim, walls and part of the carpet.  While I might not be the best painter (I'm well known for cutting in my cut in.) I do know that ceilings, walls, trim and floor shouldn't all be the same color.  What do you think of the before??

 

And now the after...

Thoughts?

I know, I know, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth nor did I not complete anything on the list and was too embarrassed to admit to the world. I actually completed most everything on my list. My real reason for not posting is mental exhaustion. Something about teaching long division to 9 year olds for the fourth week in a row has me done in. Wiped, pooped, dead-tired, and too exhausted to think of more words! The good news is that my students are catching on and can do it. The even better news is that Thanksgiving vacation starts on Wednesday at noon!! Yay!!

I have been busy not only at school, but at home as well. I have 2 closet door panels ready to paint, one coat closet door ready to paint, the Thanksgiving/Halloween decorations gathered to put away, the mattresses switched, part of the backyard cleared of leaves, a quart bag of pecans cleaned and ready for pie and am caught up on grading at work. Typing it up it doesn't seem like such a large amount, but I promise it was some work to get it there!!

As Promised...

As mentioned in my last post, here is my much more interesting, at least I think so, post.

When I purchased this house more than a year ago, many people thought I was crazy. Okay, maybe crazy is too simple a word. How about completely off my rocker and needed to be committed?? Yeah, that's closer to the truth. I can't say that I disagree with them, so I can't really complain.

On the surface I look like a typical girl, but never judge a book by its cover. Remodeling/tools/getting in over my head is in my blood. If you have my last name, tools are in your hand from birth on, generations back on both sides of the family. My father and his brothers rewired their home growing up every time their parents went out of town. I believe the story goes that G'ma drew the line after the speakers appeared in the bathroom. Not to worry, same story on mom's side. Is it any wonder that I managed to wrangle a new intern? Check him out organizing my wrenches after helping me install a cabinet door.



His favorite helping time is anything involving power tools. (I know you're shocked and amazed by this.) I'm seeing tools in his future...




Now, onto showing off my hard work. I know, not as interesting or nearly as cute as Z-Man, but I need some gratification too. ;)

Remember a couple of posts ago when I showed off my stripping skills? After hanging out precariously balanced in my kitchen for a while, one of the doors is completely refinished and the another is 1/3 of the way through. The painting process isn't hard, but it is annoying. Each side of the door requires 3 coats with sanding in between coats. Being patient enough to wait while the paint dries is where I fail miserably. (never would have guessed, huh?) I usually manage to repair my messes, but don't look too close at my finishes when you come over.



My house guests have been requesting a door for their bedroom for a while now. (I know, I know, I'm a bad hostess. Whoops.) So, trying to make amends, I painted the door and proudly waited for it to be hung. Recall that phrase "Pride goeth before a fall" or something like that? Yeah, during installation from the hallway I hear, "Either the door is 3 inches too narrow or the door jam is 3 inches too wide." Say what?? Sure enough in my haste, I painted the wrong door. Yeah, I know every door needs to be painted, but I was trying to do a good thing. I would just like it to go one record...

Anywho, the guest bedroom door is now on the pictured above, so hopefully it will be ready to be hung soon. Until then, I get to walk past my "new" linen closet door. It really makes that end of the hallway look much, much better.



While I had the paint out for the guestroom/closet door I FINALLY finished the built-in doors in the living room. Now that they are up, I really, really like the look. It gives your eye someplace to rest on the wall o'storage. (that's my Irish side coming out)


Like the sparkle? One of my favorite finishes ever has to be Mercury Glass. Old, new, silver, gold, copper, I love it all. To add to the shine of my accents on the shelves, I decided to indulge my fave again and used Anthropologie knobs again. I can't find anything I love as much for the price, so I'm sticking with a winner.


So, what do you think of my new Intern and our work? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Answers to the Questions...

After my last post, I had several comments posted questioning my choice of finish for the doors. Several people were certain that I meant to say "stain" instead of "paint." Let me assure you, I really did mean paint.

1980's orangey oak and I really, really don't get along. Don't get me wrong, I love wood, just not most of the popular finishes for furniture and trim. I love the dark look of mahogany and ipe wood, and plan on having dark wood floors throughout my entire house, eventually. (Most likely after I win the lottery.) However trim, doors included, is a completely different animal. I love the clean look of white trim. It makes wall colors look better, accent colors truer and appears more up to date.

Aside from the personal aesthetics, there is one logical reason. Almost all of the doorways in my home open onto the same hallway. It is a small, dark hallway and having seven doors of a darker color would further darken the hallway, instead, the white doors will help to reflect light. (It's in the plans to add can lights to the hallway, but the doors are free and I have the paint but the lights cost money.)

I also had the questions why in the world I would go to all the work of removing the original finish and then painting the surface. Remember, my motto with this house is to do it right the first time and NEVER, I repeat, NEVER do this again! Doing it right the first time means that I have to completely remove the old NASTY finish (recall the heavy smokers with questionable hygiene that used to live here?) to make sure that the new latex paint adheres well. Yes, it takes way more time and a lot of effort in the lower back, but the finished product is well worth it.

Bow Chicca Wow-Wow!

Can anyone guess what I'm up to this weekend?? Yup, that's right, I'm stripping!! Now, before you poke your mental eyes out, relax I'm stripping doors, not clothes! Trust me, this is not nearly as easy as the infomercials would lead you to believe. On the commercials they show you painting the gel onto the wood, scrapping up the gunk and leaving a completely clean and ready to paint door. HA.

Want the real story? (You might as well say yes, because you're getting it anyway!) I have a product that I love called Green Strip. I've touted this product before and I still love it. The bad news is that our local Home Depot closed it out and I'm almost done with the bottles I have, but I still have several doors to go. Anywho, you spray it evenly over the whole surface, taking care to get all of the grooves in the panels. After spraying the weeds and vines trying to take over your yard, you discover that the poly is lifting nicely and your timing is perfect to scrap.


To save money and the Earth, I'm refinishing all of the solid wood doors from in the house. Instead of a simple plain door, all of the doors in my house are a six panel design. Pretty to look at, a PAIN to refinish. Why you ask?? Because each panel has a ton of grooves that need to be cleaned of the old poly.


After the doors have the bulk of the yuck removed, you have to these fabulous little pieces left over that seem to migrate to the grooves. All the grooves! This is where a small pick, ask your favorite dentist, and a tiny flat head screwdriver come in handy. (Hint: Make sure the width of the flat head is the same as the depth of the grooves, your life will be much easier!)


Once the door is booger free, step back and admire your hard work and pop a couple Advil because your back and your fingers are killing you!


Think we're done yet? Nope, now it's time to sand the entire thing. Another hint, use a sanding sponge. It makes getting those grooves (grrr) all the easier. Once the whole thing is sanded, grab that pick and hit those grooves again and knock all of the sanding dust and debris out. Finally, wipe the surface down at least 2 times with a damp cloth.


Now, you are finally ready to start the painting process. Hmm, anyone still wondering why I stalled so long on getting started on this project???

Subtle Changes

Well, it's been a whirlwind two days of work, culminating in a sore booty and swollen hands. It's a small price to pay for new doors, installed baseboards, a less smelly fridge and a recognizable guest room. Dad came up from Houston in and around shifts to help me take care of a million little things. It's the little things that finish a room, but it's also the little things that will cause you to drink excessive amounts and spin around in a room pulling your hair out! (Not necessarily in that order!!!) He worked on getting the upper shelves of my ClosetMaid Selectives closet organizer installed (plug for Uncle Bri!) While he was cutting and measuring, I second and first coated the hall closets. (Yes it was in that order. One closet had already been coated once by my SIL Jes.)

As I was sitting on the floor inside the closet painting the walls next to the door, I was considering my logic in painting a wall no one can see. Then, as your mind is want to do during jobs such as painting the inside of closets, it started to wander. And then I was thinking, what if one day, long after I was gone, someone had to hide from the bad guys in that closet. And what if their last thought in life wasn't of their family or loved ones, but instead of the fact that whoever owned the house before them never painted the inside of the closet??? I simply couldn't let that happen. Therefore I had to paint the inside of the closet and thus my ponytail in the process. (Okay, I confess, I've been watching Criminal Minds a lot lately. Great show, but spooks the heck out of me and keeps me awake at night! But it's addictive and I can't turn it off!!!!)

Okay, enough with the morbid thoughts, onto baseboards. Oh wait, I was thinking some morbid thoughts while doing those darn things!! First of all, let me explain a few things. I picked a really pretty, 5 1/2 inch tall baseboard made of MDF. Medium Density Fiberboard for those wondering. It's flat on the bottom 4 inches and then has a lovely curved piece at the top. Unfortunately, this curved part, combined with my fabulous "square" walls/slab, note the sarcasm, means that all corners aren't simply a matter of 45 degree cuts. Instead each piece has to be cut on a 45 degree angle and then coped back. No, my baseboards don't sit and talk to a therapist about coping with their life. Instead, you take a VERY thin saw and cut off the excess behind the pretty front of the baseboard. If you're totally confused, I recommend googling this old house coping baseboard. Bob Villa I ain't! After tons of this tedious work, a very patient Marc and me cursing the man who originally built the house and it's completely un-level slab, we have the results shown in the pictures. I must admit, I love the look!!!



One of the biggest jobs that we did this week was installing the new front and carport doors. (The back door was already replaced by Brant and Terry last month and greatly appreciated!!) When we removed the decorative trim out from around the old doors, the entire jamb fell out onto the floor. Anyone notice a problem with that? There were NO nails, screws, glues, anything holding the door jamb to the walls of the house except for the piddly trim. Hmmm, wonder about the safety of that!! Fear not now, there are a TON of 3" exterior screws now holding the doors and the hinges in place.

The sore booty came in response to the fact that I have no upper body strength! In order to drive the screws into the pre-drilled holes, I had to do a deep squat and lay on the drill. I apologize now to the entire town of Brenham for having to see me in that position!!! My SIL Jess came into town to help and among other things graciously painted the wall color around the door before we put the trim on. I just realized that I didn't shoot the door from that side, but now you'll have something to look forward to in the next blog!!

One of the biggest jobs I completed solo this week was to scrub out the entire fridge from top to bottom with bleach and simple green. This resulted in a sparkling clean fridge that no longer smelled like fish, yuck, but also resulted in sore hands from holding the scrub brush. The fridge, under a minor layer of stickiness, is actually a gem. When new it was apparently a top line model that I was blessed enough to pick up for a steal at $100.





This is a new gadget from Uncle Jeff in Colorado that came down on the last Purvis express jet. It's a organizing bin that the Container Store would be thrilled with. Don't let the lack of labels fool you, all of the little bins are full, with more items waiting. The lack of labels comes from the fact that I have no idea what the difference is between the screws/nails/wall anchors/wire nuts/s-hooks/cup hooks etc. are.

Again, while working with everything, my mind wandered and for those who know me, I went directly to where in the world these names came from. For example why is a 16 penny nail, a 16 penny nail? What makes wire certain gauges? Who was the person who decided that a 1 gauge was a 1 gauge? Why does wire get thinner the bigger the number? Do nails go the same direction? Big number = small nail? These are the things that keep my mind busy at night... On that note, I'm sure there are tons that I've left off, but I will have to cover it on the next edition. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!!