"New" Patio Light

Back in the beginning of summer one of the garage lights got hit with a basketball and needed a replacement shade.  Rather than purchasing a new shade,  I bought a new set so I could replace my dinky patio light with the remaining intact light.

If you remember this was my current patio light.

And here is my "new" light.  Before installing I applied a light coat of satin black exterior paint for a fresh new look.

Here is the before and after!

I love that the light is more substantial and compliments our new outdoor space!

Picnic Table Makeover & Patio Update

Matt built a picnic table back in 2011.  It has been a great addition to our back yard and even though we re-stained it in 2012 it was showing a lot of wear from our Indiana weather.  We love this table and it works well with our family so we decided to spruce it up with some paint rather than stain.  

I was inspired by these pretty picnic tables!

Sources:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

We followed our usual steps:  clean, sand, prime, and paint, but this time I had some help!

I chose a rich brown color and applied two coats.  Matt made a hole in the center for an umbrella that is arriving any day!  

The patio is coming along!  Here is what it looked like after Matt used a sod cutter to remove a four inch layer of grass and dirt.  That stuff is HEAVY!  

Here is the first layer of paver base.  Can you visualize the addition a bit better than my toy markings?

Patio Planning

I love Spring and it gets me in the mood to spruce up the outdoors. One of my home goals was to expand the patio area and create an outdoor space that we could enjoy for three seasons, although here in Indiana it sometime feels as though we only have two seasons.  We have a 10x12 slab and wanted to add an addition like this:

Here is my crude mock up.  Originally I wanted a fire pit that was made out of pavers, but that is out of the budget right now.  We may add it in the future.  This is to scale, one square equals one square foot. 

I wanted to see how the drawing would translate in real life so I did this outside.  I am so glad that my kids have enough toys to use as markers (read in sarcastic tone).  I am sure that they neighbors think that I am nuts!  

After I figured out the layout I calculated how many pavers we needed and added an extra 10% just in case.  You are looking are 630 pavers.  Wyatt was confused why the workers did not lay the patio.  He does not know that he is one of the "workers"!  Hopefully we will get this started soon so we can enjoy the extra space.

Happenings

This week Matt and I added new mulch to the yard. Last year we removed the faded, moldy, red mulch and replaced with black mulch.  This time we purchased the mulch by the cubic yard rather than bags from the local big box store and saved oodles of money and less work ripping the bags open! We removed two bushes and will replace them with... something. The next big outdoor project is painting all of the trim and the garage door. I want to stay as close to the original color so I will be browsing paint colors soon.  

My peas have sprouted! I am so excited! The weather has been so cool the past couple of weeks that it is taking longer for my seeds to sprout.

I may have mentioned earlier that I am taking two courses to renew my teaching license.  I am on the final assignment for the first course and I have given myself a deadline of April 30th.  I better get a move on.  After I complete this paper I have an entire course that I have to get finished in 6 weeks!!! So I have had to cut back on projects, but I have a couple in queue that I am so pumped up about!

Patio Light Before and After

Last week I removed this weather worn light fixture on the back of our house and gave it a makeover. Since I tackled the porch light I decided I could save some dough and paint this one and

Last week I removed this weather worn light fixture on the back of our house and gave it a makeover. Since I tackled the porch light. I decided I could save some dough and paint this one. I already had the paint so this project was practically free! I did this on my own including removing and installing the fixture.  I was just a little proud, can't you tell?  I also replaced the light bulb with a CFL bulb.  That is an improvement in itself!

Little Black Door

My dear sweet hubby spent our anniversary painting the shutters. Apparently we own an awesome paint sprayer accessory that came with our compressor and Matt decided to give it a try on the shutters and the results were amazing and fast!

Here is what our faded burgundy shutters looked like BEFORE:

AFTER

It only took one afternoon to remove, clean, and paint the shutters. We (I mean Matt) replaced them the following morning when they were dry. Supplies needed for the project were a half a gallon of exterior black satin paint ($12.50) and 24 shutter fasteners ($9.00).  We needed to replace the shutter fasteners on the upper shutters and I found the best price at Menards.  Love the new look, but next was the door and it did not come as easy or cheap.  Remember when I thought that I would Rub n Buff the door hardware? Well, that was a no go.  The brass was too slick and the RNB just rubbed off. Plan B was spray painting the hardware silver first, then using the RNB. That did not work either. Plan C, buying new hardware. New hardware is expensive, but we found a set on sale at Menards and had Lowes price match plus 10% off so we only paid the lowest price possible this side of the Mississippi.  The best thing about this new hardware is that it has Smart Key technology and if our keys get lost or stolen we can rekey our locks ourselves.

BEFORE

 AFTER

I love the look of my door so much that I do not want to cover it up with my wreath!

The best part is the inside. I convinced my husband that an interior black door would be FAB-U-LOUS and he was so sweet to indulge me and I am in love!

BEFORE

AFTER

I was even more tickled today to see that Shelley from House of Smith's also painted her door black! I agree with Shelley that the black "anchors" the space and I LOVE the way it turned out!

This project cost a total of $128.50. This was supposed to be a no spend month and rather than scrapping the whole month I will begin my no spend month one week late. 

Transom Window Update

We have a transom window above our front door that has plagued me since we moved in a little over a year ago.  I did a little search on Etsy and found this vinyl that would be perfect! Allison of Single Story made mine 7 inches tall and mirrored it so I could apply it to the inside window. This window makeover only cost me $14.00.  I am so pleased with the quality and results. Pop on over to her shop and check out her custom door vinyls!

BEFORE

AFTER

Next on the list is painting the doors and shutters! I can not wait to give them a face lift. I am also thinking of giving the Rub N Buff a try on the brass hardware. Will it work and look good? What do you think?

Bye, Bye, Brass aka Exterior Light Makeover

I am so excited that we have new exterior lights.  Last month I was web shopping for some fixtures and here were my original choices.  We decided to check Menards and found these lights for $29.99 a pair with a ten dollar rebate making them $19.99 before tax!  I love the black finish and seeded glass.

We did not find a great deal on a porch light so I decided that I would try my hand at painting the existing one.  

Here is the before:

I did a light sanding before using spray metal primer.

 

I used nails poked through the styrofoam to hold the little parts. 

Notice the paint dissolved some of the styrofoam- weird.

Several light coats of satin black paint. Remember to put a paper towel in the socket.

Voila- "new" light fixture! And the best part of this project was that I installed the porch fixture all by myself! I was so scared that I did not turn off the right breaker that I turned them all off *blush*, but I did  it! 

 I already had the paint and primer on hand, but we had to purchase some different screws making the total cost of this project was $22.45. For that price I am happy to scratch this project off my list!