Summer Projects

For some reason, summer always feels like a good time to get some projects done or just give the ol' house a little freshening up.  Well, I guess Spring is good for that too.  Maybe it is just a side effect of being on Pinterest a little too much these days, but I gave my sweet husband a little honey-do list a few weeks ago, and he jumped right on it.  I think he loves these projects as much as I do.  Ha!

Project #1 ~ Painting an outdated chandelier

Pinterest just makes this project look so easy, affordable, and impressive.  I have developed an intense need to rid myself of all outdated brass type light fixtures, and we have quite a few in this house.  Lighting can get pretty expensive so we decided to give the Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint that has been all over the blog world and Pinterest a shot.  Eddie did a great job on this project.

The before and after shot.  It may not seem like that big of a change here, but it feels like night and day to me.  I hated the brass fixture, but it is now something I can live with.  Even the old light shades look new with the dark bronze finish.  It just has a cleaner look now.

Eddie rigged a stand to hang the chandelier on with his ladder while he spray painted it and let it dry. 

Brody saw me taking pictures and wanted his picture taken with the light fixture. 

A close up.  The finish looks like it was made that color.  It isn't pure black and has a metalic look to it. 

It is harder to see the color with the lights on. 

Project # 2 ~ Front Porch Makeover

A front porch and more specifically front door is supposed to be welcoming and inviting to guests.  Our porch was screaming for some love and attention...from someone besides the birds who like to build nests on it that is.  In the Spring, the birds love to build their cozy nests on top of the porch column or on the old planter boxes that used to sit below the sidelight windows.  The nests and lots of debris from our yard's many trees always make the front porch look dirty.  Then, there were the sagging planter boxes, old scratched up surface of the front door, and the scratched up brass hardware on the door and glass screen door.  It all just needed some love, paint, and a good cleaning to cheer it up.

Brody is ready to paint.  This kid loves to "help" with everything.  And by helping, he means he wants to do it by himself because "he's a big boy."  

Trying to help Daddy.

Watching closely.

And this is the look you get when you don't let him "help" right before he throws one of his big toddler fits.

We used an oil based glossy paint because our door is metal, and that paint seems to hold up best.  The paint was actually glossier than we thought it would be.  I chose a nice bright blue to liven things up and give the porch more appeal from the curb. 

Later with the newly painted oil rubbed bronze hardware and my wreath on the door.

From the outside.  We hadn't painted the brass hardware on the glass door yet.  Eddie removed the old planter boxes and gave the sidelights a fresh coat of white paint. 

With the glass door hardware painted.  I taped off around the glass so he could spray paint a thin strip of brass that ran all around the glass frame. 

We cleaned the porch, windows and columns thoroughly and also sprayed the old house numbers on the column as well although I edited those out of this picture.  Now, if I could just find a really cheap old pendant light to paint and replace the old rusty light, we would be in good shape.  I have seen where people find $5.00 fixtures at Goodwill that they have spray painted with good results so here's hoping.  

Brody and I planted some new flowers in our planters while Daddy handled the painting.

Project # 3 ~ New Mantle Decor

This was the easiest of the three projects.  I have been tired of seeing my wedding portrait front and center on our mantle and really wanted a large mirror as the centerpiece.  I thought I would have to spend big bucks for a nice looking mirror, but I discovered that Kirkland's had a lot of nice looking mirrors for $30.  Done!

I had initially put it vertical, but it just didn't look right so I switched it horizontal.  Since our fireplace is painted brick, we just propped the mirror up with it sitting on the mantle to avoid screwing into the brick.