Entry Ledge/Handrail Project (for Free)

I hope everyone had a very happy Easter.  More importantly, I hope your children got over their sugar high's successfully.

The Easter bunny (Shane) was very good to us this weekend.  He got us a new Honda mower.  It's got a mulch-er on it and something else that makes it a big deal.  Whatever makes it cool, I am just thankful that it has four wheels as opposed to our other mower we don't like to talk about much.

The Easter bunny also gifted me a new toilet seat, as I shattered the other one, a bag of Cheetos, and most importantly, a new fricken front door!  !!!  !!!!   Oh, but no worries, there is another typical-Jenna disaster story where I found myself, once again, jumping the gun on house projects.

We also continued to work on our front entry redesign journey.  Anything to make a tiny space feel bigger, right?  Bonus-- it was a FREE project!

Once a year, for the past four years, I've made it a mission of mine to paint our front door a new color.  Not because I want to, but because I think the color I did paint it was a bad idea, so I cover up the bad idea with an even worse idea.  Our front door has made it through all of the primary colors. Yellow was terrible, but it was by far my favorite.  Shane's favorite was blue.  The blue door was one of the few projects that Shane came home to and liked immediately... then I decide to cover it up. What a bone-headed move.

Yellow

Blue Door-- Thanks Google

                                     

Red-- the door I never cared to finish, or show off

On Saturday I was hell-bent on getting some project ideas off of paper and into my life.  This door was one of them, and it didn't have a chance.

The issues with this door was A. It melts/melted.  The glue behind the window-lite trim got so hot that it started oozing out from the cracks.  I thought that a replacement window would be about $50.00 or so bucks, and readily available at my home improvement store (wrong and wrong), so without much more thought, I took out the window, which literally disintegrated in my hands, and went to town on stripping three layers of paint off the door just so I could repaint it a "permanent" color.  Three hours later, the paint was off, and the old "wood" door was unveiled.  Now for that window.  A replacement single window-lite will run you around $138.00.  A new door will cost you around $192.00.  Unless you really love your door in it's current state, I'd say go for the new door.  Don't be like me and hang out with a broken door for three hours before doing your research.  It's.not.worth.it.  All that work and we didn't even keep the damn thing.  The silver-lining?  I found out which stripper I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick fix.  She's fast, smells o.k. and gets everything off.  

Just for the sake of science, I'll show you what this stripper can do--

This stuff ain't messin' around.  Wear some heavy duty rubber gloves whenever you are dealing with these kind of chemicals.

Here is a quick snap shot of the window we took out.  Like I said before, if you really love your door, but aren't a fan of your window, all you have to do is take the screws out and the window should come out with ease.  Make sure you measure the depth, as some replacement windows vary between 1/2-1 inch thickness.

Stop by for a decent post of our new door too.  Exciting things people, exciting things!

Project Round 2: Fight

The next project on my to-do list was fixing the aesthetics of our handrail and ledge in our entryway. Here is a before shot:

I sanded and stained the wood once before, but the bright oak color really isn't our thing.  We prefer the dark looking wood with white accents.  Please excuse our super gross looking entryway in this photo.  Fall in Minnesota is lovely but dang messy.  The issue I was having with the handrail and ledge were issues that only I would notice.  There was paint splashed up on the quarter rounds, and paint streaks hidden under the handrail.  Not all of it was my fault.  We are confident that the previous homeowners gave up and didn't see the potential in this house that we do.  Then again, we're I'm crazy.

We had lots of leftover material from our basement reno, so lucky for us, this project didn't cost us a cent.  It is such a good feeling utilizing leftovers, because then you know you are getting the most bang for your buck. 

At 8:00 in the morning I took of the handrail and began sanding it outside.  A mighty fine wake up call for our neighbors might I add.  After a little pounding inside, the ledge came off with ease.

I stained the handrail using Minwax in Ebony.  I didn't want the color to be super saturated, so I wiped off the excess using a clean rag.  Once the new ledge and quarter rounds were installed, I used a tube of vinyl magic to fill in any cracks.  This may seem like an unnecessary step, but it completes the project, and makes it look like the ledge and all of it's trimming are one single unit, giving off a much more rich appearance.  The reason for vinyl filler?  It doesn't crack with Minnesota's changing temperatures, and it's going with the flow attitude adapts itself as your home settles.  When the filler is still wet, run your finger along the thin strip to smooth it out.  Sand any abrasive surfaces for a smooth finish.

I really think this quick project certainly classed up our entryway, making it a bit more modern. There are certainly bigger projects (getting rid of the carpet and tile and replacing it with hardwood) that need to be done, but for the moment, I have really been enjoying the new look of our entryway ledge and handrail.  One small step at a time.

Because what is a post without a side by side comparison:

 

I am really starting to love this piece of split.  Thanks for stopping by! XO.

**UPDATE**

Just wanted to share an update on the looks of our front door--interior side.  The struggle has been real trying to figure out what to do with the trim and new door color.  If any of your bloggers/designers out there have any suggestions, please, we are all ears.  Until then, the white will do.

The Green Has "Gots to Go."

Remember this campaign furniture post I did a couple years back?  Well, times are a ch-ch-changing, and I didn't like it anymore.  I may have never been super satisfied with the way it looked to be completely honest.  I am guilty of getting so involved with the way other DIY'ers furniture pieces look, that I fail to step back to make my own decision on what would look best in the space I am working with.

Here was my inspiration (Perfect for St. Patrick's Day):

<follow link for more info>

As you can see, it's adorable.  They did a great job picking out a vibrant color for the space, and their accessories are totally on point.

Here is what I came up with:

{Queue the tiny violin}  Even though I would have loved for this to work, it didn't... and after finding a grown-up diaper stuck behind a drawer one day (no bueno), I was ready to Craigslist this pair.  Thank goodness I came to my senses.  After all, I did have a set of legit, vintage campaign dressers on my hands, and for 8 bucks a piece?  Keeping.  Fo sho.  Diaper and all.

I last left the blog with this picture:

I will be honest, I have yet to paint the other one, but I have happily embraced a color for my re-vamped set of drawers.  Bonus?  They work with the space and my decor.

So, this is what I did.  I took the hardware off and steel wool-ed the sh*t outta them.  I grabbed some Tarn-x and took off the rose gold Rub N' Buff I had put on them before.  In hindsight, I wish I would have done this before.  When I purchased the dressers, the hardware was super crappy looking.  Over the course of a year, I have learned to attempt to clean hardware first before covering them up with paint of any kind.  Really happy with the results.  I ended up with some gorgeous brass hardware.  I heart chemicals and their reactions.

Perfectly imperfect is what I like to say--

Next, I pulled off all of the "faux wood" vinyl stickers.  All of  it.  Actually, let us reverse.  Refinishing one of these dressers was a complete and utter nightmare.  Here is what really happened:

First, I bought "Everlasting" Americana Decor chalk paint to paint over the green.  I had great success with my last chalk paint project, and frankly, I hate the whole 8 step priming/painting process.  Well... I kept my paint a bit too close to the heating vent, so it coagulated.  Not one to be deterred, I kept trying to paint with it.  O-M-G.  No.

So... I sanded it.  I had to sand everything off and try again.  I primed it with oil based primer-- just like our kitchen cabinets-- and topped it off with a couple coats of Stone White by BM.  

Then this happened-- I finished it, and was damn happy. That's when I noticed a bubble on one of the drawers.  I picked at it a bit.  Well, the WHOLE STICKER (AKA- all the work I just did) came off the drawer.  The whole f-ing sticker!  Can you believe it?!  All of that work was totally pointless.  If I was going to make these dressers awesome, I had to do it right the first third time.

Stickers gone-- primed for a second time

Pile-o-vinyl

I spent the next however long making sure I took off the remaining vinyl stickers from all sides and ends of the dresser.  I was left with heavy pressed plywood.  A fresh, clean slate.  So, I started again.  I primed and painted the dresser using my trusty mini foam roller, added the hardware, and here is what I came up with--

Color: Stone White by Benjamin Moore

One down, one to go.  I have big plans for these.  Big plans.  I will make sure to stop back again with a final update.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, ya'll.

****UPDATE****

It's coming together folks!  Ah!  Giggle attack!

Hanging Shelf (DIY)

I made this hanging shelf for our bathroom downstairs to cover the dead space above our toilet.

How?

First, I bought a board.

Then I cut it.

Next, I drilled two holes on either side for the rope to go through.

I found the studs in the wall with my stud finder and screwed in the hooks.

I measured and cut four ropes to keep them even.

I placed a level on the shelf to make sure it was nice and straight.

Then I secured the ropes with a large knot, and cut off the excess.

Finally, I put stuff on my shelf.

Cost Breakdown:

Board: $7.00
Rope: $3.00
Pack of Hooks: $2.00
_________________
$12.00 for useful storage?  Yes.  Yes, please.


Then this happened-

Nothing ever changes in this house.  Pssssh.  More to come.