Curb Appeal the Details

Several of you have asked where our light, door knocker etc is from.

So I am back with links to these things. 

And maybe, just maybe if I can get this place all tidy at once I will be back with an updated list of where we are now!

The Pottery Barn Bolton Sconce:

(click on image for link)

Here is the sconce before the brick!

And after painting. 

Man, paint changes everything!

I love the little "leaves" at the base of the light, so much character and brings some serious personality to this boring spot.

 The knocker... ohhhh my knocker. 

This is the ring door knocker in brass by Restoration Hardware.

(click on image for link)

I found this gem at a steal of a deal and knew the door needed this pizazz!

{ignore the fact we need a second coat of paint!}

For the hardware I knew we needed something to coordinate with the light and the knocker, the problem being the knocker is brass, and most doorknobs at stores like Lowe's and HD don't come standard in brass. 

and yes this inner casing still needs to be painted white. 

add it to the list.

we went with something similar to this.

{i can't find the link to our actual knob}

(click on image for link)

And a precious shop in Fairhope, Alabama made the wooden door hanger. 

Kissy Fish Designs is their name!

 The chippendale planters I found at an estate sale!

And the porch pillows were spruced up in a fresh premier prints fabric!!

Left to do:

paint interior casing of front door, 

find a new handle for the storm door

new doorbell

figure out how to "jazz up" or hide, (either one) the lovely box for the home sound system

Gotta love the early 80's!!

continue working in the flowerbeds.

Next up is the flowerbeds, part 1 of 3!

Curb Appeal: The Details on the Paint

In my opinion personal touches are what make a home, well home.

We knew this house was going to need tons of them so slowly and steadily we have been making strides in that department.

Here is the mls picture from last summer, straight from the ole phone! haha

(if you read the previous post you can see all the detailed images with the before and after paint!)

Once we got the house painted we knew we would need a new color for the doors and the trim. 

We sampled about 15 different grey/green/brownish greys. 

After getting lots of opinions from neighbors, friends, passerby's we all determined the grey only drew attention to the roof.

The ugly as sin, stained as all get out roof; that in all actuality is only 7-8 years old. 

Ugh.... 

With all the other updates necessary I can't justify replacing a perfectly good roof when we Need another hvac, new oven, new carpet, and two new bathrooms.

SO for now the roof stays ugly.

Trim will be the same color as the brick, the siding, the whole shebang. 

We referred to these inspiration photo's from pinterest to help justify our decision.

(although their roof is much prettier than mine it had our colors, felt clean and fresh and who doesnt love a coastal living design??)

And this amazing back yard

loving the almost tone on tone!

(all images are from my outdoor spaces board on pinterest)

Once we determined our main paint color then we needed to determine what color for the front door

My friend lauren and I spent 3 days obsessing over the perfect blue.

Then... she said we have to look online. we just arent finding it! 

(thank you lauren for all your help!)

Low and behold, my blogging friend Amanda, over at Dixie Delights had the perfect blue door.

So before long we had a sample of Rhine River.

(I of course can't find the picture of the 11 tones of blue we tested, but trust me, it was a ton!)

Here is amanda's beautiful entry!

And if you are wondering what her paint colors are here is the board she shared on her blog. 

(once we finish this post I will gladly compile the colors we ended up with.)

So we spent the next few days working on the doors, shutters, etcetera.

The other detail work I wanted to make sure and add was some interest to our extremely boring garage. 

This is Exactly what I was envisioning, so over the remainder of the summer this is one of our little projects we have planned.

again all links are in my outdoor spaces board on pinterst.

The hardware is $20.00 at Home Depot.

(link can be found here)

And here is how ours currently looks.

Isn't it simply magical what paint can do for a place?

Curb Appeal 2.0

I don't know many people that can see and image this house the way I have. 

Don't kid yourself, this place is pure D ugly.

but... Hubby got ambitious so just a few weeks ago we rented an airless spray gun and went to town!

plenty of befores!!

 Can we take a quick moment and ohh and ahh over our new fancy upstairs air conditioner?

Basically its sad how little has been done to this home, that condensor on the left is original, yes ORIGINAL.... almost everything in this home was original previous to last summer!!!

even the electrical boxes out here had to be switched out. so we definately preserved them!!

Without much else, than "here it goes" we were off.

When I say the painting went FAST.... it went FAST>>>>>>

like here we were 20 minutes later.

 Here would be the bushes on the left we have cut back from 10 ft tall. 

just need to hire someone to remove these two bushes so we can plant something more size appropriate for this space.

we finished the back then went back with the shield to get all the angles.

After 2-3 days of the paint soaking into the brick

We went ahead and freshened up the paint on the mini fence you can see being painted above. 

Then... we spent the past 3-5 agonizing weekends hand painting everything from the first roof line from brown to cream.

Den Progress

Just a quick little update to say we are at a mild standstill in the den. 

One chair and ottoman have been sent to the upholster!

WOOO HOOOO!!!!

and it will be 4-6 weeks before we get those things back.

We have found a new ceiling fixture, and a few pillows for the couch.

I am having an exceedingly difficult time locating a coffee table I like.

Suggestions welcome :)

I will hopefully be back tomorrow to show you the plan for the fireplace. 

Then all we have left is picking out fabric for the bergere chair and we will call this room done!

To do:

pillows for the couch

roller shade for the back door

paint the room

pick out a couch

fabric for the arm chair

fabric for the ottoman

new light fixture

artwork above the mirrored piece

plan for the fireplace

flooring for the room

So... just a little over halfway done!

Welcome y'all: inspiration

The entry of this house is in desperate need of some personality!

It's so important to make a good first impression when welcoming someone into your home. 

I have always loves stripes. They just bring such a boldness to a space and I can't wait to stripe our entry area.

Just like in these pictures the stripes will need to lead up into the hallway upstairs

All this inspiration.... I am seeing lots and lots of frog tape in my near future!

Den Makeover: Paint, Lighting and

I did lots of research after we purchased the house and tried to go with colors I knew would be condusive to a home that faces North.

remember our style board?

Luckily our last home faced north, as well so it made things a hair easier. 

I knew anything with brown undertones would make the room way way dark. 

There are no windows to the right wall (west wall) and therefore I would only have very faint light from noon til about 4:30.

We ended up settling on a Valspar color.

Fairmont Penthouse Stone

Shanty 2 Chic did a great job documenting the process. 

She picked the same color!!

Mine is not quite this bright. Looks much more grey in my space, we also chose the satin finish for a higher sheen since the room is so dark. 

Here is the before of the room.

We could only go up from here right?

Clearly this room has had some serious issues and the things I thought were going to work, well... Aren't. 

This is how we sat throughout the holidays, just undecided on a paint color until we had enough friends weigh in and help us decide on Fairmont penthouse stone!

Then we tried this and I thought ah hah!!! 

Ahhh and here is the first shot of the paint color. 

Biggest issue for me here was front door shot to see a side view of a piece of furniture. 

Then we got here and I finally finally felt like this room was cozy. 

Basically it took3 months of rearranging before I deemed this some that blog worthy!

And the light. For me it's the piece de resistance for the room!

And this....

Getting the brick like washed and to this point was huge! 

Be back tomm with more details on the light and some accessories I have found over the past few weeks!