Garage Door Reveal

My "New" garage/side entry door. The door was painted Rust-o-leum Gloss Oil Black, a simple steel door
decoration was bought at Hobby Lobby, spraypainted white, then hung with neodymium (i.e. really strong)
magnets to the steel door. No screws, glue or hardware required! 

At long last, I have some pictures to show you of the rest of my garage redo. When I showed you my interior redo, I told you I still had some things to show you about the outside, but that the weather wasn't permitting me to get any shots in to share with you. Now, um...lets see...probably a MONTH later, I finally have some. Crazy how time can fly when you're busy!

Anyhoo, let's see those before and after shots, shall we?

Before - and Oh, so blah! Builder basic all the way.  I still plan to repaint the hanging light fixtures,
but I have to do things as time allows (i.e. when school is back in session!).

 Like my "New" garage door?

 I have to tell you, when my sister-in-law drove up the other day and exclaimed "You got a new garage door!" I couldn't have been more pleased:). Bingo! My old garage door has morphed into a set of carriage doors at a total cost of about $5.00 and some elbow grease. Can't beat that!

Up close view of the upper "hinges".

 In order to create the illusion, I did a little research on options and found I could one of three things to get the more custom look of carriage doors without actually buying them.

1. Order faux metal hinges and handles to screw onto the door,
2. Order magnetic metal faux hinges to just stick on the door,
3. Make a stencil and paint them on.

Up close shot of the lower "hinges".

 I knew Hubby would flip if I painted or screwed on "hinges and handles" to the door, so it looked like the magnetic option was for me. Then I looked at the price on Ebay. It's actually really economical, BUT still not within my budget for now. So, I started looking for another option. Surely I could find a cheaper, albeit not as realistic as the magnetic, way to get the look for now.

View of the center of the door with it's new "handles" and "crack" between the "two" carriage doors.

Enter a trip to Lowe's. I love to stroll down the aisles at my home improvement stores brainstorming. I challenge myself to come up with as many out of the box uses for everyday items as I can - all for the sake of getting the luxe look of items I want but can't afford. Truthfully, it's really more of a creative outlet and to see if I can overcome the challenge.

Up close view of the new carriage door "handles".

When I stumbled upon a roll of contact paper with a mottled black and gray appearance, it suddenly hit me. Just draw the hinges and handles on that, cut them out and stick them on! How much easier and cheaper can you get?! I came home, found some hinges and handles I liked on-line, printed out the image, blew it up on the printer, then traced them onto the contact paper and cut them out. Before applying them, I pressure washed the whole door throughly, then just stuck them on. The center where the two doors meet is just a long skinny strip cut off the edge or the roll. To create a little more of a realistic look on the handles, I took some metallic silver paint and lightly dry brushed some where the handles would curve and onto the shadow part of the handle that I made sure to cut out WITH the main part. Illusion complete! It apparently is good enough that, without really close inspection, you don't even realize it's contact paper. Hubby nearly blew a gasket when he thought I'd painted them on without talking to him first:) I giggled inwardly as I happily told him it was just contact paper that is "supposed" to peel off cleanly with a little heat from the hair dryer:) And, if there is any adhesive left, then I know a little "Goof Off" will get it, so we're all good. Eventually I want to order the magnetic pieces, but for now these look pretty good.

Sharing with:
Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday 

Garage Reveal - Finally!

Like my beach cruiser? I love that bike. I also like our new wall clock in the garage. No excuses for not being in
on time for dinner, ball games/practice, or bedtime anymore (he, he! Aren't I a stinker?! Pretty and practical!)

Forgive me, dear readers (OMG! I sound like Dear, Abby!). I've taken some much needed time to collect my thoughts and take a family vacation, so I've been absent for some time from the blogging world. Life has been VERY full over the last year and I just had to step back for a while to regain some direction and do a little soul searching. Ever been there? So many things have happened, both good and bad that I began to feel like I had lost my focus. I just needed to take some time to figure out what the next step is. I'm still not really sure and most recent news of my other grandmother's diagnosis of early Alzheimer's hasn't helped, but I do feel much more gathered after some time off. We took a wonderful, much-needed-by-everyone, family vaction to Sanibel Island, FL last week. It was so nice to just lounge by the pool and  on the beach! I'll be sharing photos soon:)

In the meantime, I FINALLY got around to getting some after shots of our garage that has been mostly completed for a few weeks now. There are still a few finishing touches to do yet, but for the most part it's  finished. Ready? No laughing at the befores, which I'll start with a few of! I'm showing just how bad it really was so you can truly appreciate the redo:

Forgive the fuzziness. Unfortunately, I can't retake these! See how horrible the baseboards looked in here?! 

Gross! The walls had never really been painted (just spray primed when built)
and the baseboard were disgusting and peeling). 

This is why I painted the doors black. See all the nastiness little hands leave? It's hidden much better by oil-based glossy black and is about as scrubbable as you can get. Not to mention it just looks way better. 

This floor was driving me batty! Hubby painted it Gull Gray, which is a gorgeous color if no one lives on it.
Around this part of the country with red mud, it showed every speck of dirt and tire prints like bright white. Yuck!

We even inherited holes in the front wall where the previous owners had apparently driven or backed into it!
These weren't even the worst. I found literal holes all the way through
behind the shelving and had to put my patching skills to use.

GROSS! I hate bugs and this was the constant behind the blinds. I pulled those suckers out and pressure washed them, removing everything from dirt dobber nests to spiders. Makes my skin crawl looking at all those little critters!

I tested ever color I had on hand before finally just dumping all the white and creams
into one five gallon bucket to get the final color on the walls. 

Now, a little improvement and one of my favorite things... my newly painted glossy black doors!

My new glossy black doors, magnetic house number, thrift store coat rack,
entry table with sunscreen/bug spray bucket (a.k.a shelving), door mat
and hardwood hand rail courtesy of Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

All my shelving is currently covered with vinyl table cloths and work as entry tables of a sort.
I still plan to find a better way to cover and store items so that they are out of sight,
but for now this will suffice.

I was determined to put up a wall clock the "men" could see so I no longer had to come tell them it was time to come in. Instead, now I can just give them a time to be in:)

Many trips were made to Goodwill, boards painted and installed in studs, hooks hung and items organized. By it all being on the front wall, no one sees it unless they literally come into the garage.
The door can be left open and no one driving by can see all our toys and tools.

Don't you like my newly painted floors? I am proud to say that when this picture was taken, a car had been parked in and out numerous times. Other than sweeping I did no cleaning for this picture and
it shows little evidence of black tires, unlike the before shot.

I am really proud of my planters this year. they have gone gang-busters and look so healthy for mid summer!

There you go. There's a few more things to show you on the outside, but the weather hasn't cooperated and I wasn't willing to wait longer to post the inside pictures. The outside before and after will just have to wait until I can get a good sunny shot.

See, I really have been working on a garage for ... um... a while. But it was worth it. I'm no longer embarrassed by my totally untouched, cluttered and filthy garage that EVERYONE uses as the main entrance to our home. Instead, I'm proud to say it now looks presentable and sets a good impression... like any good FRONT door should:)

Kelley Interior Design Inspiration

I found another designer that I really like and thought I'd share some of her work. Designers who have the courage and confidence to use color really attract me. Her name is Kelley Proxmire. She's not new to the world of interior design as she's been in practice now for over 20 years in the Washington, D.C. area and is well recognized, but she's new to me:) As I looked over her porfolio, I felt an immediate connection because of her love for color and wanted to share one of my new found inspirations!

Oh, be still my heart! Reminds me of my own bedroom
which has been receiving some upgrades (Coming soon to a computer near you!)!

Love this inviting doorway!

How gutsy is this color scheme? I applaud the homeowner for being will to do it, and Kelley for even suggesting it!

All that yellow and pink is balanced with lots of white.

A good way to get your peach/pink fix yet not have the room get too feminine for the other half - paint the walls chocolate brown. Notice the ribbon of paint along the ceiling! It's a motif repeated throughout the room.

A little more calming color scheme, but still colorful.

Monochromatic is so restful... especially when it's soft blues.

I'm completely in love with this room for my big boy.
I think when we grow tired of the forest scene and blue camo, it'll convert to this (provided he likes it). We've already got a start with three of four walls the same navy blue.

Lilly Pulitzer would be right at home here!

Even though the cabinets are bubble gum or Pepto pink, they work because of all the white to balance it.

I've pinned this before, not knowing who had designed it. I love the black and white porch with pops of bright red.

I like so much about this room... the door, the chair fabrics,
the creamy yellow and brown, and the great lantern overhead!

According to her website, this is actually a staged house. Notice the only bright color is green and it's really scaled back. Green is a very appealing color and it's only used in places here that could easily be switched out. There is such a difference between staging and decorating for a homeowner!

Who needs color when you can look out the back french doors at this?! Heaven!

It's not often that I find a room I really like a black wall in. I'm all for trying it, but it just rarely seems to come out well. This would be a fantastic example of how great it can look when done well!

Nice and neutral. 

I think you could get a dinner party to linger quite a while in this dining room. Very calming.

And lastly, this room just makes me happy!

So, what do you think? Isn't her work great? One thing's for sure: bright color isn't for everyone. To be able to use it well without it becoming childish or cheap looking is truly a gift... one that was definitely given to Ms. Kelley!

Like what you see? 

Please take the time to let me know! 

Support my blogging by becoming a follower.

The Case for Dark Doors

  

How great is this black door framed in turquoise?! Makes me think of Erin over at House of Turquoise:)
via Shelterness

Front entry doors make a huge difference in curb appeal... and ours is looking a little less than impressive. I don't think it's had a new coat of paint since the house was built 11 years ago. I've been contemplating repainting it for an eternity, but then I started painting furniture and blogging and....well.... Why didn't I just slap some paint on it and call it a day? It's currently a flat black and BORING. Other colors were calling, but nothing was appealing to me. If you like pictures, today's post is really going to appeal to you. I've been saving pictures for a while. Most of them were saved before blogging, so I can't tell you where they came from.

These are some images I pulled of front entry's that have that "wow" factor that I am after:




I LOVE this high gloss black!

I've narrowed it down to two options. I either want to go HIGH GLOSS black, like the door above or paint it faux wood. I've decided on our brick house, color just won't work. I'm after a very classic look to match the style of the house. It's an earth tone brick with black wrought iron and a high gloss black just seems to fit. The only reason I'm iffy on that or a "wood" look is that I also want to paint the interior doors and keep it all tied together. I'm leaning with the wood on the interior so I've gotta do some more thinking or hunting for the perfect shade of black.

Oh, so classy! Little less gloss on this. More like semi-gloss.

This is also gorgeous in wood tones and high gloss.

I think everyone loves this images off One King's Lane!

This color would look hideous on our house, but it sure is pretty with this painted brick.

I wish we could have a wood door, but there's not enough weather protection...so faux it may become!

Leave it to Martha. Nothing short of perfection.

Love a red door.

This is my dream door...especially with the jasmine arbor!

So inviting.

All those glass panels are fantastic!

Another dream door and arbor.

via Shelterness



via Shelterness




Glossy! via Shelterness




This is faux painted to look like crotch mahogony! Gorgeous! via Faux Painting Systems



via The Stamford Wife

To help with the decision process, I started hunting down images on-line of interior doors painted black and faux wood. I LOVE the way they add so much to a plain-jane interior door!

There's BM gorgeous Palladian Blue on the ceiling with the black door and white walls. See how great this would look with my current dining room colors?
via Cococozy

via Shelterness

Brian Watford via Houzz

via Shelterness

Mandy Brown Architects via Houzz



via Shelterness




via Houzz



Real wood via Houzz

Faux wood via Rags2Richs

Faux wood via Rags2Richs

Faux wood via Rags2Richs

Kim over at Savvy Southern Style blog redid her front door from black to faux wood and it turned out great!



She even was kind enough to give us a tutorial if you want to check it out at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2010/10/front-door-tutorial.html.

I'm seriously leaning with the black for two reasons. It just seems to flow better with the color brick of our house and it would be WAY faster since I also want to do the interior doors. Speed is of the essence these days! Trouble is finding a good black. Have you ever looked at how many there are?! Gads! I want a brown toned deep black that would good good with oil rubbed bronze hardware, and I'm leaning toward "Black Fox 7020" by Sherwin Williams.

There's your eye candy for today. Now, off to work on furniture, laundry, and putting up a gazillion tomatoes! Ye Haw!