Switch it, change it...

Hey ya'll!

It's been a while since I've had a chance to blog. To say life's been a bit crazy is an understatement. Between my job, my toddler, and my husband being back in school there hasn't a whole lot of time for anything.

We're sneaking in improvements whenever we get a chance, but there haven't been a lot of chances lately... Don't give up on us! We're still fixing up this little bungalow!

Last time you saw the front of the house it looked something like this...

So bad.

First of all, the tiffany blue drove me crazy. Why you would paint sections of the door rather than the whole thing is beyond me. All I know was it had to go! I had been dreaming of a bright red door with navy accents. I was dreaming of Classic Americana. 

Next, the house numbers were laughable. Literally stickers peeling off the house. I can't even...

Also, we have a mailbox on the house that the previous homeowners used as an apparent ashtray... That baby had to go!

And last, there is an alarm system sticker on the window that has bugged me from the get-go!

Big plans baby! Big plans!

I went to Lowes with a vision in mind, and cash in hand... A dangerous combo.

I got a gallon of navy, a quart of red, and fresh numbers for the house.

We ended up with something a bit like this...

So how'd we get here...

I started off by removing the alarm sticker, the mailbox, and the house numbers. After removing the mailbox I had to take bleach cleaner to clean the siding. I'm not entirely sure how long the mailbox had been on there, but judging from the grime left behind it was quite a while. 

After the gross was removed it was time to get to work. I started by painting the front door red. I started by using a brush for the crevices with the intent of using a small roller for the bigger areas, but the roller was leaving behind a terrible texture so I ended up using a brush for the entire door. I decided to paint with the door on the hinges for the simple reason that we live close to downtown, and it's not the quietest street. I didn't want someone walking into our house. While it was drying I left the door slightly open. 

After one coat it wasn't looking great. 

Super streaky... I knew I was in for several coats.

While the first coat was drying I washed my brush and got started on the trim. The navy seemed to cover a bit better, but still looked like it needed multiple coats.

After I got the first coat on the trim, the first coat on the door was dry enough that I could rinse my brush and put a second coat on the door. This method seemed to work well and I was able to get everything done in a few hours. 

I have four coats on the door, and three on the trim. Totally worth it to get rid of that two-toned door!

Installing the numbers plaque was super easy. It drilled right in to the siding with no problems whatsoever. So much better than those stupid stickers!

We still have big plans for the front. We plan on building a porch so we will actually have a landing, installing some window boxes for those big window boxes. Something like this...

But in navy...

We also plan on putting in some landscaping. The previous homeowner just had a lot of overgrown weeds... And lots of poison ivy.

Here's a side by side to see the difference...

So much better!

Since it will be a while befor we can build a porch we need to paint or stain the stairs to protect them... I'm stumped... Ideas? Any help is welcome!

Until next time...

XOXO,

Victoria