Now You See [Through] It, Now You Don't

Our front door has a large window in it (it takes up about half of the door). It is great for letting in light to the entry, but not the best for privacy. From the front porch you could see all the way through the hall and kitchen to the back of the house. So to solve the privacy problem, I frosted the window.

But just solid frosting is boring. So I wanted to bring a little clear glass into the design. We decided to go with an outline to sort of mimic the stain glass window next to the door. We also thought it would be nice to incorporate something such as "welcome" or the house number. Well, since the house number is on the front of the house twice already (under the stain glass window above the mailbox and also on the porch light), we went with "Welcome".

The process started by taping out the design we wanted to stay clear. I used blue painters tape for the outline and contact paper for the welcome part. Once the writing was on level, I had the tedious task of cutting out each letter.

After plastic-ing around the door, I used a spray paint froster (Krylon Frosted Glass Finish). It went on a little spotty after the first coat. But after a second and real light third it evened out.

And the finished product:

Edit: By request, here is the door from the outside!

Backsplash Bonanza

We finally have a backsplash! It was a decently long process, but well worth it. We decided to go with something a little different from the traditional tile and went with "tin" tile (it was actually a plastic, making it easier to work with).

The first step was to prime the tiles (two coats) so the paint would hold and not peel off when wiped down.

Then two coats of cream colored paint.

We then sanded them down to give them a bit of an old, distressed look.

Installing them was super easy. They cut with just a pair of scissors and went up in no time.

We love how it turned out! Unique and unexpected, but looks great! And it was definitely an easy DIY project for anyone, no matter how handy (or unhandy). So hopefully we can inspire others to think about a tin backsplash instead of typical tile... maybe?

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Over the last couple weeks, we picked up some more Christmas decorations. Some stockings, a wreath, some ribbon (to add to the wreath), greenery for the porch steps, and lights for outside.

The stockings we hung on our stair rail. We don't have a fireplace to hang them from the mantle, but we think they fit perfectly on the stairs. And yes we got three (cause the spoiled puppy has to have one too).

We bought four pots for the stairs to our porch months ago for flowers. Well its been a tad cold for flowers since we moved in, so they've been empty. And just looked a bit sad. So a trip to Joann later and we had some faux greenery (yes faux... its too cold for much else to last outside through the winter and this way we have for next year too). I ended up cutting all of the stems and redoing arrangements to make them look a bit fuller in the pots. And now the pots don't look so sad on the steps.

And our wreath. I had these grand plans of making my own with pipe insulation and burlap and ribbon. I even had everything in my cart shopping except the burlap when I found a pre-made wreath. It's not burlap but I thought it was amazing and had to have it instead. So back went the pipe insulation. But I kept the ribbon to add to the pre-made wreath to give it a bit more oomph. Using the clever trick of an upside down 3M hook on the inside of the door, the wreath hangs outside and looks amazing.

To top off the Christmas decor, Kevin also hung some lights in the front windows and around the porch area. With all the decorations and a little gift shopping this weekend, we're definitely feeling the holiday spirit!

Let There Be Light

We replaced almost every light in the house with new, slightly more modern ones. Partly because they were just a tad ugly (in our opinions). But also because they were quite old and the wiring was a tad shoddy. The only one we kept was the dining room. Not because we really liked it. But because I had this crazy idea of spray painting it (props to Pinterest, where I spend way too much of my very little free time).

So the longer than expected process began.

Since we weren't figuring we'd need to take the light down for anything, I built a ridiculous spray painting shelter around the chandelier. It involved hanging plastic from the ceiling around 3 sides of the chandelier, a drop cloth on the table below, and more plastic on the front open side below the chandelier. I taped over the chain and wiring so that didn't get sprayed and removed all of the hanging crystals.

Then came one coat of primer and two coats of color. And some new shades. Everything was looking great to put the chandelier back together.

Except then Kevin noticed some of the wires were fraying. As he looked further, more and more of the wiring was shot (probably why we didn't use most of the other light fixtures in the house). So he then had the fun task of rewiring the light. And my shelter idea to not have to take down the chandelier was kind of ruined. Not only did we have to take it down, but it was disassembled into pieces. But hey at least we know the wiring is safe.

To top off the new look, we got new shades. It looks like a completely different chandelier!