"Let there be [attractive] light!"

And so it was.

It took me a little over two hours to replace the old (ancient) (antiques) (maybe I should put them on e-bay!) light fixtures from the exterior. Yes, I still have one up on the side of the house at one of the two service doors, but that can just wait.

First, the entire mounting bracket and screws were completely rusty. After nearly ruining the entire first set, I used a drill at the right torque to remove the rest, and they came out easy as pie.

Second, the screws that came with the fixtures were too big for the electrical box holes. I had to improvise. The first set I tried to make work (I honestly thought I was screwing them into mortar... yes, I have my moments.. they miss the mortar/brick completely) and ended up breaking one in half! Fortunately, my handy pliers were able to remove the rest of it and start over. After I got the first one done, the rest were much easier.

I'm getting really excited now about seeing the matching iron columns... I need to get back out there and paint!

And.. yes.. that cop sits out there every day that I do a project... to, uh, "clock traffic".

Drum Roll, Please

Ok, well, I did it. I started off with these top things.. I'm sure they have name. I took them down (which was a bitch, excuse my language) a long time ago when I planned on ripping this stupid column in front of the door out. I really like them in just shocking silver. The comment about them being someone else's treasure really hit home when I realized how beautiful these things are in something other than flat white.


So when I got down to the distressing them like my furniture is, I started to wonder if I needed to already spray the silver back on. Looking at my furniture- I'm almost wondering if I need to cover more of the silver with black.

First, I tried thinning the Black Rust-Oleum with Mineral Spirits, but quickly learned that it wiped the silver off right along with it. So then I dipped the paper towel directly into the can of paint and went with that. It spreads fine, if you rub it immediately.

I did about half of the post and then got bored with it and decided I would wait and see how it looked in different lighting. I think once it's complete it will blend into the front door, for the most part, in pictures. I'm just not sure if I accomplished anything, however. I almost feel like I made the iron porch posts look brand new and then made them look old and crappy again... But really, as I admire it from a distance (in the spot between my two trees, as usual) it looks very nice. And I think when I get the light fixtures up and maybe two potted shrubby things on either side of the front door with some kind of gardeny thing painted to match, it will all look spectacular..... And maybe I'll just have the Real Estate photos taken from off-center, so you don't realize from those that it IS directly in front of the stinkin' door.


By the way, isn't my landscaping the hottest thing you've ever seen? Unfortunately, I cannot seem to turn my only outside water spout at ALL. And I am TERRIFIED of breaking it and having this gushing waterfall. It is old, and says "Patented No Freeze" or something to that effect on it. Hmmm....

(Top half has not been "distressed")

Tools of Course

I just visited one of my local Home Depot's (living in a big town gives me many options, it's so neat!) just to pick up paint. $389 later, I left with a nice 12-month-no-interest-you-sucker charge on my Home Depot Consumer credit card.

My most exciting purchase is this spiffy 10" table saw. This is my first table saw, and I can't wait to use it! On what, I don't know, but now I have it!

Since y'all nixed my column boxing in, I won't need it for that, but I still have a ton of trim to do and a vanity to build... and I really want to make a headboard/maybe frame for my bed.... et cetera. Plus, I've always wanted one. So there.

What I've decided to do with my iron porch columns is a nice painting technique that mimics the wrought iron furniture in my house. I bought six cans of Rust-Oleum Stops Rust metallic Silver spray paint (handy that it was buy 2 get 1 free today), which I will put on the posts and then wipe down somewhat with the diluted black Rust-Oleum. I think this will look nice, but what do I know...

To further augment my charges, I finally decided on exterior light fixtures (well, decided while they are still in the box, at least). I went with Progress Lighting's Golden Baroque Tiffany Collection which I think will match or come close to matching my paint work, and mimic the iron scroll work. It looks very silver in this picture but it has more muted brown tones in person so I think it will great with my Warwick Lodge paint color. My concern now is removing the existing fixtures (and sometimes I wonder why I'm not just painting them and calling it good) which hang up from the mount... I hope these will still look right hanging down from the mount.

So that was my glorious trip to the HD. I was very unimpressed with the help I got from all of my sales associates except for my cashier and the hardware guy today... the rest acted like it was a Sunday and they didn't want to be there.... but I guess I can't blame them.

Oh, and their garden center is starting to go on sale! I'll need to watch it closely to make sure I can buy the things I need before they're gone. I bought a ton of stuff last fall (it was COLD) at 75% off and ALL of it lived so I'm going to attempt to do that again this year. I need some trees and tons of perennials for the front..... I feel broke already.

Future Exterior....

What it would look like with the iron posts just boxed in...

What it would look like with the iron posts boxed in and porch railing built...

Which do you like better?

Exterior Woes

I've painted three Ralph Lauren (Behr Paint) Colors on now... Marsh Green, Warwick Lodge, and Burgundy. I just... don't... know! I know it will be fabulous in the end.

Here are some more pictures from today. As you can see, I only have one coat of Burgundy on one set of window trim, none on the other...







Here is another view, where you can see the actually colors a little better. Yes, I know I need landscaping in a bad way... that will come! I plan on doing a wonderful walkway to the front door (damn column or not!) and maybe even a small pond. I want some nice dainty trees and more screening in front of all of the windows. My view is a busy road in front of an open field-- I get tired of always having blinds closed and would like to open it up. I was also thinking today that a bench between these two trees would be soo cute!