Turquoise Painted Wood Exterior Doors

As I was painting my front door turquoise last Saturday, I found myself thinking of high school English class. Do you remember your first day of high school English class?  You know, the one where, after handing you a five page syllabus with a list of books to be read during the semester, the teacher calmly explained that, at the end of the semester, you would be writing a twenty page, typed (single spaced)  report with properly formatted foot notes and a bibliography?

I remember sitting at my desk, still sunburned from my final day of summer vacation, staring at the neatly typed pages before me, wondering how in the world I'd ever manage to read all of those books and write that huge paper. Heck, I barely knew what a footnote was... and I most assuredly had no clue about proper format.

Just when the lump that had been in my throat was turning into a knot in my stomach,  the teacher explained that when you have a mountain of work ahead of you, it's best to start at the top of the list and, rather to look at everything that needs to be done, to work through the tasks one at a time.

So, beginning last week when we closed on the French Farm Project, rather than looking at the mountain of things that need to be completed and/or repaired, I decided to start at the beginning.  Yep, I started with the front and back doors to the house. These are the doors that we will open and close as we come and go and those which will welcome family and friends.

It seemed only logical that these doors should be the first to get their French Farm House makeover.  I love the doors, especially the front door which has its original brass hardware and brass thresh hold. Our locksmith re-keyed the deadbolt and tightened it up for me. I polished the brass just a little bit with steel wool. I decided to leave it a slightly tarnished because, after all, this house has a history and I'm embracing most of it!

This soft turquoise is the new color for the exterior doors, shutters and garage doors at the French Farm House Project. It's Benjamin Moore Exterior paint in Historic Color HC-138: Covington Blue in a satin finish.

I love every thing about this shade! It's warm... and soft... and just bright enough to give the house a little pop of color without being in your face.  The red brick on the house will be lime-washed in the near future. More on that topic when I do it.

I'll admit, the list of projects at this house is long and there are times that I get just a little overwhelmed, but then I remember English class and I remember that I'm rehabbing this house one project at a time.  It makes me feel a lot better about the fact that I had to start a new page in the notebook yesterday when I added a couple of things to the list.  :)

Up Next: duct work cleaning...and the Kitchen

French Rooster Kitchen Lamp Chalk Paint Makeover

I like to think that I usually have a pretty good eye for detail but sometimes,  I've got to admit that I'm completely oblivious.

Take this lamp, for example.

Stirring Up A Little Lighting - Paint Stir Lamp

If you follow Serendipity Refined on Facebook then, earlier tonight, you saw this photo with the caption "Anyone want to guess what this is?"

Of course, Chris figured out what it was, as did several others.

If you read blogs with advertising, chances are you've seen this lamp. It's from Shades of Light and it's $229. I saw it a while back and thought that it would be cute for the patio. I pinned it on Pinterest and forgot about it for awhile. So long, in fact, that I couldn't find it this morning when I looked for it but it's there now!

When today's weather forecast finally called for cooler weather and the chance to sit outdoors tonight. I decided that it was time to make it. 

 I grabbed a stack of paint stirs, an old lamp shade frame  and my hot glue gun.
 (Note: if I had this to do over again, I'd use a straight drum shade frame, I think that it would be easier to work with).

 

 I glued the stirs to the frame. Then I made a cup of very strong black tea. No, it's not because I'm nuts and I like a nice hot cup of tea when it's over a hundred degrees outside. It's even better than that. I made tea to paint with.  The tea was used to treat the paint stirs so that I could finally prove that I could age wood using the Steel Wool and Rust Method that I tried (and failed at) back in March

 I tried it out on an extra stir and it worked!   So, the next step was to use it on the lamp.  First, I painted the wood with tea, then with the "iron oxide" that I made from steel wool, white vinegar and a some rusty metal, back in March.  As you can see, the wood instantly turns a really nice shade of grey/brown.

 This would have been just fine had I wanted it to just look "old". But it was the color that I was after!

 First I brushed on a white wash.

 

 Then, a random mix of shades of blue and green to add to the white and gray. These are the colors of my patio and the table that I'm building which I hope to show you soon.

 

Then, I grabbed a light kit from Cost Plus World Market. (They also have them at Ikea.) 

Some rope from Home Depot.

I tried to use embroidery hoops to cover the metal rings on the lamp shade frame but I couldn't find any that were the right size so I decided to use white nylon rope instead.  I fastened the ends of  the rope using a little hot glue and some waterproof white adhesive tape.  I slipped the rings around the lamp and glued them into place.  Then, I simply threaded the light socket through the center of the frame and hung the lamp on the patio!

 That's all there was to it.

 

This is how it looked tonight when it was finally cool enough to sit outdoors!

The weather man was actually correct this time! At around 5:00, the wind shifted to the north and the temperature dropped over thirty degrees. Tonight, it was 77 glorious degrees and I was delighted to be sitting under the pergola, enjoying a cool summer's evening. (Even with the crazy Christmas Tree Lot Lights that are strung around the lower patio!)

For the record, (in case you really don't know me at all) the tree lot lights were NOT my idea. However, in the spirit of "equal representation", they're there, around the perimeter of the lower patio, on stakes that I need to paint with tea and rust so that maybe they'll "blend in" a little better.  Admittedly, everyone has their own sense of what may be considered "beautiful".  

For me, it's a paint stir lamp with a single, 60 watt, bulb. For the men in my life, it's 4,000 watts of lights that look like a Christmas Tree (or used car) lot and can be seen from a half mile away. 

I don't turn them on often. (Mainly because I'm afraid that a plane trying to land at O'Hare airport will mistake my yard for a runway!)

UPDATES:  

• I decided that I should probably protect it from the elements so, this morning, I sprayed it with some clear polyurethane.
• A HomeTalk reader brought up a valid point about the socket and moisture from outdoors so I applied silicone caulk to the top of the socket where it meets the cord and added a rubber washer where the bulb meets the socket.

 xo,

Linking to:
At The Picket Fence
Beneath My Heart
Cherished Bliss
Coastal Charm
DIY Dreamer
DIY Showoff
Get Outta My Head Please
Homestead Simple
HomeStories A to Z
Hubby Made Me 
I Should Be Mopping the Floor
In The Old Road
Krafty Kat
Not Just a Housewife
Not Just a Housewife - best of 2012
SavvySouthernStyle
The Style Sisters
The Dedicated House

 Featured at:
 http://www.refabdiaries.com/2012/08/upcycle-paint-stirrer-lamp-shade.html (ReFab Diaries)

Harlequin - My Hand Painted Patio Rug

If you follow Serendipity on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SerendipityHome), on Sunday, you saw the photo above Sunday afternoon..  If not, you haven't spent the last three days wondering what the heck I was up to. If you did, thanks for your patience.

Dining Room Make Over Reveal

BEFORE

We've lived in our home for ten years. When we built it, it was decorated in a very traditional, very formal, style. As my style has evolved and I've expanded my various collections, I decided that I wanted a more casual, more "farm girl french", style. I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish this with just paint and a few accessories, but this is where I ended up.  They say that "a picture is worth a thousand words." With that said, I'll let the photos do the "talking". 

AFTER

Dining Room Make Over- Decisions, Decisions

In typical "me" fashion, with Easter less than two weeks away (this didn't hit me until last Saturday...don't ask) and End of Quarter in full swing at work, I've been trying to decide what color to paint my dining room.

It's currently Benjamin Moore HC-50 Georgian Brick which has been a great color for the last 9 years but it's feeling a little dark and far more formal than my current taste and style.

Considerations:

• 10 foot ceilings
• West Facing Windows
• Traditional table and sideboard will stay
• Draperies will stay
• Trim, wainscot and ceiling will not be painted
• Hardwood floors stained "old house brown"

The Challenge:

• Making my "very traditional" dining space feel more "farm girl french" with nothing more than vision, a little paint, a lot of hard work and a couple of  trips to the Good Will. 

The deadline:

• Saturday, April 7th.

Source Here:

The colors:
Sherwin Williams: Whole Wheat, Sand Dune, Break Time and Chartreuse with Coral as an accent.

After all, coral is in the same "family" as the 2012 Pantone Color of the Year so, why not!?


I hope that I'll have some "after" pix for you next week. In the mean time, I hope that you're enjoying Spring as much as I am. Don't you just love white tulips!?  I do.

xo,

S

Two days...above fifty degrees...in March... in Illinois!!!!

Last year, I decided to paint my patio furniture in bright colors. It was fun and caused the neighbors to wonder if I'd lost my mind. Immediately after I did it, I wondered the same thing! I lived with it last summer but I knew that this spring, things were going to change!

So, given the GLORIOUS weather that's forecast for today and tomorrow, I'm getting a head start on correcting the "error of my ways". I LOVE PRIMER and white paint!!!!!

xo,

S