Fall Front Door Makeover

My house was repainted about three weeks ago. It's actually a very subtle color change- from creme siding to light green- but the slight change made my door color look a bit off. Just in time for the fall, I chose to paint our front door an eggshell black. It's looking very halloween-y with my jack-o-lantern wreath, which yes, I ended up buying from a store instead of making. I told you I wasn't crafty. Plus, I'm now 9 months pregnant, and have other projects on the list that I'd like to get done before baby time. Now I can check painting the door off my list. 

Here's a close up of the house color so you can see what I mean when I show you the old door. I can't tell you how happy I am with the paint change... it just looks so much cleaner. 

Next step is tackling that huge rhododendron bush so you can actually see the front of my house! We're finally working on the curb appeal here, something we've been neglecting till recently. It's a process. A never-ending process. 

 Here's the old front door color- the color I've been obsessed with using for accents for over a year now. 

I started taping off the small wood pieces in between the glass, and then I realized why I never tape things- because I hate it. 

But, ultimately I'm glad I did because this little one wanted to help paint. 

And voila, the finished product. I'm quite pleased. Also, paint scrapes off the glass fairly easy with a razor blade and some Windex. 

Here's a little close up of the wreath I found at Home Goods. I love how the colors pop against the black now. 

 And finally a little outside peek. 

Happy Fall! 

My Black Bath

I've finally started redoing our upstairs bathroom. And what color did I chose? You guessed it- black! Most people's jaws drop when I tell them this, and I have to admit the reaction never gets old. But seriously, it's pretty dramatic. And that's exactly what my little space needed. Here's my inspiration pic from Martha Stewart's website.

Thankfully my bathroom already had the bottom half painted bright white (unfortunately, it used to be pretty subway tile that the previous owners plastered over). I love this deep pewter grey color they used, and while I went more black, the end result was very similar and I'm pretty pleased. The paint I chose is Francesca by Martha Stewart, and I got it in an eggshell finish so it'd be a little matted. It's funny, T and I have been nicknaming her toy frog "Francesca", so when I saw this paint color, I was like, "oh how perfect".

Here are some embarrassing before photos. I'm almost too ashamed to show you so don't judge. It's so small that I can barely capture it, but you get the idea.

And here is the result so far.

I didn't want this bathroom to have a cookie-cutter feel. Part of achieving this meant having different metals for my fixtures. Gone are the days when everything needs to match. 

 My husband thought I was crazy for spray painting the chrome, over-the-toilet rack gold. I had these gold-framed  pictures from my shop in mind to tie it all together.

 I bought some hot pink towels like the inspiration photo, but toned it down with some soft blue-green ones. 

 I simply replaced the old shades on the sconces with these sleek, white ones from Home Depot. Cheap and easy fix. No wiring is always better. Plus, I really like the brass against the black. 

Even the radiator got a paint job. Dove Tail white is a fresh white with grey undertones so you don't get that yellowed white look. 

I even painted the ceiling. I wanted to give the appearance of a larger room and by painting the ceiling the same color as the wall the eye just keeps going up. 

So far the only costs of this renovation is paint. The real cost is going to come in the form of new glass doors. A move I believe will be well worth the $900 (thank you awkward bathroom for needing custom shower doors). I've lived with a shower curtain that doesn't quite slide on an old shower door track for 2 and a 1/2 years too long, and I can hardly wait. 

 Also, we're contemplating using this old Singer sewing machine as a vanity with this granite vessel bowl. I like the idea of such a unique vanity, and throwing some wood in there might add a little touch of coziness. I'm not totally digging the grey bowl on top though... maybe too bulky? What do you think?