DIY Before and Afters

Well, I imagine that most of my blogs for the next few weeks/months will be about getting this house ready to sell and planning the new house. It has become my obsession!

I have put a few before and after pictures of a couple of projects we have done, info on a fun product I discovered, and a disposable paint tray idea!

First of all, I hate to paint doors. I mean I REALLY hate to paint doors. I have spent days painting doors and door frames. The only thing I hate worse than painting doors is cleaning up after painting doors. One night, I was washing out a food tray from our ready-made dinner from Costco (We've been having a lot of those dinners lately). I looked at the ridges in the bottom and on the sides and thought "this would work great for the 3" paint roller I was using to paint the doors." I just put it inside the regular paint tray to keep it on a slope, covered it with plastic wrap between the (count 'em) 3 coats I had to do on the front door, and then threw it away! It Worked for Me! Check out other paint tips (here) we have learned along the way !


Before & After

I don't know if you can see the white front door, but we painted it the blue you saw in the paint tray and it really accents the otherwise monotone colors of the house. The new color and a planter on the front porch should add to the welcoming feel.

We had old brass colored light fixtures in the master bath. The finish was peeling and tarnished. I took them apart and lightly cleaned them with steelwool. I then used a new (to me) paint by Rust-oleum called "hammered" metal. You can spray it right over any metal surface, even if it is rusted! I chose a nickel type finish to match the new shower door Paul installed although I really liked the idea of the antiqued bronze. It is a little hard to see in this photo but the "hammered" finish has a lot of depth and really updated the look. It was an inexpensive alternative to replacing the fixtures!

Before & After

Here is a picture of the new shower door. I don't have a before, but trust me it was scratched and needed replacing. We chose the rain glass which I really like, especially since it is easier to keep looking nice and clean.












Well, I guess I'd better figure out what to feed my family for dinner and plan that Family Home Evening lesson!