HOUSE TOUR: Front Door

I'd intended to do an "Around the House" feature post every Wednesday, partly to organize my blogging habits.  Well, no sense dwelling on the past when you can start here and now, so here goes!

I thought the perfect place to start a house tour would be the front door!  When we moved in it looked like this...

Rusty brown is not a good color on anyone, front doors included.  I thought about many, many colors, but I just couldn't see a bold punch serving our curb appeal well in this neighborhood of European-style architecture.  So when I had painters here for another room, I had them hit the front door with a fresh coat of glossy black.

And THEN, I did something I've wanted to do for the longest time.  Before Pinterest was even a glimmer in it's founder's eye, I'd curated a ton of decor ideas (hadn't we all?).  One of them was this beauty from Shelley and Cason at House of Smiths...

I'd always intended to do the same on our front door on our house in Pembroke, thinking I'd cut the vinyl myself with my trusty Cricut.  But Cricut is a fickle beast and I could never find the right font cartridge  to do what I wanted.  So months turned into years, and during those years everyone and their brother pinned Shelley's vinyl decal, so I was kind of thinking I shouldn't bother because it had lost its uniqueness (which is why I liked it so much, besides the fact that it looks sharp!).  

One day I had a 'moment' - you know those moments when you say to yourself "Hey, ding-dong!  You've been longing for this decal for how many years?  And why are you not making that happen again?  Because for $20 or so you can make that dream come true.  I think it's time to put up or shut up."

So I put up!  The vinyl that is!

I just LOVE, LOVE, big puffy heart LOVE it!!!   

And once I spiffed the door up, we needed a comfy spot to sit and enjoy it (and monitor the kids' after-school antics).  Our red adirondack chairs were showing their age, so some new black ones found their way into my cart at Target.  Just $18 each!  Now of course they aren't all that sturdy, so every time there's a thunderstorm someone (me) has to run outside and bring them into the garage for fear they'll blow away.  But so far, it's working for me.

They weren't all that comfy on your back though, so I scored two outdoor pillows at Garden Ridge. 

I spruced them up with some ribbon from my stash and a clip-on flower from Michaels, so they'd match the forsythia wreath on the door.  Which I should probably take down now that forsythia season is over, but I love it so much I think I'll wait until June when I can switch to my Fourth of July wreath.  I'll probably swap the pillows out then too.

Because I was nervous about having to chase the pillows down the street in a storm, I used some more ribbon from my stash to sew ties to them.

So far, so good!  Haven't lost a pillow yet!

I also filled the sad and lonely urns up with some faux greenery and florals.  There's no sense in using real flowers because they burn out so quickly and I can never keep them watered properly (learned that lesson on Edgewater Drive!)   When you get up close, you can tell it's all fake, but from the street it looks fine.  And I can switch the forsythia and friends out for red geraniums come summer.  At least that's the plan.

I love a good before and after, so here it is again!

BEFORE 

AFTER!

I have visions of adding some black shutters and window boxes, and when I win the lotto, of pulling all the flowers (they're lovely, but the bees make it kind of hard to get to the door!) in favor of a paver patio and half wall where I can put a bistro set to enjoy my after-school cuppa Joe while I watch the kids zoom past on their bikes.

But for now, I really like what we've got going here.  So glad I kicked myself in the pants and ordered that vinyl!