It's Getting Spooky Outside!

We're ready for trick or treaters! I just love the way the Halloween decorations turned out this year. Hanging lights outside is one of those things I never want to do, but it's the boys favorite part of holiday decorating. 

If you remember, this is how I decorated my fall porch.

I just added a trick or treat sign to the planter, pumpkin lanterns to the ceiling (Michael's), and grapevine garlands with lights to the exterior arch. I didn't want to remove any of the decor because I liked it the way it was. I like it even better now!

We also have the dreaded blow-ups in the yard. Everyone in the family loves it but me. My husband warned me he is going to decorate the front yard this year for Christmas, and blow-ups are the first thing he's going to buy. Maybe I can get the porch?

Living Room Update: DIY Window Trim

I think I might have mentioned the living room trim project at least a dozen times, and now I can say it's finally complete!

Here are the windows before. I tried to live with them, but I found myself shying away from photographing this side of the room because they just seemed so unfinished.

My first thought was to add drapery panels between each window from the top of the transom down to the floor. That would have worked to hide most of the drywall around the windows, but drapery that tall between every window is overwhelming. It's also very expensive! Trimming the windows gave them a custom look for much cheaper than four to six custom drapery panels. The total cost of the trim was what one French pleated 140 inch panel would have cost!

We used pre-primed boards to frame each window and a piece of crown molding on top, which is what we did in the formal dining room and study doors of our last house. The only problem was that the drywall around these windows was not even. If the board next to the window was flush at the bottom, it overlapped the top of the window by up to an inch.

My husband wanted to scratch the entire project and return the wood we had not yet cut, but I ran back up to Home Depot to stare at the wood trim and come up with a creative fix. If you have read my blog for a while you know this is not the first time I refuse to take no for an answer when a project doesn't go right! I found these L-shaped trim pieces that would just cover the imperfect areas where the wood did not meet the edge of the window. It's not the normal way to add trim to a window, but it works! You can see that extra piece of trim that wraps around the corners in the picture below.

I am thrilled about the result almost as much as I am about it just being done! I was on this hamster wheel of putty, caulk, and sand for weeks until I was satisfied enough to finally paint. All of those uneven edges and walls caused a caulking nightmare. I told my husband if he ever says I can hide something with caulk again then he will be the one caulking!

You would think I'd never try to attempt this again, but now we are working on the Juliet balcony trim I mentioned in my last post.

This time it will be simple trim under the balcony railing...simple...lol. We'll see how this turns out next weekend!

My First "Easy" DIY Project: Juliet Balcony Update

One of the things that has bothered me since we built our house two years ago is that the Juliet balcony railing does not match the stair railing. I said I was going to have it replaced because it resembled a jail cell. I just figured that it was the way the house was built until I realized much later that everyone else with our floor plan had railings that matched their stairs.

You can see that the stair railings have embellishments called knuckles. 

I found knuckles I could buy at our local home improvement store, but they were in one piece. The balcony railings are soldered to the floor. There was no way I could remove a railing piece to add the knuckle. If they just came in two pieces...

Well, a quick google search showed me that this is really a thing. I found a local company that offered them for $1.29 each. I ordered them online and two days later they were delivered to my door.  They are plastic and come in two pieces that snap together. You cannot tell the difference between the iron and plastic ones at all.

Here it is finished! It took me forever to find a pattern that would mimic the stairs. I couldn't match it exactly because of the number of railings. I found a pattern that looks the same unless you are counting the knuckles on each railing. The installation was so simple, too! You just snap the pieces together, and you can move them up and down the railing to make them level.

Here is the before again.

Finally! I know we all have things that bother us about our homes. I've learned from experience it cane all be fixed with a bit of creativity not to just fix the problem, but make it one of your favorite features in your home. 

Don't think this balcony is complete! The homebuilder in the "expensive" section of our neighborhood has almost exact floor plans as mine, but with a bit more square footage and extra features. This wood trim under the railing is one of those features. I can have that same wood trim for about $50!

I just have to talk my husband into getting his saw out again!

Fall Foyer and Repurposed Decor

A little pop of orange and an elegant glass pumpkin is all this room needed to welcome fall. You might also notice the new lamps!

I didn't include it on my fall post because I was debating whether to keep the lamps here. I repurposed them from the dining room because I needed more light here. We have a chandelier in the entry with absolutely no way to replace the burned out bulbs because of the height so I haven't been turning it on as much. 

I don't show this view very often because it's still really bare. I'm hoping after Christmas I can remedy that with wainscoting on the second floor wall, new chandeliers and decor that isn't borrowed from other rooms. The bench is from the bedroom and the chair is from the dining room. I think it's time the entry got it's own furniture!

The bright side is I can definitely live with the way it looks for now!

Shop My House

If you don't see an item listed below the picture, please click on my Pinterest widget at the bottom of this post and look for items under "shop my house."

Foyer

Dining Room

Living Room

Kitchen

Breakfast Room

Media Room

Outdoor

Find me on Pinterest (link in sidebar) and find the board "Shop My House", or click on the widget below.  I tried to find similar items for some of the items that have been discontinued or alternate stores. If an item has been customized it will be noted in the description of the pin. Please let me know if you can't find something or have any questions!