Front Door Makeover (or actually doing a project I pinned on Pinterest.)

My front door was looking a little sad and derelict after living in our house for almost 10 years.  

The paint was chipping.  The old brass colored door knob had seen better days.  At the beginning of spring this year (wait, did we ever really have a spring?  I mean it snowed in May!) I decided a refresh was in order.  I needed inspiration so I turned to the largest source of potential projects out there - Pinterest!  My Pinterest boards contain a multitude of adorable decor and craft ideas that never make it out into the real world.  But my sad little door desperately needed an upgrade so I chose several of my pinned projects and got to work.

First up was a fresh coat of glossy black paint.  Not much to say about this step other than it made a world of difference.  

Next up was to get rid of the old door hardware.  I wanted brushed nickel.  I wanted a large handle instead of a simple knob.  Just changing out the old lock set and knob.  How hard could it be?  Well, the answer, as it usually is, was much harder than it originally seemed.  You actually have to drill a new hole into your door.  Match up all the existing holes, screws, lock plates. Etc.  Well, I eventually got it done, thanks to the help of a handy neighbor.  Shout out to Steve!  You may or may not have to jiggle the lock a little to get it latched but hey, it works and looks wonderful.

The third step was a little kitchy "hello" decal to go on the door.  (I ordered this off of Etsy.  If you haven't checked it out go do so now.  Well, finish reading this post and then go.)  I think it is charming and welcoming. My husband and oldest son think otherwise.  My husband simply inquired if "that was really going to be staying on our door?" while my son said that I have two "Welcomes" and one "Hello" on our door and that he was going to put a sign out that said "Go Away!".  Whatever, I love it and I think you will too.

Next was a lovely yarn and felt wreath.  The project was much simpler than I thought it would be (to make up for the difficulty of the handle).  To make one of these wreaths you'll need a wreath form (I used a straw wreath but any form should work fine), yarn in your choice of color that you simply wind around and around the form.  I used about 1 and 1/2 skeins of yarn.  You'll also need felt in one or two colors to make a few flowers for the wreath.  I made 5 in various sizes and two colors.  To make the felt roses cut out a large circle of felt.  The larger the circle the thicker, larger your flower will be.  Next, start at the outside edge and cut the circle into a long spiral leaving a quarter sized circle at the end.  Starting at the outside end, roll up and shape into a flower.  Hot glue to the circle you left at the end and voila! a rose!  I then used long straight pins to attach to the wreath.  For a little bit of time and not much money (I think I spent less than $10 total) I have a charming new wreath for the front door.

All that was left was a new Welcome mat, cushions for the chairs on the porch and some brightly colored flowers to take my front door and porch from dreary to cheery:

So there you go - proof that Pinterest projects (other than yummy looking desserts) are (sometimes) actually completed and turn out pretty well.

                        Melissa