D.I.Y....OH MY, OH MY!

So not that long ago, I got this little home improvement glimmer in my mind. It started with my deck, which was looking pretty sad. So I oiled the deck, and it was a lot of work, but it wasn't too bad plus it looked much better afterward. So then I started getting other ideas....

I hate my front door. Like seriously hate it. It was one of the first things I wanted to change about our house when we bought it. However, front doors are expensive and I still love my ugly window because it makes it easy to spot who is at the door without them seeing me inside. Another downer of the door is that the person that painted it before me used the wrong kind of paint and dirt just stuck to it. It got so bad that you could see the dirt from the street. So painting the door a fun color seemed like an inexpensive solution. Picking the color was easy and the rest was...not so easy.

I also thought that I had better replace my door handle while I was at it...I had NO idea what a hassle that was going to be...if only I had known...

I also couldn't stand the sight of my outdoor lights one more second...ugh...here are the before pictures.

So painting a front door...not as easy as one might think. I had no idea what I was in for. After days of prep I finally started with the primer. After 15 minutes, I realized that it was going to take forever, and I almost started to cry. All those little crevices and details...my oh my. I had to enlist Brent to help, and he didn't complain even though I knew he really wanted to. I would never suggest a front door paint job to be the first time you painted ever. It was not easy. And then it looked...horrible! It was all uneven and looked all cloudy from the street. I was so discouraged. A friend from our ward told me to sand it down and paint again. I did and it looked better, but still not perfect. At that point though I was OVER it, and I've now just accepted the door as it is.

And the handle? Well I had to have black of course because that was the color of my new outdoor lights. Want to find a black front door handle? Sure you do. Want to buy one that is the right size? Not easy to figure out. Want to have one shipped to you on time? Good luck. Want the one you finally get in the mail to not be broken? Ha. I called that handle place maybe a dozen times or more. Our handle was the wrong size and we had to drill a new hole in the door because the size was not standard like I was led to believe...don't listen to the guys at Home Depot ever!

So finally after all that mess, my dad made it over a few weeks later to put up my lights. They were also a disaster to install, but at least they are up and looking pretty spiffy. Overall, I am happy with the updates. And I learned a TON. Mostly this: DIY home improvement...doesn't look as easy as it does on TV. And just so you know, I never thought it looked easy on TV.