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Progress Report: New Outdoor Sconces & 12 Options Under $100

October 6, 2021 by jessica Leave a Comment

I feel a little embarrassed posting this photo since our house is in desperate need of a power wash — but, I like documenting our progress. So, today’s post is about the small-but-necessary updates we’ve made to our front porch recently: new sconces and an outdoor outlet!

The outdoor outlet is definitely an eyesore, but it’s a small price to pay to be able to hang Christmas lights outside. I had been using these socket adapters with our old sconces and they’re great in a pinch, but an outdoor outlet is really a necessary upgrade. We have an outlet on the interior side of this wall in the same spot, making it the easiest placement for the outlet. I would have preferred to have it less obvious, but it doesn’t really bother me that much. I’ll put a potted plant in front of it next year.

The more exciting change was swapping out the old sconces. As a reminder, this is what we were starting with:

Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Wet Clay

I don’t mind the farmhouse shape of those sconces, but they didn’t work with our aesthetic. Beyond that, they were flimsy and were starting to rust. (I don’t know about you, but rusting electrical fixtures don’t give me peace of mind.) You’ll also notice that the canopy is circular and the siding trim behind it is a rectangle. There’s an overhang, so I don’t think much moisture made its way in, but it was a haven for insects. We had a hornet nest under the one on the right, which was thankfully abandoned when we took down the fixture.

My main priority for a new sconce was one with a rectangular canopy that would fit within the existing trim. I have the biggest crush on this sconce from Schoolhouse, but the canopy wouldn’t work and, well, $300 per sconce simply isn’t in our budget with an upcoming bathroom renovation. (We have two sconces in front and one over our back patio door.) I strongly considered this one from Rejuvenation, but after measuring the sconce plus the globe, I discovered that the top of the globe would be in line with the very top of the door and that seemed too high. I eventually came across these. Are they my favorite sconce? Not by any stretch of the imagination. However, the canopy was correct, the size was spot on, and the price at $40 each was enticing enough to place an order. I figured I could always return them if I hated them. They ended up being far better quality than I expected for the price. (It’s also worth noting that we did not want a light with an integrated LED; we wanted to use our own smart bulbs to set the automation.)

Since I’ve done a lot of sconce-searching over the past few months, I thought I’d put together a roundup of outdoor sconces under $100:

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN | ELEVEN | TWELVE

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Filed Under: Front Porch, Home, Interiors Tagged With: Front Porch, home renovation, lighting, Renovation

We stained the front porch!

August 28, 2020 by jessica Leave a Comment

Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Wet Clay

You may remember last year’s front porch project when we replaced our screen door. And, now, we’re another step closer to completing the front porch now that we’ve stained the floor!

The process wasn’t without its frustrations, though, as you’ll see below. But first, let’s start with a before photo of the front of our house. (Side note: you’ll notice that the siding looks different in just about every photo depending on the light. The most true color is what you see above. It’s also in desperate need of a powerwash.)

Progress Report: Front Porch

Okay, so this isn’t a real before image when the entire bottom portion of the house was unpainted wood and we still had the old storm door, but this gives you an idea of what we’re working with. Ultimately, we’d like to give our house a full face lift. The original front porch that went along the front of the house had been closed off years ago. We’d like to add more windows (vertical, double-hung) to give the home more appropriate historic curb appeal. Plus, that door to the right is permanently sealed. It would have led to the porch at some point. We need to have that removed and scrounge up enough siding remnants to close it in from the outside. Whenever we’re able to do this, we’ll redo the front stairs entirely. They’re someone’s DIY project and they’re not even deep enough for kickboards. But, as with everything, these lofty plans cost a lot of money and we needed to do something to make it cuter in the meantime.

We had left the wood raw for the last three years as we hemmed and hawed over the the pros and cons of paint versus stain. I preferred the opacity of paint, but everyone seemed to be pushing us toward stain because of its durability. It wasn’t until earlier this summer that I discovered that Sherwin-Williams carries an opaque stain, which is the best of both worlds!

I was a bit cavalier about my selection of colors, holding up the color chips to the siding and went with my first impulse: Gray Birch. From the sample, it seemed to be a warm, light gray. Clearly, I wrong:

There were so many blue undertones to this stain that it appeared baby blue next to the color of our siding. I probably should have stopped earlier, but I kept wondering if it would dry differently or that I’d like it if I really gave it a fair shot. Instead, I hated it more and more. At one point, I thought I ordered the wrong color and peeled the chip off the card to hold against the applied stain. A perfect match. It’s just that blue.

(P.S. We’d eventually stain those stair risers when we figured out the right color.)

Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck Wet Clay vs. Flagstone

After that fiasco, I had about a half-gallon left and talked to Sherwin-Williams to see how I should proceed. They told me that the wood could really only hold one more coat of stain before it would just chip off and ruin the integrity of the product. They stained it deeper, getting closer to the King’s Canyon color and gave me a paint stick dipped in the hue to hold up against the house. That ended up having purple undertones, so I switched gears entirely and picked a new area of the color chart to try, opting for Wet Clay (above, left) and Flagstone. (They weren’t able to do samples of these in stain, but were able to give me paint to use on a piece of poster board to check against the house.) These colors had more yellow to the base and ended up being really great options. (Let that be a lesson to you to always get samples first!) I went with Wet Clay and the second coat of applied stain completely covered the first without any hints of color coming through.

Note: I’m unable to find the Wet Clay stain color on the Sherwin-Williams website. The color code is SW 3083.

Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Wet Clay

I am so happy with how it turned out! I can’t speak to the durability of the color until we get through a Wisconsin winter, but I did try to chip at it with my fingernail and it held tight.

So, next on the list is doing something about those iron railings (might replace, might just spray paint them matte black with Rust-Oleum), touching up the white paint, and replacing the sconces. In full disclosure, I don’t mind the shape of the sconces, but they are so incredibly flimsy and cheap — and they’re starting to rust.

Sources: Andersen storm door | CB2 mailbox (also love this one) | House of Antique Hardware doorbell | Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck opaque stain in Wet Clay

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Filed Under: Front Porch, Home Tagged With: Front Porch, home renovation

Progress Report: Front Porch

September 4, 2019 by jessica Leave a Comment

Front Porch Progress

If you’ve seen my Insta story, you’ll know that I’m exceedingly proud of the progress we made on our front porch over the weekend. And, since those stories are fleeting, I wanted to be better about documenting progress on the blog. The pressure to post a “before” image followed by a beautiful “after” photo is real, but when you’re not a full-time blogger, it’s unrealistic to wait until everything is complete to celebrate success! Plus, I do think there’s value in showing that house projects take time and there will be plenty of “in-between” moments as you prioritize other things. So, here we are with a series of iPhone photos and athletic wear!

Obviously the door you’re looking at is our front door and opens into the entry. Our living room is to the right and the stairs to the second floor are on your left. The door on the right goes to what was an original porch that extended along the front of the house. We never use that door and will eventually be closing it off when we do a remodel of the exterior to add more windows and transform the dingy space into a functional sun room. (I’ve been using that space for painting projects and will take proper photos once I clear it out.)

Front Porch Progress

Replacing our storm door had been at the top of to-do list all summer, but we kept putting it because it seemed intimidating. One of our friends insisted that it wasn’t too bad, so we ordered a new door and hoped for the best. Then Dave’s dad offered to help and we took him up on his gracious offer.

I’ll admit that the door doesn’t look terrible in the photos, but that’s a lie. This door was flimsy, had paint that had worn off, had remains of duct tape that I could never remove, and a weird and non-functional chain at the top. I could have painted it and added a new door handle, but really, it was time to replace it with something modern. Plus, I wanted a screen. I’m not sure if this door ever had one? If it did, it certainly wasn’t left with the house and was probably misplaced decades ago.

Front Porch Progress

Removing the old door went a lot faster than I thought it would. The screws had been painted over and I figured it would be a bear to deal with. It wasn’t. But, oof, you can really see how rough the original door is in the sunlight. Honestly, it’s a gorgeous door, but it’s in need of TLC. There are dried spots thanks to sun exposure and the original varnish is cracking. Eventually I’d like to have it stripped and restained, but it’s so not on the top of my to do list. I’m torn on whether or not to polish the brass door handle since the patina is beautiful. (I’m sure no one has ever done it in the house’s 90-year history.)

Front Porch Progress

I was so proud of this “after” photo on Monday, even if you can see all of the paint that was scraped away when we removed the existing caulk. I would have painted when the storm door was off had I realized that the new door frame wouldn’t extend as far over the trim as the original door did. So, keep that in mind if you’re ever replacing a storm door. Take it off earlier than you plan to install the new one and add a fresh coat of paint before the new one goes on. It would have been much easier at that point.

Front Porch Progress

And here we are after a fresh coat of paint! The actual door removal and installation took about two hours and taping and painting took another hour. I think it makes the front porch look so much more inviting and I’m sorry that I waited so long to do it in the first place!

This fall, I’d like to stain or paint the floor (probably dark grey) and replace the light fixtures. The fixtures look okay in photos, but they’re such poor quality. They’re flimsy and, ugh, I just hate them so much. I’d like something in brushed nickle to match the other hardware outside.

Sources: Andersen storm door | West Elm door mat (also love this one) | CB2 mailbox (also love this one) | House of Antique Hardware doorbell

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Filed Under: Front Porch, Home Tagged With: Front Porch, home renovation

Hello!


Jessica Hamm
Hello there! I'm a first-time homeowner updating a 1920s house in Madison, Wisconsin. I have a penchant for travel and a love of costume jewelry. Follow along for personal style, travel, and lifestyle content.

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Currently Coveting

A retro-inspired blouse that’s fun for spring!

Vintage-like glasses that could easily pass for heirloom pieces.

Visit Me on Instagram!

I planted over 100 flower bulbs last fall and whil I planted over 100 flower bulbs last fall and while that many haven’t come up, I’m feeling exceptionally proud of the ones that did — even if my involvement was minimal. 

#muscari #flowers #springgarden #zone5a #zone5agardening
I am just the happiest! I keep looking at this bat I am just the happiest! I keep looking at this bathroom and thinking how lucky we are that we were able to do this! It wasn’t always easy to navigate the stressful moments, but the end result is worth it. I feel like I’m at a luxury hotel every time I shower! (And it sure beats showering with the spiders in our [basically unfinished] basement bathroom. It was like camping in our own home for the past six weeks — and I very much hate camping!)

More photos to come!

#bathroomremodel #bathroomdesign #bathroom #bathroomrenovation #thisoldhouse #1920shouse #subwaytile #showertile #marbletile #marblefloor
For as stressful as this project has been, it’s For as stressful as this project has been, it’s amazing to see it come together. (Swipe for a before!) 

The rest of the shower tile will be installed on Monday and then they’ll starting laying the floor tile. I can’t wait!

#bathroom #bathroomremodel #bathroomrenovation #thisoldhouse #1920shouse #home #oldhouselove #oldhouse #centuryhome #tile #tiling #floortile #progressphotos
Grocery store tulips arrived a month later than us Grocery store tulips arrived a month later than usual this year. Let’s hope spring doesn’t follow suit. 

#flowers #tulips #whiteflowers #whitetulips #grocerystoreflowers
My NCAA bracket was busted within the first few ho My NCAA bracket was busted within the first few hours of the tournament, but there's a much more fun one to take part in: a bagel bracket with @bantambagels -- and you can win a month's supply of the winning flavor! There will be a daily matchup on their Instagram stories each Thursday, Friday, Monday, and Tuesday now through April 5. Each vote in the daily face off is a chance to be one of five grand prize winners! My vote goes to Everybody's Favorite, an everything bagel stuffed with veggie cream cheese. 

#sponsored #springtable #breakfast #bagels #bantambagels #tablescape #breakfasttable #tablesetting #foodphotography #thebiteshot #foodflatlay
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye ... to So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye ... to this bathroom. Demolition on our upstairs main bathroom starts today! I love old houses and #OldHouseThings, but this bathroom's prior renovation clearly isn't part of the original home -- nor was it done well. A leak from the bathtub into our kitchen on Easter 2020 kicked off our plans for the renovation and it's finally coming to fruition two years later. The prior damage wasn't caused by leaking pipes (although we just replaced all of the old galvanized pipes with PVC plumbing to futureproof the house); it was from water pooling on the edge of the tub after a shower and then spilling over the side onto the floor. As we discovered, the tub isn't level (nor is the toilet) which caused water to flow over. I'm sure we'll discover plenty of other water damage as our contractor's team starts pulling everything out and I'm so excited for the peace of mind that will come from getting everything in tip top shape. 

Today is also the day that fixtures will be installed in the half bath! There's a short punch list of small things yet to do in that space, but the finished product is right around the corner! 

#bathroom #bathroomremodel #bathroomrenovation #thisoldhouse #1920shouse #home #oldhouselove #oldhouse #centuryhome
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