How about a post about hunting for knockers? Nope, not those knockers. This is just the follow-up we promised yesterday about updating our door knocker and doorbell.
Here was the situation before: a nice but quite aged door knocker whose main flaw was that the previous owner’s last name that was etched into it (it’s a little hard to see because I slightly blurred it for their sake).
We took the engraving as a sign that it needed to be replaced, rather than salvaged, so we figured we’d use the opportunity to buy something unique and statement piece-y. First we hit up our favorite local hardware store (Pleasant’s Hardware) which had some animal kingdom inspired options that Clara couldn’t keep her hands off of. But with those prices ($188?!) Sherry and I had no trouble.
Our next stop was a local architectural salvage place that’s always full of interesting pieces (Caravati’s). They had some cool options – we especially loved the chunky ring in the bottom right – but the prices were still about one digit longer than we were hoping to spend (that one was $185). I guess I never really thought about how much a door knocker could cost.
Next we scoped out Lowe’s and Home Depot, which both had options like these. The price was certainly right, but it was the same basic urn style knocker that we already had except smaller and not as “original” looking. Plus the size difference would mean we’d have to make new holes in the door to achieve basically the same look.
When the big box stores failed to excite us, we hunted online a little and found some interesting and slightly more affordable options at both Restoration Hardware and Anthropologie. Never did I think I’d put those two stores in the same sentence as “slightly more affordable” but compared to our first options their $50-ish price tags felt like a deal. But these were both about half the size (or less) than our original knocker, so we worried they’d look a little lost/piddly on our two-story facade.
Feeling a bit KO’d by knocker hunting, we started to look at our existing knocker with fresh eyes. A gentleman at Caravati’s had mentioned we could take it someplace to get the engraving buffed out… but maybe it was worth attempting an at-home buffing first? After all, my Dremel had some sanding pads that seemed built for a job like that.
Figuring we didn’t have much to lose, we removed the knocker and I attached the lowest grit sand paper to my Dremel (the one with the roughest texture) in hopes that it would scratch out the old owner’s name.
Scratching achieved. I stopped at first, worrying I was permanently damaging it, but Sherry assured me that a new coat of paint should cover it up. So I charged on, er, buffed on.
After a few passes with the low-grit sandpaper, I went back over with the high-grit stuff (which has a much smoother texture) to minimize the scratches by buffing them. It still had slight traces of my buffing pattern, but it certainly got smoother. It even revealed a gold finish that’s probably close to what the knocker looked like decades ago.
If gold was what we were going for – and if I had the patience to buff every nook and cranny – it could’ve been a very exciting discovery. Instead, I was just happy to get that engraving off so Sherry could get down to oil-rubbed-bronzing it to match the door hardware as well as some other dark-toned items on the porch (more on those in a second). She used her favorite self-priming spray paint by Rustoleum (Universal All-Surface Spray) and just applied three thin coats (more of a mist than a coat, so they built up gradually without dripping).
Once dried, the de-personalized knocker looked right at home on our new blue door. You can see how its fresh shine is reflecting the front yard – there’s even a reflection of Sherry standing in front of it taking the picture, but the area that I sanded down is exactly the same color and texture as the rest of it. Thank goodness for small use-what-you-got victories.
Here’s a detail shot of the door open to try to capture the smooth finish for you with less of the porch reflection thing going on.
While we were at it, we decided to clean up the doorbell too. We liked the shape, so it just needed a coat of the same oil-rubbed bronze finish as the knocker to cover the sloppy looking over-painted areas that had obscured its interesting shape.
Sherry’s trick for keeping the button from getting painted was to press a piece of sticky-tack over it (you know, that poster putty that you use in college to hang Weezer posters?). It was much easier than trying to cut painter’s tape in a perfectly sized circle. And as you can see above, it worked out pretty nicely – she just yanked it off after the paint dried and the button was clean and unpainted underneath.
So that’s how one can of $7 spray paint allowed us to keep and update two etched and painted over items on our porch. Hopefully it’ll come in handy for anyone else out there with a not-quite-there-yet door knocker or doorbell. We really like how the new darker finish helps them stand out more while tying in with the door handle, the black planters on the porch, and even the black rule around the doormat.
Now if we can just do something about that bug-infested crooked light…
Update: And since our current home didn’t come with a wired doorbell, we ended up installing a wireless Ring video doorbell. It was crazy easy and took only 5 steps.
Psst- Clara’s at it again, being all funny and cute over here.
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
I was a little nervous at how that was going to turn out but once again, you guys pulled it off! It looks great against the blue!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Anele :)
xo
s
Teresa @ wherelovemeetslife says
That’s funny that you guys think that light is ugly. I was just thinking yesterday, that although it does not fit that space at all, it would be really nice with some paint in a hall. Different strokes, huh?
YoungHouseLove says
I think an up close shot of all the bugs that went there to die might change your mind. Haha! But I love a hall lantern! Maybe I should try to de-bug it and use it inside :)
xo
s
Liz says
I love the dark hardware! I also love the blue door but think it would “go” better once you bring other colors into the front of the house – even just some flowers! An oriental-looking outdoor rug/doormat might tie the blue in with the red brick as well. (Or maybe not…I just love the look of old oriental rugs mixed with modern, brighter elements!)
YoungHouseLove says
Love those ideas!
xo
s
HeatherB says
Didn’t you talk about also painting the ceiling there blue, like the old southern tradition for porches?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’d love to do that! Haint blue it’s called I think (so not as bright as the door but sort of light and soft).
xo
s
Stefanie says
I really love how the ORB pops against that door color. It really makes everything look very finished and clean.
I cannot wait to see what you guys do with that light. As is it leaves much to be desired but I think something like what you had in your previous dining area (but smaller!) would look kinda amazing in it’s place.
Olivia says
I love that you were able to re-use the original knocker. Score!
rachael says
We have that exact same door knocker!! It was my husband’s grandparents door knocker, and it has our last name engraved on it too. When they moved into a nursing home, his Grandpa gave it to my father in law who didn’t want it so he gave it to us. Now, we don’t have a door suitable for a knocker because it has a window in it that takes up most of the door, so we hung it up in our gallery wall. Maybe one day if we move we will have a door we can put it on.
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! I love that you got to keep it!
xo
s
Alisha says
We have one, too! Our’s was my husband’s uncle’s (who passed away right before our wedding) but he never hung it–so it could have been my husband’s grandparent’s, too!
My question, Sherry, is do you think we could ORB it (it’s bright brass) without covering/blurring our etched in last name? It would be a nice little family momento to display! I like Rachel’s idea of displaying inside on a gallery wall until have a place to hang it, too! ( we have 9 window pane door…would it be weird to hang it below the windows at waist height?)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man I’m nervous because we heard from someone who sprayed it and said it obscured the name (one person said fully and one person said partially) so it really must depend how deeply it’s etched.
xo
s
Ana says
The knocker must’ve been popular back in the day because I found one on Etsy while looking for something else:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/124429546/brass-pagoda-style-door-knocker?ref=shop_home_active
Just in case anyone wants a YHL knocker. It’s got a great shape. I don’t need one or I’d buy it. :)
tjack432 says
After all the ORB updating, that light looks like it was photoshopped onto the porch.
I have a question. Did you remove the paint on the brick? It looks like there is less paint there in the before/after doorbell pics. Or is it just a camera thing?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I rubbed Goo Gone on it with a brillo pad since I heard it can buff paint off of brick (in our case it worked somewhat but not completely).
xo
s
tjack432 says
Oh great, thank you for the tip.
Mia says
That doorbell transformation is amazing. How did you look at the original and imagine the final result?!
YoungHouseLove says
I think we have tried to train ourselves to look at the shape of something over the color, so if we like the shape, and we know we like ORB as a finish, we just hope that once we combine those two things it’ll look nice.
xo
s
Amanda T. says
Yay for being able to reuse what you’ve got! And ORB is just sooooo delicious! Like a sparkly chocolate river. Ha!
Amanda says
Love the Weezer shout out!
What a beautiful and cost effective update!
Kristen Allen says
Yep I just wanted to *high five you guys for the Weezer reference!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
audrey m says
If you spray the light fixture the same ORB it will look better for the time being. Then y’all can replace it with what you love!
Courtney {a thoughtful place} says
Squeal. That blue color is so charming and fresh. Well done with the knob. We have some old knockers {not those kind} from a garage sale. Never dreamed I could get the monogram off on one of them. Well done.
Lynne Piil says
Love, love, love the choices for the door, etc.!! We have a home with the same color of brick as yours and are about to paint the garage, front and side doors a charcoal/bluish grey color. The last owners did a terrible job painting the trim and there is white paint from the trim bleeding out onto the brick work. We are wondering what to do about this, and are figuring that the only thing we can do is try to match the brick color and paint over it — do you have any other ideas? Many thanks, Lynne
YoungHouseLove says
We tried to get some paint off the brick using Goo Gone on a brillo pad since we heard that can buff it out in some cases. For us, it helped but didn’t remove it all (maybe 60-70% got lighter and less obvious but not much of it disappeared completely). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Bonnie says
On Designed to Sell they used to paint bricks with brick color to get them looking decent again. Great use of a sponge paint technique.
Melly says
Try Goof Off. It works much better than Goo Gone.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip! I should try that! Maybe that was the tip I heard and I messed up the product. Haha!
xo
s
Eri says
I use Soy-Gel and like it. Mostly odorless, and works pretty well!
Shannon says
Great way to use what you’ve got, especially when the other options were so expensive!
If only a little spray paint could hide our door knocker that is in the shape of a cat’s butt!!! We do not own a cat, and neither did the previous owners, so it’s from 2 owners ago. It’s screwed into the mullions of the window on our door. We haven’t found a replacement that will fit!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh I had to reread your comment because I said “surely she didn’t say it was the shape of a cat’s butt, I’m reading this wrong.” Hilarious! And my condolences.
xo
s
Shawna says
Shannon – PLEASE post a photo of your knocker! I could use a good laugh!
ColleenwithJustPaintIt says
Seems like I’m just following in your footsteps with newtome house projects. Well, I’m not ripping up any carpet though.
The front door is perfect, although I was really hoping you chose “Spirit in the Sky” purely because it’s a great tune and just seeing the title made me feel all young and girly/giggly. :p
Sarah W says
Bummer that you didn’t get to buy a fancy new one, but it’s always great when you can give new life to something you already have.
It makes sense for you guys now since you’ve had so many other big costs after the move, and maybe you can get a funky animal one down the line. Perhaps your obsession for animals will change from ceramic to metal?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you never know!
xo
s
Paupie says
Hi Petersiks,
I’ve been reading for a little while and think the two of you are doing such a fantastic job (this coming from a self-employed pastry chef who works from home while taking care of a 15 month old, so I know hahaha)- I really enjoy stopping by to read when I can. And it’s so helpful as the hubby and I are planning our move out of Manhattan and hopefully into a fixer-upper!
The new place is looking great and I just had an idea for the doorknocker if it’s your style (I’m thinking about the towel in your old guest bath that I want – we have the same initial)…..What about a little stenciled “P” where the engraving used to be? No clue if you two would be into that but it popped into my head and for the first time I thought I’d post.
Keep up all the fun (and exhausting and exciting)work!
P
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Paupie! That would be fun! Such a smart way to customize something.
xo
s
Lauren says
Best.blogpost.title.EVER. :) Love your, err, knocker!
Jacqueline says
Haha… I was going to say the same thing. Love the humor and wit:)
Liz says
Who knew door knockers were so expensive? I certainly didn’t! It looks awesome. I loved that giraffe door knocker – so cute!
As for the light, I’m envisioning something bigger for the space. Loving the outdoor updates so far! :)
Andy says
I hate to point this out, but the knocker is upside down. The diamond shape on the handle is there to protect the fingers when striking the base which sticks out further than the other flourishes.
YoungHouseLove says
Too funny! So do you think it was engraved upside down? It was hanging that way when we moved in (with the name in that direction) so we assumed that’s how it went!
xo
s
Jennifer says
Are you sure? It doesn’t look like it would still connect to the base when knocking if you flipped the whole thing upside down. Maybe the handle was just connected backwards?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s what I wondered too, since the long part seems to be what it knocks against (so having that on the bottom makes it work).
xo
s
Ashley says
It’s the correct way. I was really curious(and bored at work) so I googled ‘door knockers’ and yours is one of the 1st to come up. Phew, I’m sure you’ll sleep well tonight having this problem solved.
Christina says
I think Andy means that the handle should be flipped back to front. The diamond part which is currently facing outward would face inward and strike the base. And the base would stay the way it is.
Not that it really matters all that much. The diamond does add a little detail. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ohh gotcha!
xo
s
Lesley says
This one is extremely similar and has the diamond on the outside: http://www.promo-wholesale.com/china/Door-Knockers/3/Fantasia-Door-Knocker-68083.htm
I’d leave it.
I do have a question about that box on the exterior wall to the left of the front door. Too small to be a mailbox I think. What is it?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s an intercom! Don’t think it works though… but maybe I should try it?! Just to chat up our deer friends or something.
xo
s
Carrie says
I’m so in love with your new blue door, what a great choice!! :0)
Nancy says
Love the blue door and the hardware.
Are screen doors uncommon in VA? Would you consider a retractable one? Or are bugs not a problem?
YoungHouseLove says
We haven’t used/had them at any house we’ve owned in the last 7 years, so I think we’re just not screen door people. We just open the door to go in and out, but otherwise it’s closed to keep the air/cool in :)
xo
s
Manda Wolf says
Looks really good. Love was ORB spray paint can do! We got a new door knocker recently. We went with one from Home Depot and then decided to go ahead and order the same style from a shop on Etsy so we could have it personalized. It is amazing how the proper door knocker make such a difference.
Here is a link to a picture of the one we ordered (on our bright red front door –Claret is the color I think):
http://ourwolfden.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/custom-door-knocker/
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo
s
Kate says
Looks great! What a cool example of “use what you’ve got,” and the styling is very elegant. Thanks for sharing your thought process!
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
I also like to use what you got when you can! We didn’t have a door knocker to freshen up so I found one on ebay. It is a pineapple which is the symbol of Newport, RI (one of my fav places in the world). I learned after the fact that back in the day the pineapple was a symbol of a swinging couple. LOL! Needless to say, we are NOT a swinging couple.
http://29ruehouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/knock-knock.html
YoungHouseLove says
Love the pinapple! And that’s too funny about swinging. Maybe you’ll get someone knocking on your door who’s looking to mingle ;)
xo
s
Manda Wolf says
OMG! I love pineapples, I had no idea it was a symbol for swingers I thought it meant welcome!
YoungHouseLove says
I’ve heard the hospitality/welcome thing too, I wonder if it has two meanings. One more… friendly… than the other? Haha!
xo
s
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
It definitely means welcome/hospitality and is the reason why it’s the symbol of Newport and other places I’m sure (hehe not because they’re all swingers)…a long time ago when the ships would arrive in Newport, people would put a pineapple out to let the ship people know that they were welcome to stay and eat while docked.
Jordan says
Note to self: Always read the entire post before trying to figure out the details – definitely just spend a good minute and a half scrolling back and forth between the first two pictures thinking “Wow, they bought a new knocker that looks EXACTLY like their old one!”
Wow. *facepalm*
LauraC says
Thanks for making me LOL literally! ;) I did a double take too, then read on.
christina @ homemade ocean says
Good ol’ Weezer posters….what a great tip!
Becky says
Love the look! Someone may have already asked this, but… do you know if the previous owners still live in the area? That is, are they close enough to do a drive-by and see the transformations? I know I always enjoyed driving by former homes (don’t live anywhere near them now) to see what changes the new owners made. None were nearly as magnificent as those you’ve already accomplished here though. That’s all to say… if I were the former owners, I’d be super “jelly” already!
YoungHouseLove says
They don’t live in the area anymore but we’d love if they came back to see what we’re up to! It was fun having the previous owners of our last house drop in!
xo
s
Coleen says
If you ever decide to reconsider replacing the knocker I was able to find one for a great price on Amazon. They had a pretty good selection of animal knockers too.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds fun!
xo
s
Bonnie says
I just had similar issues with our porch light – replacements were SO expensive! I used the same tactic and just painted the old one, with awesome results! Here’s to using what you’ve got! http://bonnieprojects.blogspot.com/2013/05/refinished-porch-light.html
YoungHouseLove says
Looks awesome!
xo
s
Allison says
My current condo had a very similar knocker on it, with the previous occupants last name engraved! I just gave it some spray paint without sanding, and the name is obscured enough for me. Maybe someday I will replace it.
I love the color of your door. I wish I could paint my front door a cool color, alas I live in a condo association that regulates that sort of thing. Do you think it would look silly to paint just the inside of my front door a bright color?
YoungHouseLove says
No way, I love that idea! Way to cheat the system!
xo
s
Jill says
Inside is kind of where it matters more anyway because you’ll see it and enjoy it more there.
Fight the man! :)
Maggie says
I painted the inside of my front door teal :) I wanted to have a blue door on the outside, but my house is red and white…so I thought a blue door was a touch too patriotic. I LOVE the color on the inside though, make me happy everytime I see it!.
Kathy says
I had to giggle at this post – my sister’s “go-to” gift for a wedding or bridal for someone that she doesn’t really like is an engraved door knocker because it’s something a person can’t re-gift or exchange for cash. She’l be disappointed to know you can buff the name out!
Story over. Your door looks awesome!
YoungHouseLove says
HILARIOUS! I love your sister.
xo
s
Anna says
Did you buy a new door handle? We have all brass hardware (door handles, doorbell, light fixture, kickplate, etc.).
Do you think if I spray-painted those, it would hold up to the every day traffic of opening/closing the door? I really want to upgrade to oil-bronzed too, but it’s costly!! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually did that in our last house (sanded, deglossed and sprayed the handle) and they held up ok, but we didn’t do the door we went in and out of everyday, just the front door (we entered via a side door). In this case we got a new door handle since we wanted to change the locks right after we bought the house.
xo
s
Donna says
Anna, we did that, and unfortunately after about six months it had rubbed off quite a bit. Check ebay out, they have some great deals!
Shannon Summers says
Wow, it looks incredible! I can’t wait to see the front once you two tackle the lawn and reseed. Our HOA states that everyone has to have the same color/finish for our doors. No blue or yellow doors allowed here.
Mary | lemongroveblog says
That trusty ORB hasn’t let me down yet!! Love it, looks so fresh on that new door!
Harmony_G says
This is so great! I think that knocker is perfect for the door (though some of your other finds were pretty cool) and i LOVE your ORB obsession, especially whith the blue, cause i totally feel you there! A new light or refreshing the one you have, and your entry will be Amazaballz!
Tandra@LittleHousesBigDogs says
Oooh! Just love! I have knocker envy! (oops sorry that can be misinterpreted the wrong way) Quick question, what do you guys suggest for knocker “placement” when you don’t want to hide a beautiful wood carving on your door. We have one in the same location of where you’d put a standard knocker. Any ideas that aren’t too awkward (like this post response…)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw Tandra, knocker envy made me laugh out loud. As for where to put the knocker with a pretty wood carving, maybe right under it? Or about 6″ under it if it looks too cramped when it’s closer? I would just hold it up and hopefully you’ll see something that works. Anyone have knocker ideas for Tandra?
xo
s
Lesley says
I’ve seen some folks adjust their knockers all the way to the side. (There, that should distract from your awkward response.) Usually the side that opens, not the hinge side.
This is often done when folks have glass in the center of the door, so its obvious why they placed it differently. Could work for you too.
I’ve even seen some people place it on the trim at the side of the door.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it! The lesson? You can put knockers anywhere.
xo
s
Fran says
When I saw the animal options, I couldnt help but think: are you a Stark or a Lannister? GoT obsession much?
YoungHouseLove says
The best. I’m a Targarian (Clara loves dragons, so it’s a pretty obvious alliance).
xo
s
Jenny says
Me too Sherry! Daenerys is my FAVE.
I second the eBay comments. I was art directing the book EQUESTRIAN STYLE and became obsessed with finding the same exact one as on the cover of the book. eBay for the win! xox
Josie says
Love the random reference to Weezer. :)
Shannon Summers says
Wow it looks incredible! I can’t wait to see the front of the house once you two tackle the lawn! Sadly for me, our HOA states that everyone has to have the same color/finish on our front doors….womp womp.
Ginny @ Goofy Monkeys says
Reading the beginning of the post I thought, “I wonder why they don’t just buff the name off & paint it”…turns out we both had the same brilliant idea!
Door hardware is super expensive. We have bright yellow brass and I’d love to swap it out for some brushed nickel sometime down the road.
Linda says
We have the EXACT same door knocker – and ours was also engraved with a previous owner’s name (oddly, not the name of the folks we bought the house from, but the owner before that). With all due respect to John’s buffing skills, I just spray-painted right over the engraving and the paint covered it without a trace. And it’s held up for 15 years!
YoungHouseLove says
No way, that’s awesome!
xo
s
kathrynthemezzo says
You are very quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs! And I love your pictures. Keep up the great work!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kathryn!
xo
s
Nicole says
Please tell me you guys are working on something big over there! You’re killing me with these posts about such small changes…. I’ve been a reader for a long time but am finding myself disappointed every time I click over lately (which then makes me feel bad that I feel that way because I think you guys are great). I need something meatier!! Just giving you direct feedback instead of slinking away slowly without letting you know the reason. I know you always say you work in real time, so what are you doing with all of your time that must be left over when you’re only working on small projects?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Nicole! As for our new pace, we chatted here about how we’re committed to really thinking things through and not rushing through this house, so it’ll be more like the pace of our first house than our second one. Everyone’s comments on that post really confirmed that this direction is what’s best for our blog and our family, although we know it will disappoint some readers.
xo,
s
Nicole says
Thanks for your response. So are you just taking this time as some down time/time off to enjoy the summer and think about what things you want to tackle?
YoungHouseLove says
This is just a pace that feels more natural to our family and our house-making process. It allows us to back down from working every night/weekend, which somehow happened at our last house when we sped things up from our original first-house pace, and we feel more creative and less burned out when we’re not rushing through things. We never want to look back with regrets that we failed to think something through, especially since we can see ourselves in this house for a very long time, so it’s our plan for the long haul :)
xo,
s
Melissa S. says
Correct me if I’m wrong, but when you were in house #1, up until 6 months before you moved out, you both, or at least John, had an actual full time job outside the home. Right? I figured the slower pace then was due to the fact that you were more like “normal people”, having a career and doing DIY was a hobby on the side. Seems strange to me that two adults who blog/DIY as their sole jobs would go at such a slow hobby pace.
Personally, I’ve been bored to tears since you’ve moved to this new house, and I suppose this “new slower pace” is the reason why. Checking YHL had been part of my morning ritual for years. First blog I checked once I sat down with my coffee. And now? I’m only checking in sporadically and have actually started to seek other home decor/diy blogs to fill that void.
I’m not saying this to be bitchy. Not my intent at all. But maybe you guys should consider how your new pace will affect your readership. I couldn’t help but notice lately how your comment numbers have dropped. Makes me wonder how many other longtime readers are feeling as I do. Disinterested.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we acknowledged that a slower pace might affect our readership right in this post, but being happy with our house decisions and our work/life balance is the most important thing for us (much more than money or hits). We were both full time on the blog for 7 months in house #1, so we’re just readjusting to that pace. When this was a hobby, we certainly didn’t tackle as many things as we’ve done in the past month here (moved, removed carpet & laid hardwoods in four rooms and a hallway, stripped wallpaper, painted all of the trim & doors upstairs, etc).
xo,
s
Nicole says
I understand wanting to slow down from that pace completely (never seemed like it was sustainable!) and who wouldn’t want a nice relaxing summer and time to think about what to tackle on their house. I suppose the frustration from me as a reader comes from knowing this is what you do as your full time job, and much of your current content could be generated from a bloggers who have office jobs in addition to a blog. Have you thought about incorporating some other design/decorating features/ideas into the blog to give people more content but not have to generate the content yourselves on your own house? I would definitely love that! And I know you can’t please everyone and maybe you have something planned for different content in the future or maybe you’ve realized you can make the same money with the blog by doing less DIY at this point, since you’ve built up enough of a readership to support that. So I guess who can blame you if that’s the case?! There’s plenty of other places to find inspiration, it was just fun when it came from you guys :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for understanding the not sustainable thing Nicole! It really was true and we were feeeeling it. We do have some really juicy projects lined up that we can’t wait to share (some not-our-home makeovers – a few small and one VERY VERY BIG ONE!). We don’t have the OK to spill those beans just yet, but we’re so excited!
xo,
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rachael says
I still come every morning probably with more excitement than I did before!!! I was actually getting concerned for your family when you were in your last house b/c you were working weekends, and until 1am every night AND holidays. AND you didn’t take a maternity leave when Clara was born. Clara is so lucky to have her parents home with her, but not if they are burnt out and exhausted.
We can’t possibly know what it’s like to be you, even though you let us into your home everyday, so we can’t be the ones to tell you how to live your life. Seriously, at the end of your life, do you want to say “Gee, I wish we painted more walls?” Of course not. You want to say “I am so thankful we spent XX years with Clara when she was little, I’m happy we savored the little things and took time for each other.”
See you tomorrow morning, Petersiks! And every day after that, as well :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Rachael! It’s funny how on this morning’s post a bunch of people said they love the new pace. It really is exactly what we expected (some folks love it more, some love it less, and a bunch don’t even notice).
xo
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Anne says
I was surprised that you guys didn’t immediately go for rubbing out the engraving. That was my first thought. Glad it worked out.
Emily F. says
Love the look of the new front door!
Just had to let you know that I ORB’d my first hardware last week! We bought a solid wood dresser at a garage sale for $40 and I knew that I wanted to paint it white and give it some dark hardware, the only problem was the cup style handles were cut into the drawers making finding a replacement impossible. So, out came the ORB! I love the way they turned out. Though I wasn’t sure about how to spray the underneath of the ring-style handle (it set inside the cup, if that makes sense)…sort of like the knocker ring, do you just lift it up and do another coat? I was worried about overspraying the rest just to get the underside of the ring.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds awesome! I would do thin thin thin misty coats of the top and then tip them up and do a coat on the inside and go back and forth like that with super thin coats so nothing drips.
xo
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Emily says
Looks great – and love the door color… When you sprayed the knocker how did you get the area under the handle that needed to be painted as well? I’ve tried some door knobs lately and have had trouble getting the tricky/hidden areas.
YoungHouseLove says
Since it was laid out on cardboard I sprayed it with the knocker down and then did another thin coat with it up after it had dried. I did that back and forth (up and spray, wait for it to dry, down and spray, etc) so I got all the underneath parts.
xo
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Amber says
Love it! I totally understand your search for the perfect knocker! After years of looking, I eventually stumbled across one at an antique shop in Portugal I loved. I carried that heavy bronze lion head all the way back to the U.S.! Knockers are like jewelry for the door!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome! Totally something I’d do (while John rolls his eyes at me).
xo
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Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says
I love that you took what was already there and figured out a way to make it work. Not everything needs to be a focal point, especially when the door is such a bold statement.
I brought home a free porch light on Sunday and will “ORB” it this afternoon for a fresh new look. No one will *ever* compliment me on what a cool light fixture it is, but the price is right!
Here’s the “Before” picture:
http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/2013/07/goal-of-the-week-dining-room-clutter-banished-a-new-porch-light-for-me/
And perhaps you and I can collaborate on my new pretend blog that I’m calling “The Inoffensive Decorator!”
Katy
YoungHouseLove says
I like that light fixture! I bet it’ll look great when you’re done. And I’d love to contribute to The Inoffensive Decorator. Haha!
xo
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Teri says
Love this new front door, however, IMO the door mat needs to be larger. We found a similar but larger one at Costco a few years ago. I love the black “framed” lines, matching up w your black door knocker and door bell. Just an idea for you to consider.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds awesome! I’d love that!
xo
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