Hall Closet Door Make Over

I think sometime last Spring I snapped just a little bit.  I hadn't left the house for several weeks (even for a target visit!). I had lost the desire to even get up in the mornings.  I am pretty sure there was slight cloud of depression starting to hover over my heart and I needed something to get me up and give me a sense of purpose, so I sent my husband a text asking him if I could paint our inside doors.  This was not a project on our house goals for the year,  but it was something we had thought about at least once.  Surprisingly, he said yes.  

Are you familiar with the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff?  Basically this story reads just like that.  If you give a gal permission to paint she will buy the most expensive paint with all of the coupons and a new paint brush.  Then she will ask her strong husband to take down the doors and help.  After most of the doors are finished, she will look at the remaining hall closet doors and decide she wants to do a statement door on the hall closet/pantry.  She will propose several ideas to her wonderful husband who will help her devise a plan that will work.  Some time will pass and they will cram large pieces of wood in the back of their car and enlist some really good friends help cutting the wood into strips. At this point, the gal just sort of watches as her husband cuts woods and glues offering help whenever its needed.  Then she paints the door and falls in love with her plan and is thankful her husband saw her vision and said yes.  

 

That's basically how it all went down in a nutshell.  We have one main hallway in our house that makes an L shape.  We painted all the doors with Sherwin Williams Iron Ore using their Snap Dry paint.  I am obsessed!  This paint applies so smooth and dries so quick that it doesn't take long to do a project.  Another plus, is that this paint is made specifically for doors and trim because it dries hard and doesn't leave a softer, rubber-like feel that latex paint often leaves.  Because of this, doors don't get stuck in the shut position!  They also look like we went out and bought black doors! That's a huge win!  

We painted them using a roller brush and then a Purdy brush for touch ups.  (I love me a good Purdy brush!).  The paint we bought directly from the Sherwin Williams store and were able to get it on sale and use a coupon . . . which is great because it's kind of pricey (but worth it!)  I don't think this particular paint is sold at Lowes, but really. . . Sherwin Williams has great sales and curbside pick up!  I love me some curbside pick up!!! Iron Ore is the perfect color of a dark gray/black although it had me wondering if it was too grey when I was painting it.  Once it dried and we moved it inside, it was so much darker.  A lot of paints are like that. . . misleading at first. 

For our closet/pantry doors, we decided to give it a little love.  They are overlapping sliding doors, which it's really hard to do stuff with.  We decided to go with a herringbone design with a modern knob to help making opening and closing easier.  We used some think particle board because it was inexpensive and thin.  We found some at Lowes.  Our friends have this really cool tool to help cut long, straight lines with a circular saw (this one here).  It was a lifesaver. . . so was their help!  From there, Jon was able to cut using his miter saw the specific angles and lengths. 

Before we painted the outside door, we measured the middle and drew a line down the middle for our guide.  Then we placed the wood pieces at the angle we wanted and started cutting and placing the wood where we wanted it.  We did all the pieces before we started gluing. 

 

We used Liquid Nails in a culking gun to glue the pieced down.  Then we laid all the heavy things we could find on top so they could dry and nothing would move.  Liquid Nails is really thick, so there isn't a ton of sliding and it's so strong.

 

This is what it looked like after the glue dried.  I love it!  Now, it was time to paint.  We used the same roller and paint as everything else, but we had to use the brush to do the grooves.  

 Once it dried, we hung it up and admired it.  Our hallway is narrow, so it's hard to get a good picture of just how cool it looks.  Now we just need to add a handle.

I bought an 8 inch metal rod handle at Lowes.  The only thing we did was buy some washers and longer screws to be able to go through the wood from the herringbone and the door itself.  It was pretty easy to do and made such a big impact.  I love the simplicity and how easy it is to open the sliding door with the handle.   

I am so glad we did this project.  Not only does it make me smile each time I gaze down our hallway, but it gave me something to focus on and get me through the slump of shelter in place.  It's amazing what just an opportunity to be creative can do for the soul.  I know that I've mentioned it before, but I firmly believe that God created us to be creative. . . and in times like this, it definitely was one of the best things that I could have done to get out of the funk I was in. 

 

 

 

 

A season of Pivoting and Porching.

The air is starting to feel more like Fall and less like summer.  If I squint my eyes together, I can sometimes see the start of leaves changing and the mornings have a sort of coolness that almost makes you reach for your sweatshirt. . . almost.  We've been inundated with a lot of smoke due to California's incredibly bad fire season this year, so I'm just pretending the grey, smoke-filled sky is overcast.  Last night was the second week of the Bible Study I host and the first time we met in person.  The air cleared up just enough that it was safe for us to meet outside on my imaginary front porch (Insert all the praise hands here!). 

I love perusing my insta feed at all beautiful pictures of front porches, where it seems like people really love to gather in the front of their house (throw in one of those bed swings and I might just swoon!). There is something captivating at front porch life.  Maybe this obsession is because we don't have front porches in my neighborhood.  We have stucco houses built in the 60's where people pull into their garages and walk into their house shutting the door on the outside world.  It's really quite sad when you think about it.  This summer, when we headed back to Wyoming to see my grandma and my parents, we spent a lot of time just chilling on the front porch.  It was where we drank coffee, maybe read a book, or just sat around swinging in the porch swing catching up on life.  It was lovely.  We found ourselves lingering there quite often.    

We came home to our hot summer weather where its too hot do anything outside but swim. However, something about that porch got me thinking.  There was a draw about the front porch that got me thinking about how I could make a porch-like situation in the front yard of my mid-century home.  We had this cement slab that sort had no purpose and wondered if there was a way to make this space inviting, especially since in order to keep Bible Studies going in the fall we were going to have to be incredibly creative on how we approached meeting together.  This resulted in finding an inexpensive way to create a comfortable and inviting space. 

This was before a couple of the ladies got here. . . but you get the idea

 

(I'll share the sources and details at the bottom of the post) 

We are working really hard to avoid large, crowded areas yet, try to find small pieces of "normalcy" while using wise decision making.  Our pastor has even used the word, pivot.  I'll be honest with you, all I think of when I hear this word is the Friend's cast trying to get a couch up a narrow staircase (tell me I am not alone!).  So instead of gathering in large groups in a big room, we are transitioning to smaller Bible Study groups, either outdoors or via digitally through zoom or google meet.  I love it!  I have always loved gathering with small groups around the table drinking coffee or eating food rather than groups of 10 crammed around multiple tables in a large group setting

. . . it's just so much more personal. 

Here's the thing. . . change is hard.  Change is uncomfortable. Throw in a pandemic and people get angry.  If we let the uncomfortable, angry feelings and our stubborn hearts overwhelm us rather than cause us to be flexible and understanding then we miss out on watching God work in some pretty amazing ways.  I really believe that God is changing the church through this pandemic and quarantine and I can't wait to see us come out of it stronger and better because of it. 

I am two weeks into a new study and here's some observations:

:: People miss each other. 

:: Not everyone is ready to sit outside and social distance if it means being around other humans (and that is okay!)

:: technology is our friend.  

:: You can still connect sitting across a chair from someone. . . even with a face mask.  

:: Small groups make more room for people to be included in the discussion.  

When we chose to pivot, we are flexing those faith muscles and trusting God to work in the middle of the hard, uncomfortable mess that we call this Pandemic.  For me it meant creating a space that was inviting in a safe way.  It may mean something entirely different for you, but I challenge you to let go of any stubbornness that is holding you back and choose to pivot to what God has planned.

Also, who wants a front porch now?

 

Sources:

Wood Adirondack chairs  -  We bought them at Home Depot, unfinished.  They are not available anymore. We painted them with spray chalk paint and spray wax, We used this one.

"Stay Awhile" sign

 Wreath

 

Notes: I encouraged everyone to stop and grab their favorite coffee shop on the way, but provided water with straws and lids if needed.  I also encouraged people to bring their own chairs.