DIY Season is Here!

 It's officially SPRING!  Okay, not "officially".....but officially at our house.  We've seen three robins, we can no longer keep ice cubes frozen in our trunks and the Dairy Queen is open.  Officially Spring.

  We all know what Spring means in DIY world.  My list is burgeoning...and this year the focus is definitely outside.   I go to sleep at night thinking about curb appeal....for a giganto white white white house.   We were graced by a beautiful green roof a few years ago thanks to Mother Nature's April Fool's Hail storm.  That rocked....(really it was such a blessing.)  That added a smidge of color...but it's WAAAAY up there in the air.  My next thought was the porch....looking pretty dingy, chippy, icky.  Better fix that.   The floor is a pale taupey color....which I really liked a few years ago when it was shiny and new....but now I feel like we need some color out there.  Shutters?  Maybe shutters will make an appearance this summer??  I had an architecture professor proclaim however that shutters should never be on a house unless they actually work....and would actually cover the entire opening if closed.  Look for yourselves at most houses with shutters....they're really kind of like the bikini of house parts....they sort of cover the edges but don't quite meet in the middle.  Mine would have to be operable and cover the whole window if closed.....(Dad, google "pintle hinges" and "board and batten shutters"....remember all those fabulous grandstand boards....we need to chat) 

Anyway, the porch railing is a good place to start.  There is a small section on the north end of the porch, then the rest of the wraparound to the south porch.  I started here at the north section and decided to scrape, prep and paint the whole thing before moving on.

I've always thought, as an old house owner, you never get quite as well acquainted with your house as you do when you scrape it.  I've helped scrape my folks' house more than a few times and you see the little details up close and personal.  I discovered, while scraping the top rail, that it had once been painted a minty green....very interesting.  Perhaps a former homeowner was looking for a bit of color too.

 The wood is in great shape....I hope I'm in this good of shape when I'm almost 100 years old too!!  My dad bought me that Purdy carbide scraper and holy cow.  Holy cow.   I am pretty sure there has never been a more wonderful tool for an old house owner.  Scrapes the heck out of stuff.  And because Bob Yapp is my Yoda, I will declare I was never, nor will ever be paid or given product by Purdy....it's just an awesome tool and I thought you should know.  

Scraped and ready for paint! 

Oh she's so beautiful.  I must've looked like a nut to the neighbors, standing on the porch, staring at the railing!  Oh well, wasn't the first, nor will it be the last time my neighbors question my sanity.  I used the Behr paint with primer...love that stuff.  This is "Silver Sky", a beautiful blue white.  There are so many whites.  If you're not sure of the white you should use definitely take samples home first...white is not just white...and it usually looks nothing like it did on the sample.

Now on to the rest of the railing!

And while we're at it I've also decided the porch floor and ceiling are going to get a once over as well.  I laid down two samples for the floor color....but I'm just not sure about either.  

I think we'll go with something similar to the left, but with more gray.  

 This was called "Slate Gray", but is a little too bluey.

More to come!

~jen