Old Front Steps Make-Over for Under Fifty Bucks

Good Monday morning to you! I hope you had a great, refreshing weekend. We were down one boy for several days (E was away at a local college for soccer camp), but we had some fun with our trio, and even tackled a few more house projects.

Speaking of house projects- nice segway, there, hmm?- those items on The List are getting crossed off like crazy. Which makes me a very happy girl.

If you've been reading here at CELEBRATE! (previously 3 Sons Plus 1...Super Cute Girly Girl), then you already know that we sold our custom built home of ten years in 2012 with the intention of bolstering our adoption funds, packed away 75% of our things into storage and hung out with my gracious in-laws for a couple months while searching for a house to buy. If you didn't, well, now you do.  ;) There's a post about it here.

Just when we felt like we were never going to find what we were looking for, there she was: The One. It has been waaay more work than we thought it would be, but I'm so proud of our efforts here. Today I'm sharing about our beloved (no, not at all!) orange front steps.

Ugh. No matter how pretty the gardens look, there was always an orange landing taunting me.
 

Plus, wiiiiiiiiide, angled railings. Fun.

Let me say here that we always planned on replacing the entire thing, however...it is structurally sound, we've had a year filled with major expenses from a broken leg (last year, but it still isn't right, so we're still dealing with it, argh) and a head trauma, and we're tired. So it stays. I spent a few weeks brainstorming, and now that it's done, I thrilled. We ended up buying only a gallon of colored stain, a toss-away paintbrush, and two 1x6's to replace the railings- we intended to keep the upper railings, but we had enough left over from the new ones below and figured it would be best to just replace them.

And here they are now:

 Don't they look happier now? =)

I like the finished look of the frame around the lattice. I'm wondering if we should continue it over by the steps or just leave it. Maybe the lattice itself without any frame? Any thoughts?

Obviously we need to finish removing the moss and cleaning up the foundation, but what an improvement! They make me smile now, and we salvaged what was there. That makes me really happy.

 

At one point, we realized that the overhang of the platform and steps was off, and it would be necessary to add a piece of trim to the front to cover up the edges of the lattice. We already had a piece kicking around, so, easy peasy.

There are so many things wrong with this landing and these steps (Cracked woods, curved wood, crooked pieces, steps and treads laid improperly...). But. They are completely functional.
See those happy straight edges and svelte gray railings now? So. Much. Better.
The next owners can rip 'em out if they want. ;)

You know how one change begets another...and another... ? We recently switched out our old brass knobs and locks with these throughout the house. Snazzy, right? We were planning on replacing the entire door plus the antiquated storm door but changed our minds at the last minute and will just be getting a new storm door. Again, a new door would be nice, but there is nothing wrong with it. So it -along with a couple hundred bucks- stays put.

And I just have to include these photos because I love them...

I wrote about our big yard transformation in this post. And our rock garden beds on a slope in this post.

Have a great day! I'll be sharing some of our home improvements on the inside soon...

sharing with
Thrifty Decor Chick