Happy New Year!!!

I hope you all had wonderful holidays!!

I am almost ashamed to show my face in the blogosphere after such a long absence...  what started with a computer crash and a bad cold has turned into a full-blown two-month blog hiatus!  Well, I'm back today to share some news (to explain my absence, in part) and a before & after!

News first...  as much as we love DC, Bethesda, our wonderful neighborhood, friends, colleagues, preschool... and our lovingly updated center hall colonial... an exciting new opportunity is taking us to Boston!  As you can imagine, things have been a little hectic here since we made this big decision.  I wish I could say I feel totally refreshed and ready to kick it back into high gear on the blogging front... but, I'm afraid that my postings might be spotty for a while.  Once we sort out the logistics of moving a family of four... we look forward to putting down roots in our new city, in a new (probably old) home... and of course, updating/decorating/DIY'ing to make that home our own (and blogging about it all)!   

In the meantime, we finally had the front entrance renovation completed and I'm so excited to share the after pics with you!  First, here's a reminder of our front entrance before (see prior posts about plans, hardware options, old knocker, windows, outdoor lighting options, handlesets, paint colors and knocker):

And, after:

Sconces are Maxim Westlake.  I ended up sticking with white paint on the siding. 

Handleset is by Emtek; mail slot by Baldwin.  The door color is Space Black by Benjamin Moore.  Although I had envisioned the door being a little darker/deeper black and a little glossier... I'm still thrilled with how it looks. 

Door by Simpson; Knocker by Restoration Hardware; peep hole by Emtek.

I'm so happy with the way things turned out (and frankly, so relieved to have a door that opens and closes without a struggle)!  The windows make a huge difference - breaking up the "white blob" on the outside, and bringing much more light to the foyer.  My single favorite thing is the brass ring knocker from Restoration Hardware - I think I'll have to get another one for our next home.  If you've been following - we decided not to switch out our foyer light, in light of the upcoming move.  Since I had already purchased the Robert Abbey Chase flush mount, I'll just have to find a place for it in our new place.


**By the way - if you live in our area - I highly recommend our wonderful contractor, Jerry Gerard, who also redid our bathrooms.  Email me if you'd like his contact info! 

More entry/foyer decisions made...

Still not sure exactly when our contractors are starting on the front door project, but I'm at least making progress on getting all the pieces ordered and amassed!

After re-measuring the ceiling height in our foyer, I decided a flush-mount would be our safest bet, even if we can have the fixture centered (I had hoped to use a semi-flush if the fixture is centered, since door clearance would no longer be an issue).  I just don't want my tall friends to have to duck when they come in our house!

I opted for the Robert Abbey Chase Flushmount

And, although I was originally thinking of using a lion knocker, we ultimately chose a simpler design.  I love the scale and weight of this ring knocker from Restoration Hardware - and the price was hard to beat at $35!

Restoration Hardware

Not much help

About a month ago, I posted about the colors I was considering for the exterior front half-octagon on the front of our house. 

Well, I picked up a sample pot of BM's Edgecomb Gray to give it a whirl... slopped on a quick coat to try to get an idea...

and I still have no idea if it would be an improvement over the white!  It's really hard to visualize with the blue tape (outlining the future window), the sloppy paint job and the bright light going on in this photo.  The pale beige is a little less stark than the white - which is the goal - but, does it just look like dirty white?  That is clearly not the goal.  The trim would be white - so, I hope that that would give it a crisp/clean contrast.

Shucks!

Found this on sale for $119...

Pottery Barn Calhoun Pendant

and would have LOVED to use this in our foyer.  It would solve the problem of waiting to figure out if we can center our light fixture, since we could easily install it in the current spot and swag it to the center.  But, alas - our ceilings are just too low.  Boo for low ceilings :(

Handleset ordered!

I pulled the trigger on the handlesets... here's what I ended up choosing (all in polished brass, and all via http://www.handlesets.com/):

Emtek Charleston

Emtek 2408 Doorbell

Emtek 2610 Viewer

After further research and thought - I realized that to maintain our current functionality, I would want to get a mortise handleset, which allows you to set the door to lock automatically, without having to physically turn the key in the deadbolt.  That pushed us up in price a bit, but luckily, http://www.handlesets.com/ (one of the build.com companies) is having a big sale on Emtek, so, we got a pretty good deal! 

I waffled a lot on polished v. antique brass.  Emtek's "french antique" is actually a very pretty finish - but, since I also need a door knocker and mailslot (from different companies), I was a little concerned that finishes would clash too much.  And, the more I pay attention to front doors as I drive around town, the more I am confident that polished brass will look timeless and chic on a glossy black door.

Foyer lighting

Now that I've begun to browse light fixtures for our foyer - I'm drawn in by the idea of upgrading our current light and am inclined to spend less on the outside fixtures in order to create a little wiggle room in the budget.

These are at the top of my list at the moment...

Shades of Light
This one works well if we are unable to move the light box to the center of the room, since the door will easily clear if we use a short flush-mount.

Shades of Light
This is probably my favorite, but will only work (for door clearance), if a joist does not prevent moving the light box to the center of the space.

Shades of Light
This could work in the current location of the light, but I think the black framing is a little too heavy for my tastes.

Hinkley Lighting available here.
If we decide to go a little more traditionsl/formal, this would work well with the style of the house and with the brass door hardware.

Shades of Light
I love this chandelier, and thought perhaps we could swag it, if the light box can't be moved.  But, I think it's probably too large.  I will definitely keep it in mind for our bedroom.

As you can see, Shades of Light has become a go-to lighting source for me.  I still browse through tons of sites - CSNLighting, LightingDirect, LightingUniverse as well as many others... but, Shades of Light offers such a well-curated selection at decent (not inexpensive) prices.  For inspiration, Circa Lighting is hard to beat.

Outdoor Lighting Options

I'm narrowing down lighting options for our exterior renovation project.  We need a post light, to replace the existing globe, and lighting for the front door (overhead or side sconces to replace the overhead globe).

These are a few of the combinations I'm pondering:

Combo 1:  Single overhead plus post light in antique bronze. 

Available here.



Available here.

Combo #2:  Two sconces plus post light in bronze (or bronze and black).   

Available here.  Since this one appears so dark, I wonder if I could get away with black on the post light?

Available here.

or

Available here.

Combo #3:  Two black sconces plus post light:

  

Available here.

 

Available here.

What do you think?  I think my favorite sconce is the one in Combo #2, but there's no perfect post option for that one.   

Although there are many sconces that appeal, I am a little limited by the post light, because I think they need to tie together, even if they're not a perfect match.  So, here are some of the sconces that I liked - but will probably not be using:



Available here.





This one is a beauty, but too pricey, even if there were a matching post.





Another lovely, but too expensive option.



Weekend Update: Trying out a black door - and a visit from Charlotte

On Saturday, in an effort to feel out the black interior door idea - I dug out an old gallon of black paint and slopped it on to the inside of our front door in two messy coats (after letting my girls have a little fun with "Do-A-Dots" all over the door).  Pardon the messy paint job, and messy foyer...

Here you can see the Craftsman-style light fixture that I'm thinking of replacing since it doesn't really fit the style of our home or decor.

I can't say this little "trial" is making the decision easier for me.  Clearly, with my messy paint job and this old door - it doesn't look like the beautiful black interior doors I see all over magazines and blogland - but, I think there's potential.  It's also hard to tell with this door, since our new door will have few or no windows.  Any thoughts?  What about navy blue - which would tie in to the many blues in our living and dining room?

As to our visit from Charlotte...



I opened our front door on Saturday morning, and found that she had woven a fantastic web right in front of our storm door.  We (ahem, Mr. 12 devonshire) swept aside the web and we lost track of her... until Sunday morning, when we found this (above) outside our dining room window.  Well, it might have been a relative (I think Charlotte was even bigger)... but, those are some busy (and GINORMOUS) spiders.  Yikes!

Before it goes bye bye...

This is the inside view of our front door...

It is very hard to find a good spot from which to take a photo, but I did my best from the stairs, which are opposite the door.  There's also not much light in the foyer - we have a small flushmount ceiling light (to be replaced one day... maybe soon?) and the windows in the door.

When we moved in, there was a honeycomb shade covering the window.  To add some color and pattern, I found this great print - which I believe is no longer available in blue - to make the shade.  It's worked for us - providing privacy while allowing in some light.  But, it has become quite the source of entertainment for my 2 year old, who loves to tug on it, and pull the bottom rod out.  Alas, it's time to move on.  I am really looking forward to having a door without a window treatment (and a chain lock)! 

Now, what color for the inside of the new door?  White just gets so beat up and dirty.  I'm toying with doing black on both sides.  I love glossy black interior doors (like the one in the dining room I posted last Friday) - and think it would be a simple way to add a graphic punch to our otherwise understated foyer.  Or perhaps navy blue?  Hmm... maybe I need to test them out on our current door as well.

Have a great weekend. 

And, happy birthday, Mom!!!  XOXO

Something new?

In addition to providing more light into our entryway, part of our motivation to add windows on the sides of the entrance (where the blue tape is boxed off) is to break up the massive white blob on the front of our house. 

I do think the windows will help... but, why does it need to be a massive white blob?  Couldn't we do something to tone it down a little?

How about a light shade of gray (picking up some of the light tones in the roof)

Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray

or a light taupey shade (picking up the color of the horizontal stripe that runs above the first floor windows)? 

Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray

With crisp white trim, I think either could work - and might look really nice.  But, I have such a hard time visualizing exteriors!  I'm not sure why I can picture fabrics, patterns, furniture layouts in my head - but, I have a much harder time when it comes to the exterior features. 

I think I'll get samples of both and test them out.  It will still be hard to tell from a small patch, but it can't hurt!

Any thoughts?

Roar!!(?)

As much as I love the hand...

I'm thinking of a more ferocious knocker for our new door...

available here



Not so mellow yellow?

I have been pretty committed to painting our new front door a glossy black.  I have also been committed to replacing our storm door with a new black-framed storm door.  But, as we move forward, we learn new things.  With a south-facing front door... the dark door/storm door combo is apparently NOT a good idea.  I have been told that heat gets trapped between the doors and can make the door very hot to the touch, not to mention damaging the door and the storm door's frame. 

We might still be able to do a black door - without a storm door - but, I need to do a little more research.  Does anyone have any experience or tips for a south-facing door? 

If it turns out that light is the only way to go... I have been drawn to bold yellow.

Amanda Nisbet

I've seen some lovely yellow front doors - and I think the color works well with the red brick/black/white scheme. 

Young House Love

More inspiration here, here and here. 

Too crazy?  What do you think?

Coming home to any of these...




wouldn't that be nice?

I have front doors on the brain since we're itching to replace ours asap.  More on that to come...

I also have Italy on the brain, since we just selected flights for a family trip to the Amalfi Coast in August!! (I took these photos of beautiful doors in Tuscany last summer.) 

Happy Monday!  And, welcome to any new readers from 6th street design school.  Thanks for coming to visit!!