A silly place filled with caffeine induced ramblings of this person named KarmaGirl....or something.
Published on June 2, 2004 By KarmaGirl In Home Improvement

I went insane the last couple of days.  I decided I hated my front door, so I painted a faux wood finish on it and put a faux stained glass film on the window (which I wanted for privacy....put that is a different topic).

 

The picture doesn't do it justice (and the picture is also crooked, but oh well).  The paint is actually about 5 layers of different colors of paint following how a wood door would be constructed.  You also can't see the other side light because there is no way to view the entire door from the hall, and the view from anywhere else actually gets more obstructed or "odd".  The window also looks better when light is shining through it.


Comments
on Jun 02, 2004
Very impressive.... that must have taken FOREVER!
on Jun 03, 2004
Yeah, I think I spent about 8 hours total on it.  The window film was really a pain to work with.  I think that it would be more of a two person job since it is hard to keep from creasing while you are applying it.  Eventually, I want to put a real wood door there for which I will make a real stained glass panel for (stained glass is another of my hobbies).
on Jun 03, 2004
Funny how you can tell that you don't live on the east coast based on the lack of a deadbolt lock
on Jun 03, 2004
Jeremy, I live in Michigan and I live in the country (well, what people around here call "country").  I lock my door, but I'm pretty sure that I don't need to.  But, you never know when an angry mob of cows might break in!    I like living where there is very little crime, and I like to feel that my daughter is pretty safe when playing in our fenced in back yard.  Too many scary things in the world these days.
on Jun 03, 2004
Nice
on Jun 03, 2004

But, you never know when an angry mob of cows might break in!


Or pissed off roosters and hens...


I like.  It looks very authentic, from what I can see.

on Jun 03, 2004
Looks great Karma--where do you find the time? Cars, photography, and now home design...wow! I'm impressed!
on Jun 03, 2004

Looks great Karma--where do you find the time?

I don't sleep.  You'd be amazed at how much time you have when you don't sleep.  That, and I'm forced to organize my time since work and my daughter take up much of it.

I did most of the painting on Memorial day (between going to the parade and grilling and that stuff) and then did the panel on Tuesday while I was home (Mom had surgery that day) and my daughter was at school.

Cars, photography, and now home design...wow! I'm impressed!

Yeah, I'm a bit of a do-it yourself-er.  I have done all sorts of crazy stuff with our house.  I actually have a lot of art skills.  Even though I work at a software company, I actually went to school for fine art photography.  A lot of my faux finish ideas come from skills I got in set design class.  I also took classes in stained glass (which is a hobby I've kept) and metalsmithing (which comes in handy when doing car body work), and I have *always* been into photography.  I really want to learn how to airbrush.  I know the basics, but have never gotten very far with it.  I'm always interested in learning a new skill, and I usually jump in with both feet.  I drive my MIL crazy because she always sees women as "housemakers" who don't do the type of stuff I do.  Nothin' is better than to hear her compliment my husband on something "he" did for him to say: "uh, I didn't do that- Angie did."

hmmm...that's odd.  I'm not sure if I ever used my real name before on here.  That was a bit strange

on Jun 03, 2004
I've tried the not-sleeping thing, but I'm far too weak to do anything if I don't get my daily 12 hours of sleep. That's a nice looking door though!
on Jun 03, 2004
I went insane the last couple of days. I decided I hated my front door...


karma, change "front door" to "sunroom" and you have my life for the past few days !

your door looks beautiful, i love the colours you chose, too, it's lovely with all the white leaving it opaque like that, and those soft greens and blues look great against the grass outside.

i'm raving on lol, but this stuff is my other passion !. you watch karma, now that the door looks good, you'll find something else to dislike. i spend my life doing that.

mig XX



on Jun 04, 2004

i'm raving on lol, but this stuff is my other passion !. you watch karma, now that the door looks good, you'll find something else to dislike. i spend my life doing that.


I can relate to that sentiment.  Every time you make an improvement, it makes everything else look worse   One improvement snow balls into room after room of makeovers.  That is why I try not to do anything at all

on Jun 04, 2004

now that the door looks good, you'll find something else to dislike

Oh, don't get me started on that..... 

Our house is fairly new.   It started out with just the typical crappy white painted walls.  I first painted my dining room, which is a cantaloupe orange.  Sounds odd, but as my husband says: "It's a complicated color which you really need to live with to appreciate".  His Mom *hated* it the first time she saw it, now she raves at how "wonderful" the room is.   She's so fickle.....

Anyway, so that sat like that in all its orangeness for quite some time.  Then we decided to have Thanksgiving at out house.  This started a week of insanity.  During this time, we changed out the sink and faucet in our kitchen (I have articles in my blog that show them).  We then painted the kitchen and put up a border on the soffit and put in a can light over the sink and put up a new curtain.  That left the living room (which is off from the dining room and not too far from the kitchen) looking really bad.  So, we painted it, put in a gas "wood stove" (which we put an area of hardwood under) and put up wood panels on one wall (where the woodstove is) to give it a nice warm "country cabin" feel.  The paint is tan, and extends to the door that you see in the picture.  

That left the hallway, powder room and that door not finished in that part of the house. 

So, next up was the powder room.  It got a hardwood floor, a new toilet, wallpaper 3/4 up with a border than painted the other 1/4 the same as the ceiling.  It also got an ornate mirror and ornate light.  I stained the base cabinet darker, put in an antiqued finish faucet and matching towel bar.  I then faux finished a medicine cabinet, the tp holder, and kick plate on the base cabinet an antique metal finish.  There is no shiny metal in there now !  Did that in one weekend. 

Then had to paint the hallway, because it looked like total crap at that point. 

Which.... then left that door...sitting there...mocking me in all it's primed smugness.  I showed it, though!  hehe!

on Jun 05, 2004
Oh, don't get me started on that.....


haha karma, you ARE as bad as me. maybe even worse !

i would have replied sooner, but i was too busy painting the sunroom !!!

mig XX