categorically kate

Tag: #florkenfirsthome

  • A Shutter Facelift

    A Shutter Facelift

    When we bought #FlorkenFirstHome in February of 2014, we knew that we had a lot of work to do. It would start by tearing down the wall between the kitchen and the living area and where it would end was a complete mystery to us. We vowed to tear off more than we could chew and to always do projects in moderation. This method, while much slower, would overall help us stay on budget and prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by household projects. 
    That said, I still get pretty giddy when we finally finish something that I envisioned doing from the start. It is like seeing another small piece of “the plan” fall into place. Over the past month, Adam and I have been working hard on one such project and I’m thrilled to share it with you today. We finally got around to cleaning and repainting our front door and all the shutters on our home!
    The final product: I’m in love!
    I absolutely love the final result and honestly, the project wasn’t as hard as I had feared. So, here’s how we did it. 
    First up — we worked on the shutters. (I’ll share the front door in another post later this week!) We had to buy a rather tall ladder to get them all down. Trust me when I say that screws that have been in brick for over 20 years do not like to easily come out. It took some muscle to get the job done. In other words, I took down one set and then begged Adam to come to the other two so I could rest! 
    Here’s a reminder of what the shutters looked like before painting.
    Once the shutters were down, some simple cleanup was needed before we could paint. Luckily, our shutters are vinyl and all that was required is a little elbow grease and some soap and water. No harsh chemicals required! However, before tackling them with my hands, I used a broom to sweep out a majority of the junk and then the water-hose to give them a brief rinse. These things hadn’t been cleaned since they went up on the house over 20 years ago! We found all kind of crap on the backside including creepy-crawlies and even a wasp nest or two. So, be careful cleaning guys. 
    A sampling of what we found behind our shutters. Looks fun right?
    Once the shutters were off and cleaned, it was time to pick the color. For the longest time, I’ve been obsessing over beautiful blue doors and shutters on Pinterest. It only seemed natural then, that I would search for the perfect shade of blue to compliment our house. A quick trip to Home Depot and I lucked out… I brought home a gallon of Behr’s “Blueberry Twist” in a Satin finish. I also opted for the paint and primer in one to cut down on the coats I’d need overall. 

    After picking my color, I simply laid all the shutters out and got busy. It really wasn’t too hard. I used a small foam roller for all the flat surfaces and an angled brush for all the inset parts. Keep in mind that to properly use an angled brush, you have to rotate it to suit the angle you are painting. If your brush never moves in your hand you are using it wrong. The angle should make it easier for you… not harder.

    This is me demonstrating precisely where NOT to use the foam roller. The bit I’m painting here should be painted using the angled brush. Trust me — it’s easier that way!

    We painted these on a particularly hot day and the drying time in between coats was seriously less than 5 minutes! Each shutter got approximately two coats. After letting both coats dry, we simply got a few new screws and put them all back up. As you can see in the picture above, they really pop now. To demonstrate a little more clearly, here is a before and after of the paint changes:

    Obviously, we still have a lot of landscaping work to do our #FlorkenFirstHome but I seriously cannot stop driving by the front of the house and just staring! I love it all so much.

    Tell me — do you dig the Blueberry Twist as much as I do? 

    I can’t wait to share our front door makeover later this week. Be sure to check back for more on that… including how to remove an old brass kick plate and restore the metal door! 

  • We made the News…. in Ohio?

    We made the News…. in Ohio?

    Yesterday started off as a pretty uneventful day. I woke up… late. I went to work… maybe a tad late. I checked email and began working on a few projects due Thursday. Then, I took a small break to cruise through the regular apps on my phone. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. 
    Facebook. Normal.
    Twitter. Normal.
    Instagram… WHOA!
    What’s reaallly creepy is that THIS isn’t one of the collages WE put together. Meaning, they went through our site and pulled together their OWN collage! Eeek! Not sure I like that at all….
    As soon as I logged into my Instagram, I learned that a news station in Cleveland, Ohio was sharing photos from our New Home Photoshoot (Part I and Part II) and asking their viewers whether the craze of photoshoots for first time buyers was a neat idea, or whether it was overkill. 
    My first reaction was… well, mixed. For nearly a year now, the images from our photoshoot remain my Top Pinned images on Pinterest. Each day I see new people pinning them and I’m always flattered. I assume that the people pinning them are folks who have been inspired by them (much like I was by other First Home Photoshoot pictures) and want to make their own one day. The idea that these images are “out there” wasn’t really surprising to me. What was surprising, I suppose, was that a news organization would simply pluck them up (yes, they linked back to our Instagram handle) and start a dialogue on whether they were cool or overkill. It was a strange sensation. 
    I sent screenshots of the Instagram posts to Adam, who immediately responded, “Do we get paid for that?” and “Is that even legal?” 
    I assured him the answers were most likely “No” and “Yes” respectively. Still, for hours, as I put my phone aside and tried to get back to work, there was a bug in the back on my brain that kept making me return to those images and how I felt about them. 
    I love blogging. I do. That might be hard to believe considering that I’ve recently taken a very long hiatus from it. At the end of the day though, I love being able to make connections with people I don’t know and learn from others. I’ve loved sharing #FlorkenFirstHome on this blog and I was deeply appreciative of all the reader support when I shared heartbreaking things. In a weird way though, I don’t think I ever truly expected our posts to reach beyond those few people who show up at this blog everyday. 
    So, it struck me as super weird that a news station in Ohio not only ran across our pictures, but created their own collage of them and then shared them with 12.5K followers! Eek! So while a small part of me was flattered, a larger part of me felt violated. But when you think about it, how can I feel violated by something that I put out there into the world?
    Blogging is strange. This particular incident makes me think more about privacy and what I want to share online. In a way, I think that makes me smart and informed. But in another way, it makes me sad because as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like this space is small and only shared with those I love most. Of course, that isn’t true as it’s a public blog and I haven’t even met most of our readers. In short, I don’t know where exactly to draw the line. I don’t know how to perfectly share while still maintaining certain privacies. I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did, but I don’t. 
    I suppose I’m still learning. After over a year and a half of blogging, I’m still learning.

  • Hosting Duty Fears

    Hosting Duty Fears

    The second weekend of April, I’m supposed to host a baby shower for a sweet, college friend of mine.  Now, hosting a baby shower brings up a lot of feelings for me (especially considering I’m not at all the “shower-hosting” type of gal) but over the last few days I have been absolutely consumed with one thought: “What will these strangers think of my house?”
    It’s so shallow. I know. But honestly, it occupies my mind at least 23% of the day. I am constantly thinking of little things I can do to make the place more inviting. When Adam and I moved into #FlorkenFirstHome at the end of last March, we had a lot of work to do. We tore down a wall, re-did the entire kitchen, and painted nearly every room in the house. After that? Well, to be honest, we got a little burned out. So instead of really taking the time, money, and energy to finish all small jobs like buy and hang roman shades, build shelves for the wall, or finally find that one last end table we need — we both just got lazy. 
    Now that I’m looking around our home though and thinking of strangers sitting in it for three hours, I’m starting to get nervous. I am nervous that our walls are too empty. I’m nervous that we have no grass in the backyard and it’s practically a mud-pit. I’m nervous that someone will think we’re cheap… or even tacky. 
    This is such an odd feeling for me because, to be honest, I love our home. Love. Love. Love. 
    Home is where I feel most like myself. It’s where I don’t have to wear a bra and where it can be 5 o’clock anytime of the day. It’s where Adam and I connect, relax, and binge together. It’s where our pets are growing and thriving. And one day, it’s where our kids will do the same. 
    So why then am I suddenly worried about it? Why am I — dare I say it — slightly ashamed of it?
    I’ve been thinking on that all day (you know, right after I ordered $50 worth of throw pillows for the sofa and loveseat) and I’ve come to the conclusion that my fear isn’t that the house isn’t good enough — it’s that others won’t see its potential. You see, when I look at this home, I can look past the empty front porch and the rotting landscape timber flowerbeds. I can see past the deck that needs to be repainted and the blinds that need to be upgraded. What I see is a space that is limitless. I see a space that Adam and I can continue to mould to our own style and preference. I see a space that will evolve with us. I see a space that has come a long way, and while it might still have a long way to go, it will be filled with love, laughter, and joy with every step. 
    I think that’s what I really fear — people not seeing that potential. People not understanding that these walls hold so much more than possessions — they hold dreams. 
    So, between now and April 11th, I’m going to spruce up little things that I can, but I’m going to try to keep a level head about it all. No, I probably can’t get furniture for the front porch. But, it’s possible I’ll find an adorable welcome mat. No, I won’t be able to re-seed the yard. But, it’s possible that I put out a colorful potted plant or two. And you know, if people go home silently judging my home, I guess that’s ok. They can silently judge my house and even me. But their silent judgment won’t stop all the amazing things that are going to happen under this roof. Those things… well, they’re worth waiting for.