Tiny Update & Happy New Year!

Now that most of the holiday hubbub is over, it occurred to me that I never did follow up about the front of my house.  I told you about finishing the deck, but at that point that awful front wall was still bare and ugly.  So just to prove I'm not a total slacker (even though I kinda am, since I took so long to post about it)...
 

Ta da!  I finally caught a break in the foul Fall weather (before Winter set in for good) and got it primed and painted.  MUCH better!

And in case you're wondering what all the fuss was about, here's what it looked like before (and why I had to bump it to the top of my to-do list!):

peeling paint

someone's brilliant attempt to cover missing paint with caulk. WITH THEIR FINGERS.

 

Oh, and while I was at it, I finally decided to just throw caution to the wind and remove this 'who-knows-what-it's-for-or-why-it's-there' piece of awesomeness:

And nobody died.


Oh yeah, Happy New Year!

Step by Step

I know we all sometimes feel like projects are never-ending (especially home-improvement projects!), but lately, it seems like I can't quite get ANY of mine to the finish line.  They feel like they just go on, and on, and on... with no end in sight!

And I don't usually bother posting about 'in progress' projects, because I like doing the big 'before and after' all at once, and taking pics in between just slows me down :)

SO, since I don't have updates on any of the other projects I'm working on, here's a 'quick' fix I recently finished (you know, so I could at least feel a sense of accomplishment about something!)

When I moved in, this is what the post at the bottom of the stairs looked like:

Someone had the brilliant idea to add a pressure-treated (outdoor) post cap and ball thingy to the top of my simple, beautiful stair post.  To add insult to injury, they didn't even try to centre it so it would look halfways decent!  The ball thingy was off-centre and loose, so it'd spin around drunkenly ... anyway, it drove me crazy and it had to go.

Here's what the post at the top of the stairs looks like, so I knew how great the bottom was supposed to look:

yeah, this pic was taken before I moved in... 

much cleaner than its current state! :)

Anyway, after a bit of demolition and some filling/sanding/repainting, normal has been restored, and I am happy!

I know it's a small thing, but I think it looks SO MUCH BETTER!  Its simple style suits the rest of my house - ornate it is not (which I think is one of it's best qualities!).

While I was at it, I sanded the handrail and repainted that as well.  The last paint job was really rough, and since day one I've had to be really careful running my hand along it, but no more!

How about one more look at the wonky work of whoever came before:

So, what do YOU think?  Anyone actually a fan of the added post cap/ball thingy combo?  Or do you think I'm nuts for getting worked up about such a silly little detail?