diy electrical conduit curtain rods and curtains cont.

So I am not generally one to jump on a band wagon, but this concept and price was too good to refuse. It started months and months ago... between needing to paint the trim, then needing to clean up the hardware (more on that later) it seemed as if this project would never end.

We went the electrical conduit route for our curtain rods (3/4" $4/10ft), spray painting them oil rubbed bronze (like everything else $6). Then from the curtain rod aisle picked up some generic rod holders (called 3/4" cafe bracket for 4.50/pack) that were already oil rubbed bronze, though we ended up spraying the bottom part as they didn't quite match. The rods didn't fit perfectly in the holders, but after just a bit of banging with a rubber mallet we were good to go. We got most of our stuff at the local Home Depot.

For the shorter windows, we used a shark bite to cut the conduit down to size. Very easy and inexpensive product that basically clamps and rotates around the pipe until it is cut cleanly.

I am trying to hang the curtains higher than I have in the past to give the appearance of height to our 9 foot walls, though leaving space for crown molding eventually.

For the finials I ended up picking up these 70% off shatter proof ornaments from Target for a couple dollars to spray paint. I put some nails in a spare board then stood them up on them to spray paint.

Some of them actually still show through their original color faintly, but I decided that I liked it rather than giving them another coat.

More drop cloth curtains as seen here before and after I stitched them up. In these pictures I had under shot the number if rings I would need.

The curtain rods were left like this for a while as I pondered how to attach the finials. Finally I came up with an idea. I made molds out of toilet paper rolls, fitted them inside one of the spare pieces of electrical conduit. Then filled them with air dry clay that I had leftover from this project. I attached the ornament to the end, then allowed them to dry. After they were dry, I removed the paper. I made sure each finial fit (learning that those I made 2 inches were better than the shorter ones) last coating them with Modge Podge to insure that the air dry clay wouldn't crumble over time.

Finally complete! ... about 6 months to a year later oh progress why are you such a fickle mistress

living room with drop cloth curtains

dining room

So Granny (as we colloquially call the elderly woman we purchased our home from) left these yellow curtains from Pottery Barn and I decided to put them to use. They are a little bright for my taste, but why turn down free right?

guest bedroom with diy roman shades (here) and curtains (here)

bonus room with more diy roman shades and back tab thermal curtains from jcp that we have had for ages

unused bedroom with diy roman shades in white and diy curtains in a navy linen leaf print from Joann's

master bedroom with more diy roman shades and diy drop cloth curtains (these curtain rods we already owned)

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings! I am obsessed with layered curtains... though not sure yet if I feel satisfied with the pattern on the roman shades in the master bedroom... the curtains in the bonus room... or even that yellow. Honestly my favorites are probably the drop cloth curtains in the front living room and the layered look in the purple/gray guest bedroom. Any suggestions?

updating the exterior house light fixtures

Part 1: Spray Painting the Front Porch Lights

First off we removed the light..... followed by EWW and I am not just talking about the old brick color... There were only two wires so detaching and reattaching was pretty easy breezy.

The lights were a lovely maroon color with splatters of paint and lime wash-way to go us for being neat and tidy.

We removed the glass plates and soaked them in cleaner overnight.

Then Johnny was nice enough to clean them, scrape them down with the straight edge razor we also use for cleaning up the window trim, and sanded.

Next two coats of Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint. 

Re-attach and done! Such a rewarding and quick project.

I know that I keep belaboring it, but I really really want to tackle those rusted nasty porch railings, redo the door frames, and door knobs/locks

Part 2: Lights in the back of the house (two side door lights and one flood light)

So this how the light, next to our laundry room, has looked since we purchased the house. This is the door that we come in and out of the most and where eventually there will also be a mudroom.

Yes this door frame needs some love too... though I do really like this older style door a lot.

I went with two small dark sky light fixtures in oil rubbed bronze for beside the two doors and a motion activated dual flood light for the corner of the house. These were all existing lights that we were replacing for aesthetic and functional appeal. I chose dark sky lights to reduce "light pollution" and since I couldn't find something resembling the front lights decided that I liked these $20 ones from Lowes well enough. Unfortunately this plan didn't end up working.... 

Here Johnny is replacing the light next to the laundry room first.

Success.... though this did not end up being the final result 

Next on to the side door (connecting to the bonus room) and yet more eye sores. Ugly door frame and I knew the lime wash on this wood was temporary, but had hoped to get a couple of years out of it before adding some shaker shingles. No go clearly :/ And how hideous is that light fixture!

New light attached and working!

Then we moved onto upgrading the single flood light to a dual flood light with a motion sensor. Well this is where the plan broke down. Unfortunately, that lovely gutter prevented the motion sensor from working. So back to the drawing board. We felt like we really needed at least one motion activated light, since this is where we park and gain access to our house.

So back to Lowes we went (we already had this back up plan in mind fortunately) to pick up this $60 motion activated, dark sky light.

It was only slightly more challenging to attach, as the fittings could be re-sized for different sized holes as it is a larger light fixture. We removed the new light next to the laundry room door and replaced it with this one.

Success .... again! And Johnny is obsessed, claiming that it may be one of his favorite projects to date. What can I say the boy has a penchant for function.

Last but not least, we still went ahead and upgraded the old flood light to an inexpensive dual flood light for less than $15 for the fixture, obviously the bulbs were an additional cost. 

All three lights in action, as the sun was setting on a sunny, but cool Saturday. Overall, since we already had the spray paint for other projects it cost us about $100 to upgrade them all.