Railing Progress

I'm back with an update on our metal railing progress.

The front porch of our house has metal railings and metal interlocking squares. When we purchased the house, they were painted white. The railings had chipping paint in areas, while the squares had some rust.

We wanted a cleaner, more sleek look, so wanted the scrolls removed. Cue the metal artist who knew just how to remove the scrolls.

After the scrolls were removed, there were small holes left where they had been attached and some metal was exposed. We used some bondo and a metal primer to cover them up.

To finish up the project, we prepped, sanded and painted the railings first as we knew the squares would take forever. We were right - when we got to the squares, the sanding took FOREVER. Then again, so did the painting! While it took only about an hour to prime the railings, and an hour to paint them, the squares took two hours to prime and four hours to paint. This project took several weekends to finish, but we are happy with the results so far. We think the paint helps to tie in the beach pebbles.

With everything painted, the light looks even worse. Oh well, we have one ready to put up along with some new house numbers. Then we just need to paint the door and the trim around it, and our little "curb appeal" project will be complete.

Front Porch Progress

It's been awhile since we posted, which I'm sure is no surprise. June was incredibly busy, and we didn't accomplish anything on the house. Luckily July was a little less hectic, and we've been able to get a few things done.

Our main focus has been on the front porch. The scrolls on the metal railings have been removed (for a much cleaner look), and then we sanded, primed and painted them a "smoke grey." We are really happy with how it is looking so far, and are eager to get the rest of the list done so we can finally post some "after" pictures!

Here's our to-do list, which if nothing else helps us plan for how we're going to get all of this done.

1. sand, prime and paint the squares
2. paint the house numbers and light
3. remove existing light
4. install house numbers and light
5. paint trim around front door
6. prime and paint front door

We are hoping to have all of this done by mid-September, so then we can focus on landscaping again (planting a few shrubs, planting some bulbs, adding a bed in the backyard). Right now I am motivated by the fact that it looks pretty silly to have partially painted metalwork. In fact, we are planning to sand and prime the squares today!

I will post some in-progress pictures soon. The pictures are my favorite part, as it reminds us of how the house used to look and the progress that has been made. I just looked at some pictures of the front porch right after we bought the house, and wow, does it look different now. I really can't wait to see what it looks like this Fall!