Torching the Torch Lights

Ever since we had the exterior of our house painted over 14 months ago, I've been dying to update the front porch lights. The oxidized brass torch lights from the 80s looked so dull and old up against the new bright house, but I struggled to find a style my husband and I liked, and one that fit the "look" of the house.

Old light

We didn't like any of the exterior lights Home Depot or Lowes had in stock and we didn't like anything we saw online that was in our price range…until I stumbled across this guy on Overstock.com…

New light

At the time we purchased it, it was under $50 and we were sold on the simple, mission-style modern design.

Before

After

As with any house project, there was a catch. The screws the light came with were too long, causing the light to hang off the wall. 

We had to make a Lowes run to get a pack of smaller machine screws with washers and thankfully that did the trick.

The sleek silver light blends in much better with the rest of our updated exterior and it even gives off more light. Another small project checked off the list!

Future Foster Kids Room

This winter, we finally started to redo the third bedroom, dubbed "the kid's room." But we don't have kids and we're actually not "having" kids at all—our hope is that one day this will be the space for our future foster kids. 

Even though we still have a ways to go in the application process before actually becoming licensed foster parents, it was important for us to move forward and get the room "ready." It helps visualize actually having a child in there someday.

Before its makeover, the third bedroom was a very faint blue; there were lots of holes in the walls and the windows were a safety hazard as they slammed shut, so we knew we had repairs to make along with cosmetic changes. 

Here's a before and after shot:

(Third bedroom before)

(Third bedroom after)

The main changes include painting the room a light greenish/yellow (the color is Springtime in satin finish from Sherwin Williams); adding furniture, which is second-hand or from Craigslist; putting up branch-themed curtains and a matching modern branch stencil-cut desk chair.

There are also new vinyl windows that aren't a safety hazard anymore and an assortment of colorful art on the walls, including cute animals (from Fab.com), globes and maps, and magnetic strips for hanging personal photos or being creative with magnetic poetry.

The other two walls (not pictured) are still in progress. We have a second twin bed to put together and I want to put book slings on the wall in place of having a bookshelf.

The biggest challenge for this room is designing a space that could be for any child, any age, girl or boy (though I know my style leans more towards "girly"). I expect we'll have to make some changes as we go along, but for the initial setup our main goal is to have this room be a cozy, cheery and welcoming space for whoever arrives at our door someday.