What does a Garden Gnome do when she is not gardening, in the kitchen or doing genealogy? Well the answer might just surprise you so read the entries to find out more. This blog focuses on everything we do to make our house a home. There will be a strong emphasis on home energy efficiency and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. At the same time there will also be crafts, knitting and crocheting projects along with any other little tips we do to create that down to earth, I want to be here home. Please enjoy your visit :)




Thursday, August 5, 2010

Next House Project - The Sunporch Staircase

The sunporch above the lower level covered patio has an entrance from the outside.  This gives a bit more versatility than just having an entrance from the inside.  I've decided the next house project will be sprucing up this stair case.  It is quite solid so there are no structural issues but it in need of a good cleaning and updated painting.

sunporch staircase
The original paint colours for the house is black and white which I feel are just a bit too harsh against our brick.  The problem is we have both wood and aluminum trim (facia, soffets, some window trime) and three older replacement windows and 2 sets of patio doors that are white.  I would like to move towards a taupe and green colour scheme for outside trim features.  This presents a bit of a problem.  We could replace all the older replacement windows with wood inside/outside windows to match the rest of the house then paint the colour of choice or I can figure out a way to work with the white.  The old fashioned white and dark green combination is one option.  I'm wondering if white and taupe would work together as well leaving the dark green or blue as the accent colours for the doors.  At any rate the black is just too harsh so that is definitely out. 

I also don't like the rubber stair treads.  Painted stairs can be slippery so I understand the need for traction.  I saw a product that can be sprinkled onto wet paint that will give the step traction without the need for treads.  I would also like to add some type of lighting feature as there is no outdoor lighting to light up the staircase.  Rope lighting is one option going under the railing lip or around the underneath of the landing.  Another option is to install a fixture at the top of the door.  So we have a few decisions to make.  We've started the prep work but the humidity levels are to high to do any painting which gives a few days to decide on lighting and colours.

Garden Gnome
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