Our pretty new patio doors

Well hello and happy Friday! 

I'm back with an "after" of the project I mentioned earlier this week. If you missed that post you can see my tips on picking out the perfect paint color and how I worked with Sherwin-Williams to find a fun new color for our exterior doors: 

(The winner of the giveaway is announced at the end of this post!) That spot was looking a little sad, right? I'm so thrilled with it now! It's beautiful! 

I used a new paint for this project called SnapDry and it was AWESOME: 

This paint is perfect for painting doors because it dries SO fast. You don't have to worry about taking the doors off the hinges or keeping them propped open to dry. There are things to consider when painting with this paint though and I'll cover those in a second. 

Before you do paint any door you'll want to do two things -- first, make sure it's not painted in oil-based paint. I tell you how to determine that in this post -- it's a very simple check but important. You may have paint peeling off of your door if you don't check that first! 

I knew these were painted in latex so I was good to go. Before painting you'll want to either do a light sanding or at least clean the surface well: 

This is especially important outside where things get dirty easier. Let it dry and then start taping off anything you want to avoid painting. I am pretty good at cutting in nowadays but I did tape off some of these doors.

I was a little giddy when I opened the can -- this color (called Refuge) is so pretty!: 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I picked this color to work with our outdoor rug and accent colors on the deck and patio:

It also works beautifully with the wood stain on the deck and the dark brown trim color. But more than anything I wanted to break up the expanse of beige siding on the back of our house and I'm so glad I did! 

I did NOT paint the plastic mullions on the doors. I've given that up because of the disastrous first time I tried to paint them on a door and then when I painted them on the interior of the doors it was a total pain in the butt. Never again will I attempt that -- they look fine as they are. ;) I am good at cutting in but I did tape these areas off:

Even if you are good at cutting in I recommend taping this off -- you'll need to be able to work somewhat quickly and having the tape there makes that possible. 

Here's a few tips and things I noticed as I used this SnapDry paint: 

• The staff at the Sherwin-Williams store were super helpful and recommended that I brush and then roll right over immediately to avoid brush marks. This helped a ton -- I would brush the areas next to tape or along the sides and then immediately used a sponge roller right after to smooth it all out. 
• You do need to work fairly fast with this paint but not so quick that you can't adequately do the job. I focused on one part at a time and moved on -- no going back over something a few minutes later. 
• It was a SUPER hot and humid day when I painted (and in full sun) and it didn't dry too fast. If it was hot and dry and sunny you may have to work a little bit faster. 
• I did one section at at time -- side, top, side, bottom. Here's a graphic that shows you how I do paneled door: 

What I LOVED about this paint is that it was dry to the touch literally within minutes. I was able to get subsequent coats on much faster than usual because of that. 

When I stood back I was so happy with it, but the sore thumb of a light was looking awful. We went super cheap with the exterior lights when we moved our doors around a couple years ago and they had not held up well. I grabbed a new coach light for by the door: 

It's so much bigger and makes a statement unlike the other one. 

I filled the pots with new flowers and now this spot has been transformed!:

The color on the doors is such a good match to the outdoor rug nearby! 

A few of you asked about brush strokes with this fast dry paint, and as I said, if you brush and then roll you shouldn't have any problems: 

I ended up touching up a bit next to the plastic mullions and you can't see where I brushed there -- the paint still levels out nicely. 

I'm so happy I went with COLOR for these doors!:

I have big plans for the exterior here but it will wait till next year. They will look even better when I get that done! :) 

Here's the new light fixture up -- it's so much better than our little washed out lights: 

We have two more to replace on the bay window but that will have to wait till the budget allows: 

Moving our back door from the bay window to this spot is one of the best changes we've ever made in our house. The flow is SO much better and the amount of light they let in is awesome! 

Here's my favorite part -- where we look back at the before shot: 

And see the difference some color makes!: 

It was totally worth sweating buckets while I painted them! Another good reason to use SnapDry -- if you are painting outside you'll finish up much sooner! ;) 

The winner of the $200 Sherwin-Williams giveaway is Alyssa who will visit the #8147 location in Dublin, CA! Alyssa please email me by the end of the weekend (thriftydecorchick @ gmail dot com)  to receive your prize! :) 

Have a great weekend my friends! 

This post was sponsored by Sherwin-Williams but all experiences and thoughts are my own. I only work with products I use and trust. 

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How to hang outdoor string lights

Hey there! How was your weekend? We worked hard outside and it's looking so beautiful! A few of you have asked about the backyard tour this summer and I'll have it up as soon as I can. We're so behind this year because we've been working on getting bigger projects done that only happen every few years (like deck and playset staining). We still have to have the house trim painted and then we will mulch, then I'll be sure to share it with you! We've been working so hard but there's so much to be done. Having outdoors spaces is WONDERFUL but a lot of work!

We've used the backyard more that ever this summer because it's turned out so beautiful. We absolutely love it. I shared our new outdoor dining room with you a couple weeks ago:

I LOVE having the table up under the pergola. We already use it so much more now and I love that we don't have to worry about soggy cushions to enjoy it. 

One of the smaller projects we got help with out here was one I've planned for a year now, since we added those pretty lights you see up there under the pergola. I shared more about those lights here and they are still holding up incredibly well, even through the winter. They are the best we've found and I highly recommend them. They are industrial quality -- I see the same ones at restaurants all the time. 

I bought three strands last year and planned to use the third one for this project. I really wanted to string another set out between the trees around our patio, but the river birch aren't strong enough for these heavy lights. Like I said, they're industrial quality so the cords are thick and would weigh down the trees and break them, especially in stormy weather. 

So we asked our guys who help us out with projects what they recommended and it was just what I had in mind -- using wires. When I see these strung over patios at restaurants they are usually hung on wires. I believe it's because they are so heavy -- just stringing them alone would pull on the cord too much and they would sag quite a bit. 

They ended up getting wire from the hardware store and large eye hooks like this one: 

They used some kind of bracket to close down on the wire to keep it taught. These

look like an even better option:

These come with the eye hook and I believe you tighten the wire by twisting. 

One end went into the pergola and then they strung it way out to our bigger trees in the back. It was quite a span -- I'd say a good 15-20 yards of wire at the longest section? We have more mature trees back there and they won't bend with the tension. They took another wire over to some bigger trees on the side of the yard as well. 

Then they were able to hang the lights buy using zip ties -- as long as you get them tight the the lights won't move anywhere. Here's a closer look at a corner: 

See the wire going over through the trees? 

And here's a wider shot of the wires and lights:

I actually wanted a more "droopy" look then what we ended up with, and was almost going to take a few of them off the wire to give that look, but decided against it. I think the more support the better, and the straight look has grown on me. I think it looks clean and keeps them out of the way. 

If they couldn't get the wire out to the bigger trees I was going to have them place some poles in the ground, but that would have been a lot more work. (You'd have to dig and use cement -- but it's an option if you don't have strong trees.)

Sometimes you can see the wires a lot and sometimes barely at all. They don't bother me though because they made it possible to have a truly dreamy space underneath. The first night we sat under the lights and giggled like little kids because it was just SO pretty. It's just silly how gorgeous it is lit up. 

I was going to take a photo from under the lights for you but we had storms last night. I may update this if I can grab one tonight. For now this is the finished result from further back:

We have quite a grade to our yard so getting high enough in the trees was going to be difficult -- that's why we hired this one out. If you have a flat backyard and something to attach the wires to it would be a pretty easy DIY project. 

Just when I think it can't get any better out here, it does! :) They add so much ambiance out here, we just love the look. 

P.S. Here's a look at night! :)

Affiliate links included for your convenience!

Our beautiful outdoor dining room

Oh my goodness, we got so much crossed off the to do list last week -- at least as far as outdoor projects are concerned. :) I've been so excited to show you! Our deck was in desperate need of staining -- it's been years since we did it last. I didn't take a before pic but it looked even worse than these photos from last spring:

We've always gone with a dark red stain and white railings and I love the look, but the red doesn't hold up well in full sun year to year. This time we wanted to go with a more natural look and also needed to stain the pergola that we had built last year: 

We ADORE this space! Last year we placed some old outdoor furniture out there and called it done -- the staining had to be put off because of the treated wood but it got away from us at the end of the summer (and building it cost enough).

We were super close to tackling this ourselves but in the end decided to pay to have it done and seriously, BEST DECISION EVER. It took a crew five full days to finish everything up. They were more meticulous than we would have been but it still would have taken us weeks. We went with a more natural stain called Antique Oak from the Behr line at Home Depot:

I love our white railings so those stayed light, obviously. :) 

I was so excited to get stuff back on here but made a few changes first. The outdoor sofas we had were OK but showing their age. I'm trying to get away from furniture with so many cushions that need to be put away/cleaned/replaced so we gave the set away to friends and moved our table and chairs back up to this spot. 

We kept out table set down on the patio because it had an umbrella, but it broke during a spring storm this year. I've always imagined having the table under there -- I think it's so fitting and feels so intimate with the pergola and lights. I loved the change as soon as we made the move and the next step was to find a new outdoor rug. I've been working with Better Homes and Gardens every couple of months and decided to look into their rugs online. We always go with deeper reds and purples out here but I wanted to change it up and lighten the feel a bit. 

When I found this latticework indoor/outdoor rug I was hooked -- I LOVE the blue gray tone: 

I knew it would work well with the brown stain and the black accents I wanted to add out there. I was pleasantly surprised when it was delivered -- it's even prettier in person and the size was perfect. (By the way, I think it would be lovely inside too.) 

With that simple addition this space has become our favorite "room" in the house!: 

Isn't the rug so pretty? I'm loving the lighter look out here, I just hope it holds up. I plan to get some protective disks for under the table legs just in case there's any rust.

Now the patio is more of the lounging space and eating will happen closer to the house on the deck. It works well because our grill is right nearby. Of course just like inside, everyone tends to migrate to a table so this will work well when we have company:

The rug is showing a teensy bit more aqua than in real life in some of these pics. When it's dry it leans more blue/gray and when wet it's a deeper blue. It seems to be a little darker than the photo online though. I'm really pleased with it! 

Those lights are about my favorite things ever and I shared where we got them in this post last year. They were up all winter and every single one still works great. I LOVE THEM. 

I wanted something simple for the middle of the table -- a spot for candles and flowers and to cover the hole where the umbrella went. ;) I found this BHG metal tray and it was perfect: 

It's a generous size but lightweight. Great for carrying serving items or food in and out of the house as well: 

For now I added a few candles and plants: 

Our old pillows were worn and filthy even after washing so I went with the lighter theme and found some with greens and blues: 

These colors fit in more with the look we have inside and it makes me happy to bring them out here. 

The "candelabra" is a DIY project in progress. It's a broken light fixture that I'm attempting to make work for candles -- I'll update you when I get the last few details figured out. ;) I love the look of a fixture hanging -- makes it feel more like an outdoor room, right?:

I planted the hanging baskets and got those hung again -- everything looks so great against the new stain!: 

Hanging flower baskets are one of those little thing I was excited about when we had the pergola built. They are just how I envisioned, especially when they fill in and spill out a little bit -- lovely! They are the jewelry on the space. :) 

I think my favorite view is when you walk around the side of the house and see it from this angle: 

It's like a treehouse. :) We have the prettiest backyard and are so thrilled with how it's evolved over the years: 

That ginormous plant is my limelight hydrangea and it continues to grow to the biggest size ever. Can't wait to show it to you with all of the blooms!

Want to know the best part about the pergola being finished up? I planned on building a new outdoor table and I love this so much as is I'm not worrying about it. Less work for me, whoot! The set works great and the colors in the table top work perfectly with the new rug and stain. It's in good condition, the chairs are comfortable, it looks good so it's staying!

If you need us on any given evening this summer, we'll probably be here. Bring wine if you plan to join us. ;)

We are so thrilled to have this project finished up! This week I cleaned the patio and now I just need to finish cleaning out the flower beds and maybe then I can plant a new hydrangea or two. ;)

Oh, I meant to mention -- I get asked about outdoor rugs on our deck often. Some worry about the air flow and the wood not holding up but we've never had a problem. I've had rugs out here for more than a decade and other than normal wear our deck is doing fine. If you want a soft spot and some color I say go for it! :)

Are you working on any outdoors projects right now? We are so behind compared to years past but this was a HUGE one off the list.


I received compensation from BHG at Walmart for my time and participation in the BHG Live Better Network. All experiences and opinions are my own. Follow BHG on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.