New Shower Door & Front Door!

Since moving in to our house four years ago (has it really been that long already?!), we have been keeping a running list of updates we'd like to complete. And because we gutted and renovated pretty much the entire house before moving in, we knew some of the other more minor changes would need to happen over time. (If you're new to this space, you can see the before and after pics of our house renovation here.)

Two of those changes were putting in a shower door in our master bedroom and replacing our front door.

For the longest time, we just had a shower curtain in our bathroom. Even though the shower was built  new before we moved in, there always seemed to be other places we'd rather spend our money (fence, lawn, fire pit, master bedroom makeover, front porch & painting the house, nursery) than on a shower door, because in reality, the shower still worked with a curtain instead of a door.

But after a little bit of a break in house renovations, we decided it was time to put a shower door in and replace the front door while we were at it.

Closing day- yes, we bought the ugliest house on the street (we like to say it was the one with the most potential) and we worked hard to make it pretty.

Now the front door was original (our house was built in 1945) and while it was charming looking, it was installed upside down- oh how I wish our contractor never pointed that out- and over time (let's be honest, 70 years is a long time) settled in a way that created pretty large gaps that allowed cold air to come in during the winter and AC to run out during the summer.

We painted the door black and put up black shutters after we moved in.

So I got it in my mind that both things needed to be updated, and as Matt will tell you, when I get my mind on something, I don't let it go until it happens. Does that make me sound stubborn and spoiled or driven and determined? Let's go with a little stubborn and a lot determined, k?!


The inside of our front door and an up-close shot of the original hardware- faaaancy, right?!

Matt says I'm good for him because he wouldn't feel the need to change anything in our house if I didn't suggest it. Which, if you know Matt, is a very Matt way (ever nice and tactful) of saying I get impatient with keeping things how they are for too long and am not afraid to drop some money on making them look nicer. Or maybe that's how I hear it. 

Either way, it's definitely true. 

I'm not a big spender when it comes to shopping for clothes or accessories, but get me going on researching a house project and I'll have the thing done in a month if you'll let me.

Thankfully, that makes us a good team. I get an idea in my head, put the idea in Matt's head, he usually responds with a practical "Do you think we need to do that?" or "Do you think that will really add value to our house" response, after which I research and get quotes and determine what the cost will be. Then I give my best sales pitch on why the improvements will benefit us and the value of our house for resale, and usually we can decide together that the improvements will be worth it. Sometimes, (i.e. master bedroom makeover) it takes more convincing on my part, but I can't think of a single time where Matt wasn't really happy with the outcome (which I of course like to remind him of when I really want to start a new project and my negotiating skills are falling short). ;)

Anyway... here's the latest outcome to that whole decision-making process:

Shower Door

For the shower door, we used Echols Glass & Mirror. I LOVED them. They were friendly, efficient, professional, competitively priced, and the outcome is even better than what I was picturing. If you live in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend them!

Front Door

The front door, on the other hand, was not a smooth process and I did not love who we used at all. You would think that a company like Home Depot would have something like a front-door installation down to a science, but I felt like I was working with a start up company who was completing their first job. The right hand wasn't talking with the left and the process required way more input, reminders, reorders, and negotiating than a simple front door installation should.

Thankfully I'm happy with the finished product, except that we now have to paint over the trim and walls near the trim and wood base on the outside because that was not a part of the install (one of the many things not mentioned). So while I'm happy it is finished and looks nice, we will definitely never work with Home Depot on any house projects again.

I have a few more house projects brewing in my mind and have been working on quotes the last two weeks. Whether those happen now or later, I'm pretty excited about the potential and hope I'll be sharing the finished products on here soon. ;)

Don't forget about the great giveaway and awesome opportunity to support a good cause that is going on this week! You can check it out here. The winner of the giveaway will be announced Friday morning!