Is There Anything I Won't do to Get the Job Done?

For years now I have wanted to do something with the space above my front door.  We have a two story entry and there is a ledge above the front door underneath a window.  When we first moved in I placed two artificial plants up there and called it a day.  It has been on my "to do" list forever, but it has always fallen to the bottom of the list as something else always seemed more important to do first.

You can see in this photo just how sad the space looks.  So what finally got the ball rolling on this project?  Well, a few weeks ago I replaced the drapes in my guest bedroom with new drapes I sewed.

That meant that the cream silk drapes from Pottery Barn, which were less than two years old, 

no longer had a home. This was the perfect opportunity for me to relocate those drapes to the space above the front door.  

For the past three weekends I have been wanting to start this project.  

I bought the rods, had the accessories...so now I just needed to find a few hours on the weekend to recruit my husband to get it done.  After the past three weekends came and went, we finally got started on Sunday.  My husband got out the big ladder and brought it into the entryway.  He climbed up the ladder and then looked down at me and said that he didn't think he could do this.  Excuse me?  Hubby say what?   "What do you mean you don't think you can do this?", I asked.  He said, "you know that heights aren't my favorite thing and once I get up here I probably will have to stand on a step stool in order to reach high enough to hang the drapes...I don't think I can do it".  Okay...deep breath...while I totally understood...there was no way I was not hanging those drapes right then and there.  

I said, "ok, get down...I'm going up".  

I do not have any real issues with heights so I figured how bad could it be.  First things first, I held up the drapes on the rod and had to be on my tippy toes in order to reach.  Well, the height wasn't the only issue...it was the fact that the depth of the ledge is only 27".  

That meant once I was up there I also had to have a step stool in order to reach high enough to install the brackets.  Then I would have to be super careful not to have the step stool too close to the edge, but I also couldn't have it too close to the window or else I couldn't get far enough away to gain the right leverage to drill the pilot holes and screw in the brackets.

Now in fairness to my husband, he stayed up on that ladder and held the step stool and handed me the tools and basically did everything he could to make sure I didn't end up falling.  Usually when we do projects like this he is the one doing the project and I am the assistant.  It was much harder, and funnier, having the roles reversed since the whole time I was up there I could never think of the word for whatever I needed next and kept referring to whatever I needed as the thingie.
The sun comes directly in the front window at this time, but I had to keep the shade open or else I didn't have anywhere to hold on.  Disclaimer - the photos aren't great of me up on the ledge.

Just because I was fifteen feet off the ground didn't change what I needed to do in order to hang the drapes correctly.  I still had to measure and level the brackets and make sure they hung at the same height on both sides.  A bit trickier at that height.

Here's another not so attractive photo...but it does show you what it took for me to hold onto the window and attempt to screw in the brackets.  I just had to laugh.

My parents stopped by around this time and my mom said I looked like Lucy in that episode from I Love Lucy when she is on the ledge of their apartment building.  Remember that episode?

While I was up there I also needed to hang the candle sconces I had purchased from Home Goods.

Then I fussed and primped the drapes until they puddled just right.

Now it was time to accessorize the ledge.  I carefully made my way down the ladder and my father climbed up.   I handed the accessories to my husband who was on the ladder and he handed them to my father.  I had to snap this photo of my father taking a call on his cell phone while he was up there.  

Here is the finished space.  I just love how it came out!  In creating this look I layered my pieces to give it that out of a magazine look.  It's not like I have to worry about anyone moving anything.

 The candle sconces are from Home Goods.  The birdcage I have had in my dining room for years.  The pillows were in the closet not being used.

The gate is another Home Goods find.  The gate is leaning on the window sill, however, my husband nailed two nails into the floor to stop the gate from slipping forward.  We also had to be careful that it leaned forward enough so that the remote controlled shade could pass behind it easily.  My husband added a piece of styrofoam (from the curtain rod box) to the back of the gate with double-sided tape and used it as a buffer from the molding.

On the other side I used a little table I had in a closet along with two topiaries that used to be on my mantle.  The ball made of sticks is also from Home Goods.

As an added bonus, having this area decorated has also made my beautiful chandelier look even more beautiful now that it has this as it's backdrop.

The gate picks up on the color of the medallion from the chandelier.

The end result was so worth the risk of bodily injury. Lol

What do you think?  Do you love it as much as I do?

By the way...for anyone keeping track...this officially means I met all of my home goals I set for 2011.  Woo Hoo!!  

Just in time for the holidays.

Don't forget to stop back tonight at 8pm EST for my Fall into Fall link party. 

-Judy