DIY Faux Stained Glass Front Door Sidelights

What started out as a temporary solution fifteen years ago has lasted through the years.  Our front door has sidelights and a transom.  For privacy reason I used Gallery Glass to created faux stained glass.  I did a leaf and floral which at this point felt really dated to me.  I started pricing new front doors.  For a new door with sidelights and a transom, I'm looking at $7,000-$8,000 installed.  Plus I have detailed moulding around the front door which would have to be removed in order to install a new door, which would then require painters to come in and repaint the foyer.  Yeah...I'm not giving that mouse a cookie just yet.

You can see in this photo that originally I did not use the Gallery Glass on the transom.

The best thing about Gallery Glass is that it last forever left untouched, but if you want to remove it, it scrapes right off.

 Okay...it doesn't scrape right off.  Three hours and two sliced fingers later, it all scraped off.   In the meantime I had some left over Gallery Glass, but not enough to do a whole project.  I wasn't even sure they made it anymore.  I'm happy to say that I found it at AC Moore so for under $20 I was able to completely restyle my front door.  I designed a pattern based on all of my favorite "new door" designs.  I taped the pattern to the outside of the front door and then traced the pattern using the faux lead.

The ready-made lead comes only in black.  I used a Sharpie pen to paint the leading gold. 

I used mostly clear paint and the etching paint with just a little gold.  It dries in a couple of hours and cures in a week or so.  I tried several things with the clear and scraped it off a few times until I finally settled on using my fingers to make swirls to create the effect I wanted. By the way, it scrapes off super easily and in big pieces if you take it off within the first hour which allowed me time to figure out exactly the pattern I wanted on the clear.  

 Here is the finished door.  I love how it came out.  I originally designed a pattern for the transom that was horizontal, but it didn't look right with white moulding cutting it up.  I had to go with what made sense and have the pattern live within the white moulding lines. 

For less than $20, I completely changed the look of the front door.  So much more updated and beautiful.  So the way I see it I saved over $7,000.  Awesome!

Can't wait to hear what you think.

Have a great day.

-Judy

sharing at Savvy Southern Style 
Stone Gable

2011 Home Goals

The Nester is having a home goals link party.  It got me to thinking...what are my home goals for 2011?  As my mother often says, we never let our house rest.  We are always doing another project.  So true.  Here are my goals for 2011 (some of this may come as news to my husband...fasten your seatbelt lovey):

Goal #1 - The Mudroom

The wall paper has got to go.  First and foremost,  I am so over the border on the top.  Second, the busy pattern is really doing nothing for this long and narrow space.  I'm not sure why the builders thought that putting the laundry right by the side door and only having the width of the door for the room was a good idea.  I am even more baffled as to how when we built this house (yes, we built it) my husband and I didn't notice on the plans just how narrow this would be.  In our defense, we were coming from a townhouse...this seemed huge...at the time.  But what's done is done.  We have never been able to figure out another place for the washer and dryer...if we could that would be the best solution.  So I will make lemons into lemonade.  The mudroom seems to be the hub of my morning and afternoon schedule with my kids.  I need this room to function better than it does.  I have cork boards and white boards hanging, but it still isn't functioning to it's full potential.  In 2011, I will try to remedy that, and hopefully make it look so much more visually appealing in the process.

Goal #2 - The downstairs bathroom

This bathroom has so much potential.  When we finished the basement we put this bathroom in.  I love all of the expensive stuff...the tile, the shower, the sink.  What I don't love is those flesh colored walls (any maybe that mirror has to go too).  What I want to do is hang a grasscloth wallpaper.  It would add so much texture and make that bathroom feel absolutely luxurious.

Goal #3 - The window above the front door

We have this interesting space above the front door.  There is a ledge and a window.  I need to hang window treatments.  This space has been neglected for so long mainly because it is not easy to get up there.  I think simple window panels will frame the window beautifully.  The second reason this space has been neglected is because I am thinking of changing the wall color in the foyer.  This wall color continues all the way up the stairs and throughout the hallways.  The wall color was chosen to go with the runner that goes up the stairs.  If I change the runner I would have to change the wall color...and this is how projects get out of control.  I also need to do something much more interesting other than those two plants I currently have above the door.

Goal #4 - The new outdoor patio

I plan on treating this space like another room in our home.  I want to do a seating area to the right of the stairs and a table and chairs nearer to the pool.  The new Frontgate catalog came out and I found the perfect seating (perfect except for the price).

Image from Frontgate

How perfect would these curved sofas be to continue the curves found in the patio and outdoor kitchen.  Now I just have to find something similar for less.

Those are my goals for 2011.  I'm sure along the way I will tackle other projects I just haven't come up with yet.  How about you?  What do you have planned for 2011?

-Judy