Guest Blogger: Before & After

My parents have been helping my brother Eric and sister-in-law Paige prepare their house to go on the market this fall. My mom was kind enough to write a guest post about one of the most recent projects. The change was simple, but it made a huge difference. Check out her post below:
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My son and daughter-in-law were thrilled to find out they are expecting their first child in January. (Editors note: Babies everywhere in my family!) However, with the eminent arrival of their bundle of joy came the realization that their cute little house in Grant Park is not big enough for all the baby paraphernalia that accompanies this small wonder. So, Ken and I (along with Paige's parents) spent Saturday working on projects to get the house ready to put on the market in September.

My assignment was to tackle this door in the sun room:


The previous owners had used some type of paint to give it a faux stained glass look. (Sorry, I decided to document this part way through the project-- should have removed my trash bad and bike stand before taking the photo). After some experimentation, I found the most effective method was to scrape off some of the paint with a chisel and then spray window cleaner down behind it. Removing the colorful paint took several hours.


Allowing more light into the room and providing privacy were the two goals we had in mind for the window treatment. A wooden blind to match the others in the room was not feasible because of the two curious puppies! After some research, I decided to experiment with white window frosting spray. Again, I moved the bike rack and trash bag but forgot to take the picture before I taped one window!


Here is what the project looked like from the inside and outside! The can of spray paint was less than $5.00. If I hadn't had to remove the old paint, this project would have taken only about an hour. Beware, the fumes are very strong!


Watch for further updates as we continue to stage this room and the rest of the house over the summer.
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Thank you for the great write up, mom! It looks like the house is coming along! I cannot wait to be an aunt again in just 6 short months.

Happy 4th of July!

Ashley