It's the last week before the reveal. For not having a plan, I am pretty happy with how the porch turned out. Due to this house being our vacation home and it being located in a completely different state, unfortunately my entire to-do list didn't get quite done. This past weekend it was 120 degrees in Lake Havasu so our priority was just to hang the swing. So we were unable to get the glass out and paint the rod iron. Thankfully we were able to get the swing up. We did run into a few snags but as I always say, that's projects for you!
I made a critical mistake and bought the wrong size bolts for the swing. Ironically, they only had three of the ones that I thought I needed so I ended up having one in the correct size. Luckily they have a Tractor Supply in Havasu but they only had two bolts and we needed three. So the swing is up but I have to swap out one of the bolts next weekend when I come back.
Hanging the swing was pretty challenging and is an advanced DIY. You have to get the bolts right in the middle of the stud otherwise it's a major safety hazard and finding the middle of the stud was much harder than we anticipated.
I love the way the ropes look but I think if I were to build another swing, I would go with a smaller rope. The ropes are so thick that it makes tying the knots challenging. Next weekend once I get the correct bolt, I still have to level the swing. In order to level the swing it requires the knots to be in the exact place and since the ropes are so thick it is pretty challenging. Another thing I would do differently is instead of four bolts on the ceiling I would only do two. I was initially going to do only two ropes but when I was researching swings I read that four ropes costs less than two long ones and in addition to a lower costs, the four ropes help stabilize the swing better. Most say you need 24" between the wall and the swing and we only have 14" so stabilization was important. The long rope will end up costing more but I think the leveling of the swing would be easier.
Surprise, I painted the door for the third time. The muted pink just didn't feel like me and I've always wanted a BM Razzle Dazzle door. My husband was like, "are your serious?" as I started painting it bright pink lol. He is such a good sport! We also installed the new door hardware which really helps update the door. We ran out of time and weren't able to try and see if we could get the glass out so that isn't going to get replaced before the reveal. In a perfect world, I would have installed a new door but I didn't have room in the budget for a new door. Eventually we will get a new front door.
There is still a lot of styling that has to still happen so next week everything will come together. Also, the light I ordered is backordered and will not be here in time so I am going to DIY a pendant light out of a basket this week.
Next week I will provide the full cost breakdown as well.
In case you missed it, you can find the previous weeks here:
Don't forget to check out the other Spring ORC participants here!
And for all the behind the scenes follow along on Instagram!
