Our Readers Strut Their Stuff

We hope you know that we sure do like you. Like, a lot.

Being a blogger has some really awesome perks. Frankly, we get ‘stroked’ a lot. We share our hearts and our homes with you and you leave us lovely comments (except for the crazy spammers whose comments look like they were written by someone with multiple personalities!). We get to try out fun new products and share the results with you and then you leave us lovely comments. We get to travel, speak at conferences and connect with other bloggers. We come home, share about our adventures and then you leave us lovely comments. You support and encourage and cheer us on.

And frankly, we’ve started to get a little sick of US!

Don’t get us wrong, we still LOVE to do all of those things and soooooo appreciate those lovely comments and emails. But, sometimes it’s just good to have a little less ‘us’ and a little more ‘you’.

Which is why we were so thrilled to launch our new ‘Strut Your Stuff’ series. We put out the call and invited you, our readers who are non-bloggers, to share your summer outdoor projects with us and it was so fun seeing these awesome projects hitting our inbox!

We’ve selected a few to share with you today and we know you’ll love them as much as we do!

Susi in Georgia transformed her plain garage door by doing a ‘faux’ carriage house look and we think it looks just gorgeous! Here are her tips for doing this project.

Faux Carriage House Garage Door in 3 Easy Steps:

1.  Thoroughly clean garage door.  I power washed without any chemicals.  If a washing product is used, be careful to make sure no residue remains.
2.  Paint doors.  I spray painted my door, but the texture on the doors would allow for using a paintbrush.  I used latex paint without a primer, but my door was in excellent condition.
     Note – many blogs and info sites recommend latex paint, but suggest consulting with a local expert before beginning the project.
3.  Attach hardware purchased at local home improvement store.

AFTER:

From Elizabeth in Wisconsin, we got to see ‘Betty Lou’, the newest member of their family! And we think she is fabulous!!

Pam in Oklahoma showed us her brand new deck complete with custom table and benches and a beautiful pergola!

 

Then we got this email from Bill and…well…we felt quite certain that this was exactly why we started this series in the first place!

Good Wonderful Morning Ms. Heather & Ms. Vanessa,

My wife Brenda and I recently moved to the beautiful area of Chuckey, Tn.

We live out in the country surrounded by cattle farms and beautiful views of the mountains in the Cherokee National Forest. The mighty Nolichucky River flows just a few miles from our back door. History surrounds us in every direction we turn. Davy Crockett’s birthplace, Jonesborough, the oldest city in Tennessee, Greeneville, the home of President Andrew Johnson and the list could go on and on. 

As anyone knows, when you move into a new home, that projects around the homestead are a part of  life. I could send you many projects we have completed since moving in last year in November. Although tempted to do just that I decided you might be too busy for so many emails. So I decided to send the latest project we completed this past weekend. 

A few days ago Brenda mentioned that we needed a bench to go in the area between our large flower pots beside our porch.  So I started thinking about what I could build to go in the spot and came up with an idea and drew out some plans. Then I bought some lumber.  After a day in my shop measuring, cutting, assembling came up with this Peacock Back Bench.  

We liked the rustic look so decided not to stain but to just protect it with a couple of clear coats of polyurethane so the greens and yellows could be seen. We set it in place and stepped back for a look.  We think it fits the space perfect and Brenda really liked it too! 

The last picture is the view of the mountains that we have while sitting on our new bench.

Hope you ladies like our Peacock Back Bench, we sure do.

Just found you ladies on Facebook and enjoy reading and seeing your projects too!

 

Hope you pick our project. Thanks for giving your fans a chance to strut their stuff.

Have a great day,

Bill 

Bill & Brenda from Tennessee

You see, Bill’s email, like so many others, allowed us a glimpse into your lives!

This series serves as a reminder of what we are all trying to do in our homes…make them feel comfortable, welcoming and most importantly, reflect who we are. It really bonds us all together, don’t you think? That process of carving out our own little corners of ‘home’. So, what do you say we keep this series going?? We’re game, are you?

Be watching for the ‘Strut Your Stuff Fall Edition’! 

And thank you as always for meeting us here at the Fence today!