I spy with my little eye....

What? A 5-panel door with original hardware in decent condition. Oh yeah, and it's also almost the right size...just needs to lose a few inches in height (it's 83.5 inches tall!). The BEST part...it was only 20 bucks. Habitat for Humanity Re-store in Elgin is our new fav store. I feel that I will spend many Saturday mornings scouring all their inventory! We also nabbed a white marble slab for topping the dining room radiator for 5 bucks.


I have to applaud the volunteer staff at the Re-store. They are most accomodating. I was waiting for Chris to pull the Focus up to the loading area and one of the volunteers asked me if I had a truck...or a car. I smiled and said "A car" to which his response was "That little one right there?" Me, "Uh huh." He chuckled and then demonstrated his expert twine-tying skills as we got most of the door into the actual car/trunk. My favorite part...the "peligro" ("danger" in Espanol) red tape we used as a red flag on the end of the door hanging out of the trunk. Very chic.

This is a story of a door...

So... on a Labor Day trip to Lowes, I drooled over new wood front doors to replace the steel front door that is definitely not right for the house. But at $650-800+ for an unfinished door, I put it on my ever-growing wish list.

Later that afternoon, I was sitting on the front porch when my neighbor walked up, tape measure in hand. He said "Hey, you said you wanted a different front door, right?" My ears perked right up. "Yes, why?" He explained that in cleaning out his basement he had uncovered a wood front door that I was welcome too but it was in need of refinishing. (Apparently, the previous owner had left some doors in his basement.) It was a perfect fit! He also had a painted 5 panel door that is in rough shape- but I feel it is my Calvinistic-duty to reform it :)

I am determined to become an expert wood door refinisher...and I think I'll have plenty of practice to craft my skills.