I’m was so excited to partner with Schlage and to treat our sweet neighbors with a curb appeal makeover. As always all words and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting brands that support House Homemade.
You may remember that I worked with Schlage last year when I learned how to install door hardware all by myself. We also updated our outdated back door AND they they helped modernize our front door when we made over our exterior in the One Room Challenge last fall. When they reached out about theirSchlage Encode WiFi Smart Deadbolt I immediately thought about asking our neighbor Jen and her family to be ginnea pigs and try it out. She excitedly said yes and I’m so excited to show you what we did!
Their house was already super cute and I knew a fresh color on the door and a few little changes would make a huge impact. Here’s what we started with:
It was Jen’s idea to stain the shutters so we made them a warmer brown.
We used a brush to apply the stain
and then wiped off the excess with an old rag.
It was such a big difference already.
I thought the tiled porch was begging for a stencil so we did that too.
You can see more about painting floors in my post here.
When it was time to change out the hardware we gave it a fresh coat of paint.
I actually used the color that I originally bought for our front door (see it here). It’s Sherwin Williams ‘Fresh Balsam’. It looks great with the grey of their house and makes the hardware pop.
I got a video of the painting process and then the first (and most dramatic coat) mysteriously DIDN’T RECORD. Time lapses are so satisfying to watch!!!!! WHY??!?!?!
Ok, onto the important stuff. We picked the Encode Smart Wifi Deadbolt. Century trim with the latitude lever in matte black. All of that sounds like a lot of information but when you go to order you’ll see it’s just the different parts of the finished look . It’s actually nice that you get that much customization for your door hardware. Side note: You can buy the whole set or just the deadbolt in case you decide to upgrade to a smart lock but don’t need the handle set.
We installed the lock. My number one tip: read the directions. Super ground breaking I know. Really, the only time we got stopped up is because I got ahead of myself and didn’t read the specifics.
Jen and her family have had the lock installed for a week and it’s been nothing but awesome! I think I’ve talked about it here before but we live on a friendly and wonderful street and Jen is a huge part of that. She’s so hospitable and inclusive. They have a pool and they are always opening their home to friends. This is relevant because the lock has come in handy. The other day she was talking to another neighbor and her girls wanted to go home. She was able to unlock the house from the app on her phone so that her girls could go ahead of her!
This is a screen shot of the Schlage app that lets her confirm that her door is locked. This way you don’t have to second guess yourself after you’d already left home for the day.
We were swimming last weekend and when a few friends left she asked them to press the x on the keypad to lock the door behind them on their way out.
I have a special code set for me so that I can get in if needed. It’s a cool thing though because her friends have different codes so she can tell who came over AND if you let your friends pick their code its easier for them to remember..
I love that the app even lets you know who did what in regards to the lock
That 9:51 entrance was me. I needed a gift bag. I got permission. Promise.
They’re able to leave the house for a walk or bike ride with no key in hand.
Lock your keys in the car? At least you can still get in and out of your house with a code.
Look at how pretty their porch is now!
I put together a time lapse of some of the steps…sans the door going from navy to green… Check it out!
I love how it turned out. It’s so charming and welcoming…and safe!…and SMART!
Scroll below to shop the look:
Do you love it!? This was one weekend worth of work dry time and all. Curb appeal doesn’t have to be a huge overhaul. Little changes can make a HUGE difference. Do it!! You’ll be so glad you did.
Thanks for reading, friends!
