This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Schlage. The opinions and text are all mine.
I have a secret to confess to you… Did anyone notice that during my backyard oasis reveal, there was no mention of what our backdoor area looked like?? That’s because we ran out of time to finish it! Thankfully, we teamed up with Schlage again to do a quick, but impactful makeover in #mytinybungalow to finally finish the backdoor area. I was feeling really inspired by our previous collaboration when I did a quick bathroom door makeover — it’s sort of amazing what a fresh coat of paint plus new door hardware can do for a space. Of course, me being me, I made this makeover project a bit bigger than just some paint… instead, I asked Sean to install some custom wooden trim to the stair risers to make them a bit more exciting.
Our Backdoor Mini Makeover
As a refresher, here is what the backdoor area looked like before. Not exactly the welcome I want future guests to see when they check into our rental! Also, it would be nice for the door to feel welcoming just for us. We tend to use this door more than the front door because parking is easier closest to this door. I used to feel a bit grumpy every time I had to use this entrance to the house!
Here’s a quick rundown of how I wanted to change the backdoor area to make it more welcoming:
- new Schlage door hardware with keyless entry
- new light fixture
- clean up the siding
- freshen up the door with paint
- build out the stairs to look nicer
- find a new home for my excess fizzy water!
- move security camera for a better vantage point.
And now look at it!!! I could not love how this mini makeover turned out more. As we all know, I am a big fan of using pops of black throughout our home, so my latest goal has been to incorporate it into the exterior of the house. This entire project was inspired by Schlage Custom™ Door Hardware collection and the three quarter handlesets. Originally, we had a single knob on the door with a deadbolt, but I wanted the door to look more polished and handsome — but with a smart locking technology. To achieve this look, I paired the Schlage Sense™ Smart Deadbolt with Century trim with the Century Front Entry Handle and Latitude Lever for a look that is gorgeous and extremely functional… all in matte black, of course!
The Schlage Sense™ Smart
This technology is beyond perfect for our home for so many reasons, but especially because we plan to use the home as a vacation rental at some point. By installing this smart technology into our door hardware, we can allow guests to enter by sharing an access code with them. With the Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt, you can enter up to 30 access codes, which adds an extra security layer as well (stay tuned — I will be sharing more tips on how to prepare your home to host guests soon). Until our home is rental-ready, I personally love the fact that I don’t have to carry a key around with me! Gone are the days of getting locked out…
There are even more benefits to upgrading to a Schlage Sense™ Smart Deadbolt entry handleset, such as:
- The lock can easily pair with my smartphone via Bluetooth Smart technology.
- It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant and the Schlage Sense Wi-Fi Adapter, making it easier to lock and unlock your doors remotely and using voice activation.
- The Schlage Sense app is really easy to use.
- Installation was a breeze and only required a screwdriver (it is battery powered, too!).
- Even if the power goes out, the access codes will still work.
- There is a back up key included, just in case.
- Built-in alarm technology senses potential door attacks.
With so many pros, I can’t believe we waited this long to finally make the switch!
As for the rest of the makeover, I feel like the small touches are what really helped to finish the look. For the finishing touch, I swapped out our old door mat for a vintage tufted rug and selected a new light fixture to match the one on the deck. Also, we painted the trim around the door the same black as our French doors. I’m still on the fence about if I love the black or not — I’d love to know what you think! We haven’t totally committed to an exterior paint color yet, so this is a good trial run.
And then there are the stairs… Sean really outdid himself working on these! He repurposed pieces of shiplap and used small finishing nails to hammer them into the existing stairs. Basically, the old stairs were physically fine, but let a lot to be desired aesthetically. I wanted to create a textural pattern that almost mimics arrows pointing toward the door… like a subtle ‘Welcome, come on in!’ We went back and forth a ton on what color they should be and I’m really happy with how they turned out. The color is the same stain we used for the fence, which means the backdoor area finally feels cohesive with the rest of the backyard!
If you’d like to re-create this mini renovation yourself, here is a list of all the materials and tools we used:
- Schlage Sense™ Smart Deadbolt with Century trim with the Century Front Entry Handle and Latitude Lever
- Tongue and groovewall planks (we used the flat side)
- SuperDeck IR Reflective Exterior Waterborne Solid Color Stain in Black Alder from Sherwin-Williams
- Oak stair trend
- black outdoor wall sconce from Lamps Plus
- Ryobi cordless nailer
Even Nancy Kerrigan is happy with how it turned out!
photography, design and styling by Jojotastic.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Schlage . The opinions and text are all mine.
