{GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED}
The winner is: #262: Chelsea Duncan!
Our Lowe’s challenge this month was to spruce up an outdoor area and give it more curb appeal. I knew instantly what I would do and that is, change out these pitiful light fixtures. Lowes has some really nice ones for not a lot of money.
I picked out these two beauties and they were $40 each. Not bad at all for adding that curb appeal.
This pretty little black lantern will go over the front door.
I got out the ladder and started taking down the old fixture. If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I am not afraid to tackle light fixtures and changed out every light fixture in my old house myself. It’s not hard once you get the hang of it. I’ll show you more on that below.
The old one came down. YAY!
And the new one went up. Look how cute it looks with my glass front door!
It’s very simple and elegant with seeded glass.
Here’s are simple instructions on DIYing your own light fixtures. Someone asked me this and YES, turn OFF the power to your lightswitch by turning off the breaker. I will confess, that I sometimes just make sure the switch is in the OFF position on the wall and that stops the power from coming through too, but that is not the proper way to do it. Do as I say, not as I do. Be safe!
Here’s the back porch fixture. I thought I’d show you how easy it is to connect these. Black wire to black wire and white one to white. Wrap the copper ground wire around the little screw that is marked Ground. Screw the plate in and line up the bolts. 
The base of the fixture has holes that the screws slide through and then the cap nut goes on top.
Much better, don’t you think?
Beautiful and simple Craftsman style fixture and now the porch will look SO much better. I can hardly wait to get on this porch to enjoy it all!
And Lowes is giving away to ONE of my readers a $100 giftcard to help you out with a project of your own! What will you spend your giftcard on if you win?
Do you have an outdoor project you’d like to do soon? Tell me in the comments and I’ll choose a winner in a few days!
Note: I received a Lowes giftcard to complete my outdoor project.
I love the outdoor lighting. That is exactly what needs to be done on my house.
Amazing, but I, too, am working on my back porch (really small, but covered), and I saw a light fixture at Lowe’s last week that I really liked–kind of industrial with a metal shade. I also would like to get an outdoor rug. Having the door areas to a home look inviting just sets the stage of what is to come! Love your blog and always enjoy what you have accomplished on your new home. I know it will be a knockout when you are finished (but, do we ever finish?).
I would use the gift card towards a tree house/fort for my grandsons birthday. He would so love to have a club house.
We are DIY-ing a patio for our backyard. Living in the south, there’s nothing quite like enjoying a dinner under the stars, so we can’t wait for it to be finished (that and my poor hands could use a manicure after all of this brick manuvering). Once it’s complete we’ll need to get a couple of chairs, so we can sit and enjoy our hard work. I’ve already been eyeing a few sets at Lowes!
I’d buy paint so that I can change the color of my front door.
My home could use a makeover with new fans and lights.
I think it would be for a new kitchen sink…it still leaks after several repair attempts!
I’ve been lusting after a few blueberry bushes for a couple years now. Picking blueberries with my children and my niece and nephew is one of my FAVORITE Summer activities!
Love the fixtures you picked! I would probably use the gift card for outdoor light fixtures as well. We have some fixtures that could definitely use an update. Thanks for entering me in the drawing.
I am saving to redo the master bathroom…really bad patch job on the drywall where we assume someone ripped the towel bar off of the wall…NEEDS TO BE FIXED and then the whole bathrooom painted. $100.00 would go a long ways to do just that. THANKS for the opportunity to win!
Melissa
Thank you so much for the giveaway! I really would like to freshen up my deck….got hand me down furniture that is not bad at all but it’s lacking some cuteness. Would love some large pots with flowers and maybe some neat candle holders. Also, some new curtains are due in a couple rooms…I can make curtains but I need rods!
We plan to re-do the railings on our front porch and possibly get a new front door. This card would be a great help! Thank you, Rhoda!
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Thanks for a chance to win. We have several pieces of vintage outdoor furniture that really need to be painted. Chairs and recycled tables. A bright outdoor paint would make a world of difference.
Hi Rhoda,
Great choices on the light fixtures! We just love Lowes! My 2.5 year old son loves to go there on the weekends with his Dad to see the beep-beeps… The forklifts, ha! We would love to spruce up our eye-sore of a back yard… Re-work the flower beds, add new rock and gravel, plant new flowers and an herb garden. Thanks for the giveaway!
Where to begin – we have so many projects underway!! Probably would have to be sprucing up the yard.
Oh where to begin!! I have wanted to add some interest to my front entrance by adding some architecture detail with mouldings, etc. This gift card would go a long way to help!! By the way, love both fixtures! Can’t wait to see all your hard work come together! And your parents…..I am speechless! Amazing in a word.
I would use the gift card to spruce up our front yard’s grass — seed, fertilizer…it needs HELP!! PS – I have one of those lamps on our front porch, and we love it!!
We really need to update our “curb appeal” and improve our lawn. A gift card would be so helpful to get us started. We love shopping at Lowes.
We have recently painted the outside of our house and our outside lighting is in desperate need of a change. It is currently “vintage” 1981! 😉
We are remodeling our kitchen and I need new paint and a faucet.