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This post is sponsored by Zabitat. All opinions are my own.
I just realized that several of my recent posts have included the word "budget" in the title. Can you tell we are trying to squeeze a LOT of home improvements out of a small budget? So I'm all about ways to get the most impact for the least amount of money. If you're thinking about replacing exterior doors, one awesome hack that you should definitely look into is Zabitat. They offer decorative glass inserts for steel or fiberglass doors, so instead of buying a brand new door, you can replace the glass on your existing door for a whole new look at a fraction of the cost. Our first idea was to upgrade the glass on our front door, to increase our home's curb appeal and let in more natural light. But as I was scrolling through Zabitat's site, I came across their door glass inserts with enclosed blinds, and I knew these would be PERFECT for our French doors in the back.
There was nothing technically wrong with our old French doors. They weren't damaged or anything. But with all that glass, we didn't have much privacy in the back of our house, and we felt kind of exposed at night. Also, French doors in the dining room + one messy toddler meant daily smudges on the glass, which was hard to keep up with. The Zabitat insert has an internal grille, so instead of cleaning the individual panes (and inevitably leaving a little dust and grime in the corners of each one), I can just wipe down the whole surface continuously. Sounds like a small thing, but when it's a everyday type of chore, it makes a big difference.
I was really intimidated by the idea of messing with our exterior doors, but I needn't have worried. This truly was an easy DIY project that anyone with a few basic tools can handle. There's an installation guide here, but it's pretty basic: you unscrew the raised molding around the old glass, pop it off, and push the old glass out. Then you place the new glass inside the door, add the raised molding on either side, screw it together nice and tight, and cover the screw holes with the included plugs. The whole process took less than half an hour!
As you can see, our door is composed of two thin pieces of steel with insulation in between. When we were thinking about cutting a larger opening in our front door, I was too scared to try it. But seeing how thin the steel part is made me realize that we could probably handle it in the future--with the right tools. In this case, we just replaced the old glass with new glass that was the exact same size, and wa la!
The new doors are niiiice. I love the added privacy, light control, and flexibility that the blinds provide. And since they're fully enclosed within the glass, they won't get food smudges, dirt, or damage on them--EVER!!! There are also no cords to deal with, which is great for safety and ease of use (they're operated by the control you see on the right side--more visible below). When the blinds are fully raised, they disappear into the top valance so you don't even realize they're there. And when they're closed, the doors still have a very clean, modern look.
One more great thing about the Zabitat door glass blinds: they are energy-efficient. Triple pane Low-E glass means that they'll give you long-term value by reducing heat loss in the winter and solar heat gain in the summer.
Our overall experience with Zabitat was truly awesome. At first, I was skeptical of how DIY-friendly it would be to replace the glass in our exterior doors. I was afraid that we'd mess up and create a big gap or something. But the process really was simple, straightforward, and quick...I had no idea it was so easy to get "new" doors!
I still want to upgrade our front door too! That's a project that most people leave on the back burner until they're getting ready to sell. But I'd like to do it sooner than that, so we can enjoy the improved curb appeal while we're still living here. Working on curb appeal might seem vain (I admit, there's nothing "wrong" with my front door either--I just want it to look pretty!). But I also believe that it has a real psychological effect on how you feel about coming home. When you're admiring the view as you walk up to the front door, you'll be a tiny bit happier every single day. That's worth it to me! These front door transformations are getting me inspired.
P.S. If you remember my post about round dining tables, the one in these photos is the table I ordered. The price was so tempting, I took a risk on it despite the lack of reviews. Wellll unfortunately the quality wasn't great, so we already returned it. But we DID love the way a round table felt in this space--so much more breathing room around the edges! Now we're just trying to decide which table to order next. If you have a round table you love, I'm open to suggestions!
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Can you share where you got those black chairs on the patio? Love them!
Oh thank you, and sorry for the late reply! They're the Standish chairs from Target--affordable and so comfy too. We love them.
Love the doors!! Glad it was a smooth project. :)
As for round tables, I am not sure if Ikea is on your list but we have the Bjursta and it has been great seating 4 or 6 within the extended internal leaf (round to oval-ish).
Oh yes I forget about Ikea sometimes since there isn't one in Spokane but I would never rule them out! Their Docksta table was on my short list, but I love the flexibility of an extending table too!
Where is the rectangular wood table from ? Love it