I would like to apologize to the residents of COLBORNE Street.

I have no idea where your street sign went.  I haven’t seen it anywhere.  I swear.

If I did happen to see it, I would use it for a DIY.  Just sayin’.

 

 

This little door hardware DIY  is a snap to do.

 It is unique.

 It is flawless.

Unless  You’re  a  Cat

 

Our barn cat…. FELIX ….always considered himself the King of the Castle.   And he considered himself a house cat.  He missed the memo that he was born in a barn.

 

He had higher ambitions.  Like ~ living in a house.

 

He was, technically…. FREE.  For about 3 seconds of his life.  He considered himself worth his weight in diamonds.  He may have cost more than the six-million-dollar-man.  If you don’t know who the six million dollar man is, I am officially an old fart.

 

Felix was the only $400 barn cat for miles.  Maybe Provinces.  Maybe countrywide.

I know.   I’m dumb.  And cat poor.  Life would be boring without my stupid decisions.  But that wee little kitten face of his, made me melt.

 He would have done this :

Because he had the personality to pull it off.

The little bugger was neutered, had all the proper vaccinations, medications, flea prevention whatevers, heart-worm something or other …. blah blah blah…. six million dollars later….voila….

 

We had a barn cat that was fit to live in Buckingham Palace.

 

P.s. Being a conscientious cat owner while living in the countryside is equivalent to putting a child through college.  Wearing diamonds.  Driving a Ferrari.  It is re-donk-u-lous.  Having said that, I thought I should do something responsible.   I didn’t want Felix roaming the streets impregnating all the neighborhood cat floozies.

 

While rustic , vintage hardware may only work in certain settings, it always reminds me that thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX is a pretty cool place to be.  Having a horseshoe door handle and street sign on your door is not going to work everywhere.  Doing something DIFFERENT, with an eye catching POP is something that does work everywhere.

 

 

Have you tried something unique on your doors?

 

 

DOOR PUSH BAR IDEAS :

 

• Bamboo could be a tropically cool idea.
• Driftwood could make a great beach side coastal look.
• A tree branch could look awesome.  A birch tree branch, or something unique.
•  A mosaic house number, a funky mailbox, or bench could be great focal points.

 

 

 

One focal point at your front door can make it stand out from the crowd.  It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Leave that up to the cat 🙂

 

To make your own you will need :

1.   A street sign and a horseshoe.  Minus the horse.

2.  Street sign push bar :  4 screws to attach the street sign to the door.

3.  Horseshoe door handle: 2 screws, and a small hollow metal tube.  The tube will host the screw on the upper part of the horseshoe, so that it juts out from the door. (as seen in photo above) …and starts to act like a handle.  It has been trained to be a shoe all its life.

I  hope  you  don’t  have  a  CAT

 Felix had the ability to sleep right across the door push bar {aka street sign}.

As if it had a ledge.

 Which it didn’t.

 The edge of the street sign is about as thin as a wafer.  That cat could have slept on top of a bean pole. I am certain.  It became quite the event. He perched himself on top of the street sign and fell into a deep snore-like sleep.  Often.

Then in happened.

 One day.

 Not surprisingly.

 He fell through the screen.  Technically, his fat butt shoved the screen in and made it flap in the wind.

I suppose window screening wasn’t built to hold a cat.  Pffft.

 

The screen came loose from the door.  So we fixed it more times than I cared to confess to Michael occasionally.

It became quite a ritual.

 

The contractor could read the  ‘I am going to kill the cat‘  look on my face.

 

We should have just put a zipper on the screen.  Problem solved.

Or sold the cat.  For a million dollars.  That would help to repay my cat bills.

 

Felix also had a habit of jumping in cars.  He hopped in my car one day (while I was unloading groceries) and stayed in it for 2 days.  I sold that car.

He hopped in friends cars too.  I would get the phone call….. ‘Hi Lynne.  I am about 45 minutes away.  I have your cat.  He has quite the personality.’

 

 

Back to his SCREEN DOOR extravaganza ……

During his ‘door naps’ Felix would fly through the screen like Houdini.

 

Moments later…suddenly, miraculously he was fast asleep on the living room sofa.  What the what what ??!!  He pretended to be asleep.  I know, I heard the thud.  I know I heard the screen door move as he pounced through it.  Then, moments later, his eyes would be firmly shut.  Sleeping like a baby.  On the sofa.   I swear he faked a snore.  One eye slightly cocked open, watching for me.

 

 

 

Aside from my Felix the cat flaw, the door push handle was flawless.  The horseshoe was a last minute addition.  I made that choice after having a heart attack in the hardware store while pricing door handles.  The horseshoe LUCK factor was a bonus :  A little lucky charm never hurt anyone.

 

I bought the street signs at a flea market for $10 each.  Of course, you can buy vintage, authentic door push hardware, if you have a bag of gold stashed in your basement.  I bought the flea market signs.  Buying vintage, authentic door push bar hardware would have meant taking out a second mortgage to pay for them.  And the cat.  And the diamond studded collar that he clearly thought he was entitled to.

 

 

Proud as punch I was.  I was.

I had a unique screen door.

I saved some moola.

I had a crazy cat.

I still had my sanity.

Sort of.

Not really.

I will never be bored.