As the weather cools down (well, anywhere but down here in the still-steamy south) and fall is ushered in, it's really good to get in some good screen time.
But not those kinds of screens. (Psst, you can read about all of our fave on-a-screen kids apps here though.)
I'm talking window screens. Yep, let in allll the fresh air.
Our house only had a few of it's windows screens when we bought it and the ones we had weren't in the best condition. We weren't bothered by it too much because we don't really like the look of full screens covering up our pretty windows (especially since we've put new crystal clear panes in most of them) but we both really like being able to open windows when the weather allows without letting bugs in.
We toyed with idea of eventually making our own window screens for some of the windows but then we stumbled upon some adjustable window screens - brilliant!
You can find them at most big hardware stores but we've found that we like these ones the best because they have a strip of pile around the edges that further eliminates any spacing, the price is great, and their frames are white to match our window trim. We really like that they're temporary too - they don't sit over your window glass 24/7. We just store them in a closet and pull them out when we want to let in some fresh air. Being adjustable also means we only need a handful of them, not one for each window. Right now we have two in each size - small ones for small windows, large ones for larger windows. They're seriously great. Our only complaint is that, because they're super lightweight, they can bend and get a little wonky sometimes. Because of this, they also seem to be hard to store in-store. We had to check several stores before we found screens that weren't bent.
You can find adjustable screens in packs here on Amazon* and they have good ratings but I'd be interested in how well they ship. We checked out these* too and they seem even sturdier than the ones from Lowe's but in the end, the white won us over. Yes, we could have bought them and painted the wood but sometimes the extra step is just an extra step too much. :)
We've had all of our adjustable screens for over a year and they're all still great.
Our windows aren't the only place we like screens though. It's nice to have wide open doors too, minus bug penetration. But screen doors aren't the prettiest, are they? Nope, they're not the prettiest and getting slapped in the booty by them when you're trying to open the actual door to carry in groceries (or kids or anything else) is a nice added bonus.
We had seen these screen curtains that are pretty cheap and do the trick, but the thought of them in front of your door all the time wasn't appealing. So, when we saw this retractable screen door* on sale a couple of years ago, we pounched. It took about an hour from box to complete installation and it's be so awesome to have. It does have visible frame so I don't think I'd install it on an entry door just for aesthetic reasons, but it's great on our back door leading to our patio. (You can also get it in black here and there lots of color options here*.)
Here's what ours looks like when the screen is retracted:
And then covering the door opening:
Like I mentioned above, we've had it up and running for two years without any problems. We have had to vacuum out the lower track a few times to keep it sliding smoothly and the handle to retract is a little tough for kids to work so we usually have to open and close it when they're going in and out but other than those minor things, we really love have it and being able to have the door open when we're able.
Speaking of doors, we started working on getting a new-to-us front door installed this past weekend. It seems like a simple project - take one door off and put on another - but things aren't always as they seem, right? It was more like shave a teeny tiny bit off the side of the new door, move hinges, rework the door jamb, make two runs to Lowe's, yadda yadda yadda... But, we're getting closer. I can't wait to show you. It seriously changes the whole front of the house.
Have a great week!
+ + +
*These links are affiliate links which means that, if you click over and make a purchase through the link, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. All of these links will lead you to things we actually paid for or that are similar to the item we paid for in case ours is thrifted/sold out/secondhand. This extra money helps us with the costs of running the blog and buying peanut butter. ;) Thank you for your support and for fueling our love to share all things DIY!
No comments