Mmm, pickles. That will make sense in a minute. But first we’ll show you what John’s sister Emily’s front entryway has looked like for the past three years that she’s lived in her amazing casa (which you can virtually tour here).
And here’s the after, thanks to a new color on the door and some semi-transparent stain on the deck that leads to it (oh yeah and some pumpkins).
Here’s how we landed on the door color and the stain hue. First I came over with a bunch of paint swatches and we held them up to the door to see what would work with the smoky gray color of the house.
We easily narrowed it down to a few favorites (Cornichon, Lagoon, Duck’s Egg, Egg Yolk, and Sultana – all by Martha Stewart).
Then after a bit more deliberation both Emily and her hubby Todd decided they loved Cornichon the best by far. And I must say I agreed. They really wanted their house to look hip and a little funky, so they appreciated that it wasn’t an obvious color that could be found on many doors. It also looked really great with the house color as well as with deep wood tones (since they also planned to go dark with the wood deck that leads to the door).
With the front door color narrowed down, it was time to select the exact hue for the deck, and we all decided on something rich and brown but not too opaque (a semi-transparent stain by Behr called Premium Plus Deck Stain in the color “Wood Chip”).
After all those decisions were reached, it was time for the deck to get power washed, stained, and then for the door to get two coats of semi-gloss latex exterior paint in our favorite Cornichon color by Martha.
We think it really gives off a confident “how YOU doin'” vibe that feels cool and welcoming. And Emily and Todd couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.
So we thought we’d share that quick curb appeal makeover with you guys in case you’re debating a new front door or deck color. It really can make all the difference, right? And now Em and Todd are excited to complete the transformation with a few more details (like more planters, cool house numbers, and a big modern welcome mat). Gotta love a makeover that makes you excited about things like doormats and planters.
Are any of you guys getting ready to paint your house’s exterior or otherwise turn up the dial on your home’s curb appeal? Tell me all about it. Oh and I promised the title would make sense so here ya go: cornichon, the name of the front door paint, means pickle in French. And thanks to my 9th grade French teacher I was in the know from the moment we selected it as our favorite swatch (thanks Madame Cruger-Langer!). Snookie would be proud.
Kate says
I painted my front door lavender this summer and everytime I pull into my driveway, it fills me with glee!
CarrieK says
New siding is being started today (at least I hope they’re there right now)! Praying that it looks good, the process of picking out colors was infinitely more difficult than I would have thought! New light fixtures, mail box and house numbers will be going up. Guess I’m going to need to paint the front door too. =)
carolyn says
Wow! Love that nice pop of pickle!
Becky says
Any tips on painting metal doors? Did they leave it on the hinges or remove it, also, do you know if they used a paint pad, roller, brush ??
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
Just tape off those hinges for an easier approach (rehanging a freshly painted door can result in dings anyway). We like a small foam roller for metal, just apply thin and even coats slowly with enough drying time between them and you should be all set. Good luck!
xo,
s
AmandaT says
My husband and I are trying to add some curb appeal to our house as we speak. We want to do some painting and landscaping. The paint is the hard part because our house is coquina. I hate the yellow and brown the house is currently painted, but have no idea what colors could possibly go with the coquina. Any thoughts or suggestions as to how to decide??
YoungHouseLove says
We’d recommend the very same method we used on Emily’s house! Just bring home a ton of swatches in a variety of colors, hold them up, step back, and see which ones you prefer. Good luck!
xo,
s
valerie J. says
Thanks, now I want a yellow front door…but with my brick it would look horrendous. :)
OwningSingle says
I like it. I’m preparing to paint my door a chocolate brown.
Meagan says
Hi,
Love the door colour. I checked out the tour of your sis’s place and really like the light hanging over the dining table. Can she share the source? Is it some form of a “sputnik” light? It’s a bit hard to tell as the pic is kinda small.
Thanks,
Meg
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, it’s a sputnik light scored on ebay. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Travelstovegas says
As soon as I saw this post, I had to make sure my husband checked it out! Last year when I moved in with him, I thought the front of our gray house looked a little forlorn, so I came up with a multi-step plan to make it look like it was loved.
I painted the front door a nice, sunny yellow. I immediately loved it, as did most of my friends. But my guy’s friends & family are more “conservative” and have been rather negative about it. Thankfully my husband says it has grown on him and he is excited to see it once we have the black window shutters in place. Thanks for making my choice look a bit hip!
Erin says
We are going to try and sell our house next year so I’ve been contemplating the “curb appeal.” We have a white house with black shutters and some brick veneer and (snooze) a white door.
I am thinking red. The swatch idea is a great idea when we are concerned about the red “clashing” with our brick.
Thanks!
Elle C. says
I love that change! Do you have any suggestions for decorating an entryway that’s in the garage? We don’t use our front door to go in the house everyday, and while I decorate it for visitors, I’d like for my husband, kids and myself to feel welcome as we walk through the garage and through the door that leads to our family room. Any ideas for something that’s simple and doesn’t take up much space in a dark brown garage?
YoungHouseLove says
Ikea has some great storage pieces that look great and can be super functional for a garage entrance. Maybe check those out? You also of course could paint the door or the garage walls for a nice pick-me-up!
xo,
s
Julie at www.downtimeweblog.com says
I love painted doors! This looks awesome…so modern and chic.
shawna says
Great colors – some of them live in my home. We used Cornichon for our library (we were orginally going to use Sultana but changed our minds at the last minute) and I just painted a piece of furniture Egg Yolk a couple of weeks ago. I love Martha’s paint colors!
Our house is also grey, and very shortly, our front door will be “Bicycle Yellow” by Ralph Lauren. Can’t wait!
Joscelyn says
Great door, but I also love the inside! Was wondering if you could get some details on their kitchen counters. We have very nice natural wood cabinets that I don’t really want to paint but I do want to incorporate as much white into the kitchen as possible. We have been looking into counter top options and theirs has the exact look we are going for! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s just pure white Corian- very affordable and easy to maintain!
xo,
s
Val says
Mmmm, cornichons…delicious tiny pickles. Why is it that tiny food tastes better than full size food?
YoungHouseLove says
So true. I love baby corn and sliders. Or anything else that makes me feel like a giant.
xo,
s
Angela says
I painted the front door of my 1956 all white home yellow… and I LOVE IT! She won’t be sorry she went with yellow! I think it looks great.
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
Wow what a difference! I love the colour selecting method.
Heather says
Peacock blue door? Love that idea….I kept thinking the classic red door but I was looking for something different and our planters are the funky line from Home Depot this year and they would look hot with a peacock blue door!
Thanks!
Heather
YoungHouseLove says
Happy to help! Send us pics!
xo,
s
Lynn van Slyke says
OOOH, That color is incredible. I just may have to go with that for my front. I have about 50 swatches sitting on my counter and thats one of them. Its very hard to pick out a color for a brick ranch. I like red but hubby says no. Help!
How does John’s sister like her IKEA cabinets? I am thinking about getting the pantry and over door fridge ones.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lynn,
Yes, Em loves her Ikea cabinets! And as for the color of your door, we’d just recommend bringing home a ton of swatches just like we did at Em’s (including Cornichon because it might be perfect) and holding them up to see what you and the hubby can agree on. Good luck!
xo,
s
Danielle says
Colorful front doors are great! My sister just bought a condo, I hope there aren’t rules in her building against painting the front doors! I’ll definitely keep the way you put all the paint swatches up on the door in mind.
Stancie says
First, I’ve gotta tell you that I absolutely LOVE this transformation!! My husband recently painted our front door red & shutters black (they were all forest green – bought the house that way) for my birthday & I really love it! A colorful door just says “Welcome!”.
This door color just makes me smile…..BUT, I’m so confused!! Both the paint swatch & color of the door in your photos looks to me like a very happy yellow, not green at all. I picked up the the Martha Stewart Complete Paint Palette at Home Depot a few weeks ago & I’m staring at Cornichon & it looks nothing like the color of the door you painted. The paint chip I’m looking at is an olive green/split pea soup color – definitely not yellow. But then the name of the color “small pickles” would lead me to believe it is in fact supposed to be green. Is it just me or does that door in your pics look completely yellow?!?! Looks more like Martha Stewart’s Bamboo or Rattan to me…just wondering what gives?! Puzzled :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Stancie,
The color definitely changes with the light (from a mustard yellow to a soft split pea green. It really looks like the color of a mini pickle sometimes, and a bit more yellow at other times of the day (especially since it’s on the exterior of a house, so it gets lots of varying light throughout the day). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Stancie says
Thanks for clarifying Sherry :) It does help!
Megan says
I wish you lived in Mid-Missouri so you could help me! My front door is a mix of a baby poop brownish yellow (you know what I’m talking about!) and a brick red color. I’ve been debating on what color for three years now but really need to decide after we switched out the hardware and took off the plate, so it shows what is underneath the paint. The other “accents” of the house (if they can be called that) are black and white, so I thought about a high gloss black and add some fun, bright colors like you all did on your porch with baskets, but it’s a covered porch that gets NO sun, so I’m not sure. My parents think black is weird for a door. Should I do a pretty teal?! You all really need to come visit Mid-Mo!
YoungHouseLove says
Glossy and sophisticated black can look awesome on a door, but if the porch is dark you might love more of a pop of color (teal sounds cool and we also love yellow or lime with red brick). Good luck!
xo,
s