We’re back as promised with the whole front door shebang.
First, here’s what we started with:
Yup, it was an old maroon storm door with three issues: 1) the grids didn’t match up with the six paneled door behind it, 2) it was always jamming, and 3) it didn’t latch closed very well, so it would bang open in a storm.
It was nothing but a nuisance to us, so we opted to go storm-doorless (just like we chose to do in our first house) since we didn’t use it once in eight whole months (we have a screen/storm door on the side of the house that we occasionally use along with screen doors in the living room and sunroom that we use a lot more often). It’s definitely not a choice that everyone would make, but we’re psyched to go storm-door-less so we can appreciate our awesome six-paneled solid wood door that was hiding behind it:
So off came all the hardware that held our slammy-jammy storm door in place. Then all we needed to do was spackle those holes and use some exterior paint to touch up the trim (thank goodness the previous owners left that in the basement for us).
Oh but before we did any spackling we got to the fun part: picking the paint color. We held up a ton of options in all colors of the rainbow (plum, turquoise, navy, lime green, and beyond), but kept coming back to a happy yellow color. Here are the final four contenders (they look pretty similar in this pic but they varied slightly by how much white or orange they had in them). After looking at them in all types of light (morning sun, afternoon shade, artificial porch light at night, etc) we ended up choosing the top one: Full Sun EB1-1 by Valspar’s Eddie Bauer Home collection.
But removing the screen door and spackling & painting the trim wasn’t the only prep task we took on. We also decided that our awesome original door knocker (which was rusting and peeling) could use some love.
So we carefully removed it with the hope of bringing it back to its former glory and reinstalling it on our bright yellow door when we were finished painting.
Then we sanded the paint around those areas, just to get everything nice and smooth.
We also opted to remove the rusting brass plate on the bottom of the door and spackle and sand those holes. We didn’t have one in our first house and prefer the uninterrupted look of one big boldly colored wood door (but it’s definitely another one of those personal preference things like nixing a storm door). Oh and we also took off our door handle and lock too – since we had hopes of sprucing them up while they were removed like the door knocker.
And now for a shot of sunshine in a can:
We mentioned that we chose Full Sun EB1-1 by Valspar’s Eddie Bauer Home collection as “the one.” So we talked to the paint pro at Lowe’s about what exterior primer + paint she would recommend (sadly none of which are no-VOC yet). She recommended Valspar’s Duramax since it has a built-in primer and is formulated to be extra durable since it’s exposed to the elements outside. So we had her color match our Full Sun paint chip to the Valspar Duramax stuff and grabbed a quart of it in semi-gloss finish for around $15.
Oh but before we applied a single coat we used a liquid deglosser (Next Liquid Deglosser by Crown since it’s non-flammable, biodegradable, and low-VOC) to remove any oil, grease, or other paint-adhesion-saboteurs (I’ve never typed that word, and I have to admit I liked it). Basically it’s a shortcut when you don’t feel like sanding something you’re about to paint (albeit not as thorough, but usually good enough to get ‘er done). You do definitely want to sand any areas that aren’t smooth before deglossing though (like the nail holes from the brass plate and other places we removed hardware or spackled) since liquid deglossers don’t smooth things, they just remove residue that might mess with paint adhesion.
Then it was time for coat one of our yellow primer + paint, applied with a small foam roller (to cut down on brush strokes) and a 2″ angled brush (to get into the frames of the six paneled door). Of course one coat didn’t do the trick, but for yellow paint going over deep maroon it was actually a pretty impressive showing for just one thin coat:
And four thin and even coats later (yes, there I go with the “thin and even” thing again), honey was looking miiiighty fine:
As in, I couldn’t stop staring at her and smiling. So glad we chose such a happy color to wake up our drab brick and cream wood-sidinged exterior. And it looks just as cute from the inside as it does from the outside:
Mmm, glossy yellowy goodness. It came out really smoothly, partially I think due to using good exterior paint, and partially due to those thin and even coats that were carefully applied with a small foam roller and high quality 2″ angled brush. Not globbing it on (and waiting for each coat to dry before moving onto the next paper thin one) is the key to no visible brush strokes when things dry.
Oh yeah, and you might notice the hardware is all sorts of spruced up. We’ll be back with a dedicated hardware-upgrade post full of photos and instructions when it comes to that part of the process (there are too many pics and not enough time to squeeze that in here).
In the meantime, here’s the door from outside (I couldn’t completely close it for pics because it was still drying – but if you paint something in the morning, by evening it should be all cured up and ready to close).
Isn’t our porch happier without the old broken maroon screen door + dark hidden front door combo?
Shucks, it just makes me giddy. And John loves it too. Oh happy day.
So there it is. A front door makeover that involved:
- checking out swatches taped on the door at all times of day (to ensure nothing would change from something we love in morning sunlight to something we hate in evening porch light)
- removing the screen door and spackling/sanding/painting those holes left in the door surround
- removing the hardware and sanding those areas to smooth them before painting
- permanently removing a rusted brass plate at the bottom of the door and spackling/sanding those holes
- thoroughly deglossing the entire door
- refurbishing the hardware (we’ll be back with all those details for ya soon)
- applying four thin and even coats of exterior primer + paint in semi-gloss for a nice shiny finish
- reattaching the hardware when the paint was dry enough (but not completely closing the door until evening, so it can fully cure)
Woot. Love it. As for the budget breakdown, whoop, here it is: one quart of Valspar Duramax paint in semi-gloss from Lowe’s: $15. Das it. Oh and if someone didn’t have spackle and a deglosser on hand those might be around $4 each on top of the cost of a quart of paint. We still have tons of paint leftover bee tee dubs, so a quart for a front door should definitely do it – even if you’re painting both sides of it (we left the back of ours white like our interior doors).
Have any of you recently painted your front door? Any plans to if you haven’t? Is it crazy that this is the fourth time I’ve painted a door in five years (and the second time I’ve gone with a happy yellow color)? It’s just so dang cheerful. Here’s hoping it spurs us on when it comes to about a million other exterior upgrades that we want slash need to tackle (including the possibility of painting the cream siding around the door, and even trying something with the brick exterior down the line). I guess time will tell where we’ll end up with that stuff. But you know we’ll keep you posted…
Update: There were a bunch of requests for some wider shots from the curb, so here they are. Remember that nearly everything else in the pics besides the yellow door might be on our change-that list down the line (so it’s all a work in progress)…
… especially the big barricade o’ bushes that makes the door nearly invisible from certain angles…
Wouldn’t the power to move bushes with the point of a finger be an awesome superpower? Methinks I’d pick that over flying and reading minds.
Susan says
Painting the door is definitely on our agenda soon. I love the yellow but our house is yellow with brown trim so I’m thinking red. It’s poop brown right now so pretty much anything would be an improvement. We have a bulkhead doors (tilted metal doors leading down to the basement) and a brick shed out back, too, and I’d love to paint them all the same color. Do you think exterior semi-gloss would work on all three surfaces?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I’d ask a paint pro to be sure. Good luck!
xo,
s
Heather W. says
Love the new door color and can’t wait for the update on the hardware.
I was wondering though how do you decide which paint maker you will use. Did you check out BM etc. or did you just go to Lowes and look at their paint brands?
Also, did you do the 4 coats in one day? Just wondering since you had your door handle off etc.
This post was perfect timing, I have been wanting to paint my grey door Lime green and now I am so inspired!!! Love it.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup we started in the morning and applied each coat about an hour after the last one so it would have lots of time to cure before putting on the hardware and locking it at night. As for the paint, we just went to Lowe’s to ask what they recommended since the paint lady there is really knowledgeable. You can go to BM and ask them what they recommend though. I’m sure there are at least a few paint brands that would do the trick!
xo,
s
Vanessa says
LOVE IT!!
Emily says
Love the yellow. It really is happy! And the hardware looks great!
Kerry says
Love the yellow that you picked and that door knocker is fantastic! So glad you decided to keep it, and went black with it!
We recently painted out front door yellow as well (last month), and added a little something extra to it! :)… Funny enough, we also picked the same exterior light as you two, for either side of our front door!
http://first-time-fancy.blogspot.com/2011/07/finishing-front-door.html
YoungHouseLove says
Love it so much!!
xo,
s
Angela S. says
I love it! And, you have totally given me the motivation to paint my door. (Not to mention my built ins!) Any tips on painting some built ins. They are solid oak and pretty firmly attached. My husband says we have to sand them all, and I HATE SANDING!
YoungHouseLove says
If they’re smooth I’d just go with a paint & primer in one and see if that works (test one shelf). Good luck!
xo,
s
Angela S. says
Thanks, Sherry! :) I’ll give it a shot!
emily @ the happy home says
seriously, how do you guys DO that? absolutely gorgeous, and not a runny paint drip to be seen. setting it off with that refurbed hardware– gorjusss…
Melissa says
I don’t know if you have heard of this product, but there is a company called Back to Nature that makes a really awesome line of paint removers and deglossers. Its low fumes (as in no mask needed), you can touch it with your bare hands (so no worries if Clara gets in to it… she could even help). It even has a color change from green to white to let you know when its ready to be removed. They say the base product can do 5 – 10 layers, but I think you really need to go with the pro grade for more than 1-3 layers or paint. I usually get it from Sherwin Williams, but I’m pretty sure Home Depot carries it too.
http://www.ibacktonature.com/Pages/strippers.html
I swear I do not work for this company, I just really like the product. Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! We’ll have to check it out!
xo,
s
Wendy says
WOW! I think this is one of my favorite projects you guys have done! I love it!
Travelstovegas says
Love the yellow door! It’s very similar in color to my own, and I painted it about 2 years ago now. My husband’s family is very conservative and I am quite certain they all hate it, but every time I see it, I just smile! It makes me happy, and yellow accent flowers in spring, summer & fall just really tie things together too. I think it looks best in fall with a pretty wreath in leafy colors. Enjoy the update!
Patti says
So fun! My new abode has soft grey painted brick outside, and a BRIGHT blue front door that pops like crazy. I love it so much, I swear it was the detail that gave me the love-at-first-sight feeling when house hunting :)
Pam C says
I painted our front door red (about 17 years ago) and it was the wrong red. I hated that red for about 7 years before I painted it a cream color to match the trim on the porch. I think it was my worst paint job ever. Now I’m motivated to re-do it. We have new deadbolt lock and door knobs (due to a rash of burglaries in our little patch of paradise) and they’re going to get painted black (as soon as you tell me how to do it!). Didn’t think I’d like your door painted yellow – but I do! Good job!
Mallory says
You have inspired me to update our front door. It’s been needing it for YEARS but we are big ole procrastinators. I luuuuuurrrrrvvvveeeee it!
Jennifer says
Love the color, love the finish! Perfect as usual! Our front door was painted recently and it looks awful compared to this. Notice I didn’t say that ‘I painted the door’? It was a professional, but now I’m thinking that ‘I’ may have to re-do it. You’ve inspired me. We went with a deep red (our house is green, so yellow wouldn’t go), but just the description of the strokes and such makes me want to start over. Thanks!
Margaret says
It looks so great!! I want to paint my door in the worst way. Do you think it would be weird to paint on of those newer white metalish doors with the oval glass in the middle? they are a staple at lowes and homedepot.
thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Metal takes paint really well, so I bet you could. Maybe just google around to get some ideas (I bet folks have painted those before!).
xo,
s
Jen says
We have a metal door with the half circle of glass at the top. It was originally painted teal (by the people before us). We painted it white two years ago (had a storm door, but it held up nice) and just recently re-painted it. It seems to be doing fine. We didn’t do any prep work when painting in white, but I don’t know if they did anything when painting it the original teal.
Melanie @ Mailbox Journey says
it’s so cheerful :)
Ingrida says
The door looks fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration, I am our front door done this weekend. I love yellow, but I think the navy would look best on our light brown brick.
Kristy says
Looking forward to your post about refurbishing the hardware… I’ve been wanting to change out our brass door knob & deadbolt for a while, but buying new and having them keyed is just so expensive. Can’t wait to find out what you did!
Kristen W says
The color is beautiful! I’m planning on painting my shed doors which I can see from my kitchen window. They are currently white – I planned on panting them the trim color (kinda brown) – but now I’m thinking of going a little bolder.
Love that yellow!
Kay Gervais says
Saboteur is a great word. Sabot is a kind of wooden shoe. The mythology being unhappy workers using shoes to clog (ha, another shoe) up the machinery. Love the cheery yellow door. I’m leaning toward teal to cheer up my bland entryway, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten — musing about teal.
Tammy says
Love the door. We just did ours in a fun plum color. I wanted lime green, but the plum was wild enough for the neighborhood. I think Im talked about as the crazy neighbor with all the $#*^ kids. Hahaha. I did use a couple of lime green planters on either side though. My door still makes me smile when I drive up
Sarah says
I love it. I million-times love it. What a gorgeous contrast of happy sunshine door and dark hardware. I’m looking forward to that post too.
Kristin says
I painted my front door just this weekend. But I painted the INSIDE of the door, to add some color. It’s now a beautiful deep turquoise (teal?) called “Safe Harbor” by Olympic. Isn’t that a great name for the entrance to a home? I had narrowed it down to several shades, but the name of this one took it to the top of the list.
I wish I’d known about the small foam roller trick. But at least I knew to get no-VOC paint! Thanks, y’all.
And I’m sure you’ve heard this a bajillion times, Sherry, but I saw “Dina’s Party” on HGTV last night… I was a little freaked out at her resemblance to someone I “know.”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s such a funny one. Cracks me up. Wish I had all that hair. Haha.
xo,
s
heather @ at home with h says
So what did you drill? You mentioned in the first post that you did some drilling but here it looks like you just filled in holes rather than making any new ones.
The yellow looks great as does the refreshed hardware. I’m hoping to remove the hardware from my glass storm door this weekend and paint them to save some cash.
YoungHouseLove says
Just used the drill to remove things like the screen door! So I guess I was undrilling those screws. Haha.
xo,
s
Jennifer says
I didn’t see it asked yet, but do you have plans for that storm door?! I’m sure you do (and will be excited to see). Hang on to it, bc you will find something on pinterest to do with it!!! I LOVE IT!! It’s such a great door!!
YoungHouseLove says
We stuck it in the basement for now, but we’re definitely hoping to figure something out with it someday!
xo,
s
Melissa Irvin says
Our house is grey siding, white trim and garage door, with black shutters. Our front door is barn red. When the guys painted it, they used a brush so we have a ton of brushstrokes in it! :( And, our dog has scratched it a couple of times. I want to repaint it in the same color. The door is metal, so I think I am stuck using oil based paint. Is that true? If not, I think I’ll try the product you used! The yellow looks absolutely lovely.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, not sure. Anyone know? Maybe try asking a paint pro at your local home improvement store?
xo,
s
Sarah R. says
I painted my front door red, which is better than the white that was there before, but now I want a yellow door! Or maybe orange. I have a red brick house, as does everyone in this neighborhood, so the red looks good, but it’s not unique.
Christin says
Beautiful!! Absolutely lovely. :)
Sarah says
VIP QUESTION!!!! (haha) Did you spray ORB paint on your knobs? I’m DYING to do this to my interior knobs throughout my house which are plain old ugly bronze, but I wasn’t sure if I’d mess them up. Do you think I can go for it????
YoungHouseLove says
We tried a few methods and will be back with those details within the next few days.
xo,
s
Sarah B in DC says
Our ancient front door went from a heinous green to heinous blue (think painting tape) and then to a nicer deep aqua. But what I really wanted was to replace the door and its stingy little windows with a fab Doorlite kit (http://www.crestviewdoors.com/products/do-it-yourself-doors-doorlite-kits/exterior-doorlite-kits.html). Alas, a new door would have to be custom-sized so no go – $$$. But the aqua is certainly a step up.
Cathy says
It’s so cheerful! And I love how the yellow door ties in with the curtains.
CherylM. says
Sherry… tell me you didn’t just paint that door bright yellow without a drop cloth to protect your hardwoods did you?? You removed it for the pictures…even the during picture right??
Look how clean (paint free) the handles of your brush and roller are too!!
I’m so envious cause when I paint it’s everywhere..no matter how careful I am I seem to wind up with paint on everything… If you painted this door without a dropcloth my hat’s off to you!!
Looks great… show us a view from the driveway/street of your home now. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we’re crazy drop-cloth-less fools! We use them in carpeted rooms, but we just wipe random drips off hardwoods (they can also be “popped” off if they dry). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sarah says
street view! street view! street view! :)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s on the list!
xo,
s
Corinne says
Show a picture from tHE street!! It’s BEAUTIFUL!!!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re planning to update the header with that as soon as we have a moment!
xo,
s
Jessica says
Looks great! I love how it brings out the yellow in the curtains when the door is open.
Have you considered painting the ceiling of your porch a pale blue to keep the bugs away? It works…and it’s look great with your sunny yellow door!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes I’d love to do that someday!
xo,
s
OMG Ponies! says
The door turned out super well. Also I have a crush on your old storm door.It’s the nicest looking storm door I’ve ever seen. I live too far away to try and obtain it from you. Maybe it will come in useful somewhere else in your home/on your property in the future?
hi5s
YoungHouseLove says
We have it stashed in the basement since we’d love to repurpose it someday!
xo,
s
heather says
We use our storm doors a ton up here but for me it’s more a utilitarian thing. Like someone mentioned above, ours can also be a window or a screen door. I *love* the look without them, especially with a brightly colored door so I really loved this makeover. The yellow is the perfect yellow color.
Lenore says
We just painted our front door! It was a project. We ended up painting both sides. We live in a rental and the previous tenants had painted the inside of the front door in flat white paint – which meant layers of dark grime that wouldn’t wash off. So off came the door – and all the door hardware and hinges. The hinges and hardware had layers of paint on them, so we boiled them in water with a little detergent to remove the old paint, painted our door a beautiful grey on the outside and the inside was the same color as our trim (an off-white). I LOVE it. It’s so much cleaner and fresh looking. I’m surprised at how big a difference painting our door made! Yours looks wonderful – I wish I was brave enough to do a bright yellow. It’s amazing!
Laura @ Starting Out Fit says
OOO I just LOVE it!!! :)
Kate S. says
I think we need a shot of the door/porch from further away! I thought there would be one at the end of the post and there wasn’t, now I feel like we didn’t get the whole image, lol.
YoungHouseLove says
We have to update our header for that POV! Soon I hope. We were scrambling to get this post up by this afternoon!
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
Lovely! Cheery colored front doors make me happy. :D
Giulia says
Wow – looks great! Love it with the dark hardware. You said Oh Happy Day – just like Jordan Ferney’s blog and she has bright yellow in her blog design – so yellow = happy!
Nikole says
Love it! I am actually painting my door yellow this weekend, and I can’t wait. I used some of the same pics as you for inspiration (hooray for Pinterest!), and I tested out the color a while back and I adore it – definitely a statement-maker!
http://interioralaskaigloo.blogspot.com/2011/07/project-overload.html
I’m a bit nervous about how the paint will hold up this winter in our cold climate, but I figure there is only one way to find out . . . fingers crossed!
Lesley says
Thank you for the breakdown! Looks awesome!
Jo @ Jo In the Kitchen says
That turned out so pretty! I love that happy yellow :)
Jenny says
Love it! What a great yellow and what a difference! I bet the house looks so much better from the street now, too. As for the hardware, let me guess… ORB? :)
Kathryn says
Love it! I want to see a pic from farther back – the whole front of the house. Also, what is the blue color inside your front entry area? I’m trying to pick a light blue for my living room and the one I picked ended up looking like an easter egg so I went back over it with the original yellow color and am stuck. ha
~Kathryn
YoungHouseLove says
We have a lot of requests for a wider shot of the door so we’ll share that (perhaps by updating the header) as soon as we can! As for the gray paint, it’s Moonshine by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint).
xo,
s
Nora says
I don’t know how I feel about painted brick (my parent’s house is an old brick house) but I definitely think it would work on the porch section. It looks kind of unfinished with brick and paneling there. Can’t wait to see what you do!
Love the yellow! Our door is inside a screen porch but I love the fun color ideas. I saw another blog post with a bright caribbean blue in the comments, love it!!
Lisa says
I love yellow! In fact, when I read the title of the post a small part of me desperately hoped you were announcing you didn’t want your “old yeller” PB Moorish Tile Rug anymore — you know, the one I have been coveting for ages and of course can no longer buy — and that you were going to give it away to a reader. And that I would be the lucky one. Wow, I am delusional!
I want to paint our front door, but have to get approval through the HOA first. (Or not, and hope they don’t make a fuss?) So, I don’t think I can do anything bright or too fun or I will get in trouble. Gray or black would be a good contrast to our exterior, though, so I’ll probably go that direction.
Lindsay says
WOW!! Now I want a yellow door :-D