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.
Barb says
Brilliant, once again Sherry and John!!! Did you ORB (I think that is what you call it) the door knocker and the lock and handle?
It looks fabulous!
B.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, ORB was definitely involved! We tried a variety of methods, so we’ll be back with that info within the next two days for ya.
xo,
s
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
OMG!!!! Cannot get enough of that color! I LOVE the door from the inside too! It looks absolutely stunning and totally coordinates with the dining room!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YELLOW literally puts the hugest smile on my face!!!
joyjoy says
Love it! It looks so cheery and complementary both open and closed. I like that you went dark with the hardware. It stands out nicely against the yellow.
elaine says
LOVE IT!!!!
Brianne Franklin says
I’m guessing this might not get read since it’s 200+ deep into the comments, but here goes!
I think if you painted the inside of the door jamb black, it would make the yellow door really pop. I *know* that’s weird, but I think it would be dynamic. Just food for thought!
YoungHouseLove says
That would be a fun little detail! Thanks for the idea!
xo,
s
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
Lovely! You can’t look at these pictures and not smile. For me it is the color AND that door knocker. Yowza!
Liz says
I will be painting a front door pretty soon. Our landlord lets us do whatever we want to our apartment whether painting inside or outside, plus he pays for the supplies! Our front door is very old and looks like it hasn’t been painted in a loooong time! It has paint chipping off all over the place. Should we sand it to get rid of all the flaking paint?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, it definitely sounds like it needs to be sanded or stripped. Just be careful because if it’s an old house you can be dealing with lead paint (just google around for how to deal with that). Good luck!
xo,
s
Kristen says
The door looks AWESOME!! I’m not even a big fan of the color yellow but that door might make me a convert! So pretty and cheerful!
Sam Cross says
WOW, I absolutely love it!! I have been craving a yellow door for months now. Sadly, since we rent, it will not happen. But my goodness I enjoy watching yellow doors and yours certainly is ubber pretty now!!! Nicely done :D
Danielle says
Love it! What a difference color makes! Thanks for sharing! :)
Ladizzle says
We painted ours just a couple of weeks ago…YELLOW! I’m loving it we painted it yellow inside as well and I LOVE the sunshine I see when I walk past! I texted my husband and told him YHL painted their front door yellow too!! We got so much crap for it! Glad to see some one ELSE loves a sunshine front door as well!
lsstudiorange.blogspot.com if you would like to see our yellow!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- your whole exterior is such a nice upgrade!
xo,
s
jodi says
i LOVE it! what a great transformation.
Megan says
Love the color! I bought black for my front door but have yet to get on with it due to heat. Now I’m starting to rethink my decision!
gaboo11 says
I love almost everything you guys do. This is one of the few things I don’t love. Maybe it’s my monitor but it looks too bright and out of place. Maybe adding some yellow accessories will make it work for me. Everyone else seems to love it though…..
judi says
it’s almost too bad you don’t have a screen/storm door anymore, b/c the view from the dining room when you have the door open is SO fantastic!! and you can’t very well leave your door wide open all the time… aw shucks. i say go get an all-glass storm door and put one back on!! haha
Emily says
I just painted our front door today! Not as fun as your project- I was repainting it white (mainly to get rid of awful marks left by unsecured holiday wreaths and such!) But it was the 1st time I’ve attempted a DIY project like this, and I am pleased with the results! The smallish columns on the front porch also got a white-makeover while I was at it :)
Julie says
I love your yellow door, but I think you need a new doormat :).
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, isn’t it funny how upgrading one thing is a chain reaction of other things that should be upgraded?
xo,
s
Amanda says
Sherry!! I have a post going up on my blog tomorrow about how we painted our front door yellow a few weeks ago. Now everyone is just going to think I copied! I love the color you chose, and it looks fantastic!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I’ll tell them you did it first!
xo,
s
Cherri T. says
I love the yellow – so fun. I’d like to branch out and go bold on my front door. How do you pick the color? Your shutters are black, so most any color will look good. But my shutters are green with grayish tones on a colonial brick. The door is the same color. Not sure I could go bold on the door and not the shutters. What do you think?
YoungHouseLove says
We just taped up a bunch of swatches and picked the one that we liked best! Just bring home lots of swatch cards and hold them up to your brick and your shutters and see what complements both. As for going bold on the door and not the shutters, that’s usually the standard (we did it with the black shutters and yellow door). Good luck!
xo,
s
Bee says
I’m sure someone has already said this but since I don’t have time to sift through all of the comments at the moment – PAINT THE BACK OF THE DOOR YELLOW RIGHT NOW! I won’t take no for an answer. The color is too beautiful with your dining room decor (I’m looking at you, curtains) not to!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- don’t think we haven’t thought about it! We’re waiting to see how the rest of that room comes together, but it’s definitely a possibility…
xo,
s
Mandy says
Agree!!! this color is so so beautiful!
Jenn @ Frost Bites says
Love the happy yellow…great job!
Kristy says
You two continue to amaze me. I love checking everyday (and honestly sometimes more than once a day, ok now I sound like an obsessed fan … hehe) and you always have something new done or on the go. It is inspiration for my husband and I to get more done on our older home which we are fixing up all the time. It’s hard because we have 3 kids aged 3,4, and 5 who we adopted 2.5 years ago, so it slows us down a little … but whenever I go on your blog I am inspired to get up off my butt and get to doing something. Keep going, your love for each other, your children (yes including Burger) and you home is awe inspiring!!
Kristin says
I love it!! Have you thought about painting the trim around the door black like the shutters? I think that would make it stand out even more and be the star!
YoungHouseLove says
So far we like letting the trim fall back so the door is the boldest thing on the porch, but you never know where we’ll end up down the line. Everything’s a work in progress!
xo,
s
veronica says
I love the yellow door. We’ve painted our door about 4 times in less than 5 years but haven’t loved any of the colors yet. My friend had suggested yellow but I told her I wasn’t sure. Definitely going to do it now.
Amy says
I was wondering – did you have any problems decorating around the yellow with the door at your old house at Christmas time? I adore the color you chose – I still need to pick a color for my front door – but I’d be afraid that yellow may be hard to decorate with through all the seasons.
YoungHouseLove says
We just hung a pretty green magnolia leaf wreath for the holidays – green looks great with yellow! And of course twinkling white lights would be so pretty too!
xo,
s
Amy says
Oh, thanks, great idea!
Just leave out the red, and it’ll look okay? Hmm… ooh, maybe put some silver ornaments on the wreath?
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, so pretty!
xo,
s
Liz says
Love, love, LOVE it!!!!!!!!
Kelly M says
Thank you for sharing all the steps involved. Would you recommend the same process for a metal door?
YoungHouseLove says
I would just ask the folks at the paint store to be sure (we mentioned our door was wood and that was the paint they recommended). Good luck!
xo,
s
Liz says
Also, I had this “pop” into my head just like that yellow is popping so beautifully, lol! I linked you this ETSY page, (I know you’ve mentioned ETSY on the blog). I found it on my local Craigslist page, (apparrently she’s an artist in my area). This is a great take on recycling. Well, just thought I’d pass it along. Inspiration? Perhaps…..
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, the link didn’t come through. Care to send it again? Thanks for the thought!
xo,
s
chelle says
two typos that are bugging me haha 1. it didn’t close very wall *well* 2. but evening it should be all dried up *by* and love the new yellow door can’t quit coming back here and looking at it!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the heads up! We joke that we average about two typos a post and you found both of them. Haha.
xo,
s
mp says
I’m getting ready to paint my main front door and the one that exits my bedroom about ten feet away. Yeah, two front doors. I’ve opted for (I believe) Williamsburg Green from Glidden, which I got in a Behr exterior gloss. (I can’t find the color card for the paint right now, but it’s the greenish-black that’s popular with older homes). I can’t wait for your hardware wrap-up, because I love my hardware, but they’re bright brass and I want to change that!
Alexi says
The yellow is so fun! And I love the darker hardware, it looks awesome against the yellow. I’ve been wanting to paint my door an aqua/turquoise but haven’t because I have an ugly, always jammed, too hot in Texas to open,storm door. This post might have been the motivation to take that sucker down! Love you guys!
Krissy says
I remember when I was a kid,I had the same door knocker! Great memories..
Mandy says
Didnt read all comments so I dont know if someone already said it, but Sherry and John it is lovely!!! You now totally need to change the site banner index and put one with this yellow gorgeousness! Love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah- we definitely have to update our header! Can’t wait!
xo,
s
Mandy says
<3 the new header :)
and just saying that I love also the last picture of this post.. such a pretty point of view of your house!
kisses!
Ana Silva says
It’s so crazy that you decided to paint your door yellow too because I have decided to do that for a good while now. I just need to actually do it. You all just motivated me to get moving. It looks amazing by the way!
Jamie says
I heart your fun yellow door! I’ve been waiting to paint my front door in hopes of a tutorial when you guys tackled your new door but my door is steel (??) unfortunately…rats =( Any tips/hints on whether paint would stick ok and be durable on a surface other than wood??
YoungHouseLove says
I would imagine it would work really well, but maybe just ask the paint pro at your Lowe’s if it’s good for metal too, just to be certain? Good luck!
xo,
s
Jen says
It looks just like one of the doors in your inspiration photo. So great! I really love when the door is opened up inside, it matches your dining area perfectly! Can’t wait to see how you make it work with the exterior as well!
xoxo,
Jen
Erin says
Have you thought about painting the siding? I think a greenish blue (like the siding in the post under this one) would look great with your bright yellow door.
Love everything you do. xx
YoungHouseLove says
That’s definitely on the to-tackle-later list! There’s a lot of that siding around the back half of our house, so it might be a giant job- but we’re definitely considering what other colors might be fun.
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
Love the yellow!! Can’t believe you did that with a small foam roller, it looks so smooth!
Tamsyn says
Oh I love it so much!! You guys are amazing :)
E.Lefebvre says
A few thoughts… (1) I love the yellow door! It’s beautiful… (2) I hope you leave the brick and a little of the garden messiness… they have a certain quirky English cottage quality… i.e., not cookie cutter prefab neighborhood. (3) Can I have your storm door? Haha… we’ve wanted to get one for our front door to let more light in! We don’t have the lovely big windows you guys have :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re sweet! We’re actually hoping to repurpose our storm door as something else- and donate it if we can’t. Maybe you’ll find it at the Richmond ReStore if we can’t figure out something to do with it…
xo,
s
Carrie L. says
I have been considering painting our door yellow for a long time! Then I did some research and read that since my house faces east that a green door is better Fung Shui (if you believe in that). But, yellow is so much cuter! Love it!
Stephanie L says
I just finished painting our front door dark blue/navy “Nocturnal Ocean” a couple of weeks ago. I love how it completely transformed my whole front porch! It went from dirty icky peeling white front door to AWESOME. Ours was a little more detail-oriented because we had side windows and trim to deal with, so it took a few days (and 5 coats of paint!). Now I want to paint the porch and refinish an old bench to have on the porch…one project turns into so much more!
Love the yellow! You guys did a great job!
And someone had questions about bugs – when we painted ours, we used 2 mil plastic sheeting from Home Depot taped around the outside of the doorway to keep bugs out because our yard is insane with mosquitoes and cicadas right now :(
YoungHouseLove says
So smart! Love that tip!
xo,
s
kelly says
Looks great! I painted my front door bright red. Now you have to update your header!
YoungHouseLove says
Done! Wahoo.
xo,
s
ARON says
LOVE IT!!!
Laura says
Oh my goodness! I just have to post that I LOVE the color on the door… it looks so nice with the grey on the inside! LOVE IT!
Alyson says
I love it! I just painted my front door and my old metal storm door a bright green. Are you selling your old storm door? I am local and would be interested in buying it.
YoungHouseLove says
We’re actually holding onto it in the hopes that we’ll be able to repurpose it somehow- but if we put it on craigslist we’ll be sure to share a link!
xo,
s
Jackie says
Love how it pops out at ya! What a fun colour! xo
Kristie says
Don’t stop there! Paint your porch ceiling blue!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s definitely in our down-the-line plan!
xo,
s
Sara Eslami says
This is amazing!! I was just saying the other day how I want a yellow door when I get a house one day. Love it!!!! xoxo
Sara
lesimplethings.blogspot.com
Annalea says
I love the color . . . it looks awesome! It fits so well with the house, and even the greens in the yard. Just please, PLEASE, tell me that you’ll put lots of pops of similarly bright yellow to help tie it in . . . ?????
I can see bright yellow daffodils and tulips in the springtime, and yellow lilies in summer . . . a painted porch swing in the same color . . . the possibilities are endless . . . :oD
Can’t wait to see the hardware revamp, as I’m planning on doing that very same thing, and my last ORB adventure ended very, very badly. :o(
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yellow tulips and daffodils would be so sweet! We’ll have to bring those in once we tame the jungle! Haha.
xo,
s