Alternate post title: Paint Me Like One Of Your French Girls. Yes, much like Rose once begged Jack, the dusty blue back of our front door was just begging to be painted (ok, so Rose said “draw me like one of your French girls” but it’s close enough).
The new paint color of choice? The same happy teal tone that’s on the front of it.
There’s no hard and fast rule about carrying the color that’s on the front of the door back around to the inside of it (in our last two houses we chose bright colors on the front and plain old white for the back) – but for the first time ever we have sidelights and we want to draw attention to them. So bringing that color into the foyer via the back of the door is a fun way to make that door-and-window-combo into a nice little focal point in an otherwise neutral/classic space. We’re going for something like:
- this (oh how my heart siiiiiings for that old Domino pic)
- this (those dark floors, those light walls, oh man)
- this (this door’s subtler, but there’s more color on the walls/runner than we’ll use)
- this (there are no words except holy cuteness, batman)
You guys get the idea, right? White sidelights + a colored door = true love. And just as you might have guessed, the painting process was extremely romantic. Picture me and the door, just staring into each others eyes – er, panels? At one point there was steam on the sidelights and I slid my hand down it like this.
Visit website with painting tips for anyone else who’s planning to show their door some love:
- If your door is super shiny/glossy (either sealed wood or semi-gloss/high gloss paint) you’ll want to use a liquid deglosser to wipe it down before priming and painting, but since our door was chalky and matte to start with, I could skip right to the painting step because we used the same self-priming quart of paint that we used on the front (Benjamin Moore’s MooreGlo paint in Blue Lake with a semi-gloss-like finish called Soft Gloss).
- Whenever I paint the front or back of exterior doors, my favorite method is to start in the morning so the door can be open (just cracked) all day and has time to dry before you have to close and lock it at night.
- I like using an angled brush to paint the entire door – although John loves a foam roller, so it’s a different strokes for different folks thing.
- I have a certain order that I like for painting doors: first I paint the frames of each raised rectangle, then I paint the inside of each one as you see in the photo below. Then I paint the flat planks around and between them, always going in the direction of that plank (I pull my brush from top to bottom to do the vertical plank down the middle, then I go from left to right to get all of the horizontal slats, and at the very end I drag my brush from top to bottom to do those vertical parts on each side of the door).
- I wait for that to dry about an hour (or two if it’s super humid) and then I do the whole thing again, in the same order. Then I just give it the rest of the day to dry and lock it up at night.
- I prefer to remove the hardware over taping it off, but Clara was having an off day and I worried it would add more time than I had to spare (I wasn’t sure she’d nap for very long) so that’s why it’s taped off this time, even though we took it off when we painted the front.
When the pheremones cleared paint dried, the back of the door was looking pretty fiiine. Admittedly it looks a little crazy with the yellow walls and the brassy fixture, but we’re just getting started in here, so we’re holding onto some serious faith that the other dozen to-do list items in here will make more sense of things as we go (remember this old saying?).
It’s definitely a more welcome sight than this before picture though. Ah. We can breathe. And weirdly enough the ceilings feel about a foot taller.
This is my favorite after shot, just because there’s a certain man and child that I adore in the background. And those dark doorknobs and hinges aren’t half bad either.
Next up? More painting! We have to pick a color for the walls (we’re sifting through swatches as you read this) and still have to finish painting the vanity in the half bathroom as well as – you guessed it! – paint the blue spindles on the stairs. Among about a million other blue-trimmed-and-wallpapered rooms that are on the list. So our fingers might grow around our paint brushes, but they say beauty is pain, right?
Want to see into the future? Here’s the wall color we picked for this room: Edgecomb Gray.
As weird as it sounds, the more sweat we pour into this house, the more it feels like love. It’s sort of like when you go through a harrowing experience with someone and it brings you closer. All of this painting is pain, but it’s bonding us like Jack and Rose.
I’ll never let go. I’ll never let go…
Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house? Just click on this button:
Dianne says
It looks FABULOUS! Love what you’ve done so far.
Lindsey says
LOVE!
Love the front, love the back, the white trim and the sidelights. I think I’m starting to see your vision.
Jennifer : Creative Scatter says
Yet again, perfect timing! I decided yesterday since I’m limited in my color choices for the front of my door (HOA rules..), I’m going to paint the inside of my door a fun cheery color. You most certainly were reading my mind (or vice versa)! Thank you for this helpful post!
Not looking forward to painting it in this Virginia heat! Ick.
Tirsa says
Love that pop of color inside. I’m sure it will be just gorgeous once you finish the walls in a neutral. I can imagine you smiling at the door as you coming downstairs. It’s such a happy color.
I wanted to paint the inside of our front door the same as the outside. I tried to convince DH of this over a year ago, but he did not want to. Maybe now that time has passed by and he still mentions how much he loves the color of our door, I’ll ask again and see if he is open to the idea. ;) Looking at yours has renewed my wish.
Elizabeth@real inspired says
Such a difference in the before and after pictures! With the trim white and the bright door, it looks much lighter and brighter. This is the first time I get to see y’all makeover your home from the very beginning. I’m loving the transformation!
Tabitha says
This is one of the funniest posts you’ve ever written! Loved it.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Tabitha!
xo
s
Ariana says
You know I love a good Titanic reference! I am painting my parents old playroom/kid’s room a dark gray to make it a movie room! I am shocked my hire-it-out parents trusted me enough to do this, but I have used your cutting in tricks in the past (hardest part- let’s be real) and as usual it’s working out great! Glad to know I’m not the only one getting steamy with rollers this week :) Happy painting!
lorie says
Oh my goodness I loooove it!
Erin says
Did you use any type of primer on the door? We have steel entry doors and I’m worried about the paint peeling. Thanks for any advice!
YoungHouseLove says
Ours was self priming paint so we just used that.
xo
s
Tanya says
Love all the work you and your hubby continually do around your house, but as a quiet observer, I finally need to comment on a running theme in your posts. “When Clara is napping…or when Clara goes to bed…then we will get things done.” It seems that you or your hubby have to be 100% focused on your daughter when she is awake, thus she dictates your lives. As a school teacher, I worry about children who are so much the object of every parent’s waking moment. Why can’t Clara learn to not touch, not interrupt when parents (or other adults) are working? Can you not see this as an opportunity to teach your daughter self-discipline, respect and responsibility? If all parents made their schedules revolve around their children’s naps/tantrums/ needs, then this world would fill up with self-centered children that never learn to cater to others. To wait their turn, to set aside their own wants for the good of others is one of the greatest skills you can give to your child.
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely try to teach Clara things like waiting her turn, not having tantrums, not touching, being independent, etc. But she’s just 3 years old so it’s a work in progress. Haha! We don’t engage her in non-stop activities, but we’ve also learned a valuable lesson: projects are infinitely more peaceful and less frustrating when we don’t have to juggle the demands of being a stay at home parent with the demands of a project (both of which can be unpredictable!). So we prefer devoting our full attention to a project while Clara sleeps. Then we can do things like size photos, write posts, arrange giveaways, and answer comments while she plays independently nearby.
xo
s
Debby says
She’s three. Kudos to Sherry and John and all they do accomplish. I see a happy girl when I look at these pics. I know you are a teacher Tanya, but do you have children of your own? Love your blog Sherry and following all your projects, not judging on how you raise your child on a day to day basis.
Debby says
She’s three. This blog is about home reno’s. Not about how Sherry and John raise Clara. You mention that you are a teacher, but do you have children of your own. JW. Great blog you two. And Clara seems like a very happy well adjusted toddler.
Kat says
@..@ <– This is my online shocked expression.
wow.
Jennie says
Good heavens … Clara is three years old. We don’t do big projects while our toddler is “at large” either. Or, if she is awake, we divide and conquer. It’s not like we’re talking about a child of eight or nine here … Three-year-olds are still very small and can cause a lot of havoc very quickly!
kellye says
Looks beautiful!
Debby says
Love it all. Looks so incredibly fresh and clean and bright!!!!!
Danielle Ferretti in Miami says
LOVE what you guys have done so far !! AMAZEBALLS ! My bags are packed, I am ready to move in…. it’s like that front door is calling my name…
And makes me wish I could paint my front door on the outside too – darn Home Associations and their rules ! I will paint the inside of the door though, I solemnly swear !! (shaking my raised fist…) – so thanks for all the door painting tips !
Can’t wait to get a paint insight on your new colors…
And since I am starting to plan to paint our stairs/spindles as well – cant wait for that tutorial either !
xoxoxo
D
Cori says
really loving the color of the front door! I love how you’ve always picked a color that popped for each of your homes!
Marcy says
My sister’s FIL’s wife had to save his dog one time when it got locked in the car – she called emergency services and ended up busting a window to get the dog out and after that she was SO fond of that dog.
We care about the things we take care of, that’s for sure.
Annette says
The slate looks like it’s on purpose now. Beautiful!
Grace says
Ahhh! love it! night and day from the before shot!
Anne says
At the risk of sounding stalker-ish (we’ll go with “longtime blog reader” instead), remember that teal-ish white-ish painting you made a while back? I think it was in the bedroom at one point or something? Anyway, wouldn’t that be fun to the right of the door (from the inside)?!?! Is there room?? If not, that’s cool too- your house, your rules. Just a thought!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah do I still have that? Will have to check my piles of art in the storage room!
xo,
s
Brooke @ sweats & sweets says
For some reason, I think painting the foyer an orange-something color would be so fun and creative!
Brandy says
Oh Sherry… I’m startin’ to see it:)) I totes see why u bought this house, tho I was a lil bit of a doubting Thomas to begin with. But man! Now that the blue is being erased by that fresh, bright white, I can see it! This is def a forever home. Great neighborhood, great bones, classic but accepting of the fun lil Petersik twists you guys love to do (a bright teal front door?? Count THOSE in any given neighborhood…). I know that once you get finished putting your stamp on this place, it will be house-crash worthy itself. U go, Petersiks.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Brandy!
xo,
s
Jackie Toye says
Your Blog is like the Newspaper, or better yet, Twitter. I have to check it out to see what’s going in the World.
Now that’s a WoW …. and I love it that you guys are staying in the Blue Family, but with a more Updated Blue.
I’m loving the door knob selection, too
Ok, now the walls (we’re so Pushy)
Jennifer says
best. post. ever.
the title alone made me choke on my coffee.
lurve it.
Suzanne says
I think the slate floors will look marvelous once there’s some nice clean grout! And your door is just adorable now. :)
Jennifer Gibson says
Just an FYI!!!!! Sherwin Williams paint will be 40% off this weekend!!!!!!! (starting Friday!!!!!)
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo
s
Autumn Beach says
Wow…what a beauty! And she’s not even finished yet. It’s UH. MAY. ZING. what a difference the white trim makes! It makes the entire space feel SO much more spacious. At least in the pictures anyway. And Sherry…I just have to say that I love how you brought it all back around to Jack and Rose. Great tie-in and enthralling post…as always!
mp says
Love it! Y’all have never gone wrong (just my humble opinion).
Megan L says
Amazing. You guys are the best.
Nat says
Sometimes, I think I can’t tell who writes which post until I check back up top. Your writing voices are similar enough that it feels like there is a Petersik writing style. But other times, I know exactly when it’s Sherry. John keeps pretty low-key, but Sherry sometimes busts out the pop-culture (mostly from the 90s) references or crazy imagery. Today it was the Jack&Rose tie-in and never letting go. But so far, my favorite was the image of a llama with sunglasses on eating french fries in your office… or was it an alpaca? Either way, thanks for keeping me and the rest of the blogesphere entertained.
Bridget S says
First time commenter, long time reader.
I thought it would not go well with the slate flooring but it looks spectacular! Kudos, I would never have been that brave. Hope you keep the slate, good luck with your new house!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Bridget!
xo
s
Linda says
LOOOVE the door color; probably because it was one of 4 colors we were trying to figure out for our living room. We ended up using the tranquil blue, and loved it so much we used it in the guest bedroom too! Glad we’re not the only ones into the crazy turquoisey colors! A question about the trim & door painting, do you guys use floetrol or something to slow down the drying time of latex paint? Maybe I’m not fast enough, but man, latex paint dries FAST, and then you get the ugly, ugly streaks…
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t use floetrol but I have some friends who love it. My approach is really thin and even coats (too much paint gets streaky and drippy). Also never go over areas you did a little while ago when they’re half dry because you get the worst drag marks!
xo
s
fmchoff says
Great post, I totally lol’ed… it definitely has helped me decide about my front door, I’ve been staring at mossy green paint chips for weeks on the front door trying to decide what works best. I’ve felt awkward about not painting the door leading to our garage on the wall 90 degrees over- glad to see you went with just one door in a color and left the other white. I don’t know why I felt both needed to be painted (but was worried it would be TOO MUCH), thank you for getting rid of that awkward feeling! Now I’m debating faux frames on the door leading to the garage to make it match just a little and look less plain…
Elisa says
Hi Guys, slightly off topic but just wondering if with your new work/life balance you will still be doing your monthly summaries? I find them really good to go back & show hubby things like John’s universal remote button thingy for the tv (no I’m not the technical one in the house). By the way I fully support your new work/life balance choices & love, love, love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Elisa! We’re thinking about taking a break from those now that we’re in the new house since we have so much on the to-do list and they take a while to put together, but if we ever miss them we’d totally go back and retroactively write them just to have them to look back on like we do for the last house!
xo,
s
Melody says
Maybe you’ve heard this before, but I have your book sitting in my living room, and every time I see it I think of your front door. The colors are similar. Looks great, by the way!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Melody!
xo
s
kelly @stayingonbudget says
Love the color on the inside too! The door with the white trim and the hardware all look great together!
TJ says
Gorgeous colour & a nice way to make the area a focal point.
Anne says
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!
It’s so exciting to watch your progress on the house! You guys never cease to amaze me!!!!
erin says
I can’t even handle how much I love the title of this one- it made me laugh out loud at my desk! And I am madly in love with the color aqua in general, nevermind for a door. It’s amazing to see how much of an impact paint can make to transform a space. Excited to see what’s next!
Jenn R. says
What a difference! Such a bright and happy space now, love it!
Sassafras says
Holy Cuteness Batman is right! That is the exact same pic and color of yellow door that made me want to choose yellow for our house, alas it had to be lime green instead but wowsa wooooo-hoooo your door looks vera Vera VERA nice!!!! …and yes – it IS amazing how tall the ceiling looks now!
Catherine says
Beautiful! The teal really brightens and cheers up the foyer – well done!
Niki says
Omg! I say that to the hubby every morning on the way out the door, “I’ll never let go Jack” and the I let go and say, “whoops gotta go to work.” Sometimes I change it up as he sinks to his death but I never see that part since I’m usually on my way to work then. ;-)
Niki
YoungHouseLove says
Dude, I love you.
xo
s
Kelly McGrath says
Hi John & Sherry!
I am dying to paint the inside of my front door but am a little scared. This post gave me some confidence. However, our door had some rust in some places. How do you suggest painting with that added challenge?
Thanks for your advice!
Kelly & Louis
YoungHouseLove says
I think using a stainblocking rust-blocking primer (Rustoleum makes them) should be good! I’d ask the paint pros at the desk just to be sure.
xo
s
Bailey says
I can’t get over how much betttttter this entire house looks now that it has you two working on it. I love that painting over the blue trim around the top of the walls has made the entire room seem taller. And the bright color of the door is so modern looking. Kudos!!!
xox
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
Cara B says
I’ve been wanting to paint my front door for a while now, but it’s the same maroon as the shutters. In that situation what would you do? Paint the shutters and the door? Just the door? I was thinking black, but it’s not a color you could see from the road. The house is a greenish taupe color and the trim is a creamy tan.
YoungHouseLove says
I would paint a big piece of poster board and tape it to the door and see what you think. Lots of houses have shutters in a different color than the door, and since black is such a classic color for the door I think it could be great!
xo
s
bekah says
Dude! I have a blue front door and I painted the inside of it blue too and people told me I was CRAAAZY for doing that.
So here is to crazy! I love it (yours and mine!)
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s to crazy, Bekah!
xo
s
Megan says
I love crisp white paint and a pop of color. So fresh!
Natalie says
Your post titles kill me every time! :) Too funny!
Sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com says
the change of color adds such a refreshing light in the area. Looks great!!!
Deni says
WOW guys your zooming along!
Its looking great Already!
Just love the colour of your front door!
Lindsay says
Hey! For some reason, the last picture of the post is now loading Clara’s 3 year old paint photo (which is adorable!). I’m on my ipad, so I don’t know if that’s causing it to happen or not. When I saw the post the other day, it loaded the picture of the closet door with John and Clara sitting in the office. Just thought I’d let you know it was being strange!
Lindsay says
Actually, I noticed that the right photo is in the sidebar where Clara’s should be. It’s probably just my iPad being crazy!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Lindsay, yeah it’s a weird iphone/ipad glitch! Usually if you refresh it’s all better.
xo
s