Thursday, September 6, 2012

Painting the Front Door

I'm feeling the need to work to make this old house of ours a bit more welcoming.  Almost nothing we have done during our renovation has been purely esthetic ... it's been 10 years of time and money spent mostly on things like roofing, electrical, plumbing, plaster, blah, blah, blah ... very little of which gives a satisfied feeling of immediate gratification.  Here is what I decided to work on this week.

Our entrance could be really lovely ... we have a huge front door and beautiful leaded glass.  I hate to admit this, but the only thing I have done to the front door in whole time we have owned this place is wash off spiderwebs and dirt from time to time.  Here is the view of the door in question, before I did anything to it yesterday morning.



It looks okay from a distance, so let's go a little closer and see the real story ... grime and flakes and places where the paint is completely worn through. 



Yesterday morning, I gathered my tools and jumped right into the job.  First, I scraped off any loose paint.  I thought about grabbing my heat gun and stripping all the paint off the door and starting fresh (like I have done on the moldings inside the house), but I decided to work with what's on the door already.  Something inside me felt a bit guilty about the potential to wipe out the door's 160+ years of history.

After I scraped and sanded, this is what I had.  I have to keep reminding myself ... it has to get worse before it can be better.



Next, I took my trusty can of Kilz and finished work day #1 by applying a thorough coat of primer to the whole door ... two coats to all of the spots of bare wood.

Normally when I paint a door, I remove the knob and any other hardware.  In this case, all I could get off  was the door knocker.  The knocker's striker plate is stuck, and I can't figure out how to remove the keyhole or the handle for the rim lock.  With all of that still in place, I figured it would be silly to remove the doorknob ... so I taped around everything and called it good.



If you look closely at the reflection in the sidelights in the photo above, you can see why my workday was cut short ... that sky was really black and ominous and it rained and stormed for the rest of the day.  Not good painting weather.



Day 2 dawned dreary and rainy, and I had little hope for finishing my door project.  By mid-morning, though, the rain stopped and the sky cleared ... and it was dry enough by early afternoon to start applying color to the door.

Choosing that color has been a long process.  I knew that I wanted some sort of greenish blue, but it took a while to find the exact right one that had presence and depth, and that coordinated well with the brownish orange of our brick home.  My choice is Farrow and Ball's 'Oval Room Blue', color matched in Valspar Ultra Premium, in a satin finish.



This choice of color has not come without a little bit of drama.  Two of our daughters have expressed their displeasure at the fact that this house won't have a red door ... our houses have ALWAYS had red doors, and the girls have done everything they can to try to convince me not to paint the door of this house blue.  To be honest, I thought about red.  I brought home color chips and tried to convince myself that I could be happy with some sort of red on this door ... but I couldn't do it. 

Also, as far as I can tell, this door has always worn some sort of white paint.  There are layers of white, cream, beige, more white ... and nothing with any color to speak of.  Part of me hesitated to make the leap to a new color.  After I thought about it for a while, I decided to go ahead with the blue ... I realized that I have always made each renovation decision out of a profound respect for this house, this decision included.  (The white paint is still there for others to find, if they choose to go looking.)

Back to the play by play ....

The primer raised the grain of the wood a bit, so I gave the door a quick once-over with a fine grit sanding block.  This gave me a silky smooth surface, and will make the finished paint job look a whole lot nicer.  As I applied the first few strokes of 'Oval Room Blue', I knew immediately that I had made the correct choice.

What do you think?




I had company while I was painting.  Alice and Dorothy were right there, keeping an eye on things.  Like the good housecats they are, neither of them had so much as an inclination to go any closer toward the door.



This is where things stand as of now.  I'm not finished yet.  I have some cracks to caulk and another coat of paint to apply, but I am thrilled with how the project is turning out so far. 



Hello, blue door.  I'm very glad to see you!

29 comments:

  1. So pretty!

    My front door is bright lime green and the house is dark olive green. That is how the sellers did it last year and I vowed to paint the front door first thing. Many have said how they like it... so I'm leaving it alone. Front doors say a ton about a home, don't they?

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  2. I love the blue and think it suits your house perfectly! I think the house is happy with your selection!

    Kat

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  3. Oh- I love the color. It is soft and pretty and will look good in any season. Our cats never went outside either- no matter if we left every door in the house open. Have a good evening-xo Diana

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  4. I'm anxious to see the whole thing, from a bit of distance that includes some brick.

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  5. I like a red door, but this blue is beautiful and perfect! I think it goes with house perfectly! hugs, Linda

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  6. Yes...the right color! I am curious. Do you have any concerns with Lead Paint when you sand and chip away at old paint?

    And...I do believe I have that same rug in my farmhouse foyer. Pretty isn't it.

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  7. That's one old solid door. Just think of how many people walked through it all these years. It would have been nice to have a guest book at the door for all to sign in. I prefer red doors but the blue looks very nice! Looking forward to seeing the finished look.

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  8. Lovely color and that shade of blue is one of my favorites.
    Lisa

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  9. Personally, I love this shade of blue for a door. It's a very welcoming shade. And, oh yes...didn't the skies get scary!!! We had a huge rainstorm of much needed rain. Could use another soaker to be honest. Love your door!!!

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  10. Love the color...a colorful fall wreath will look lovely hanging on it...

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  11. It is a PERFECT shade of blue. You made the right choice. A red door would have gotten lost since your house is reddish brick. You needed a pop of color from the opposite side of the color wheel. Lovely, lovely, lovely!

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  12. Great color choice!! I love it. Can't wait to see it in person.

    Janet xox

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  13. I really like the color you chose! I can't believe your door is that old! That is amazing!~Hugs, Patti

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  14. I like your color choice. My front door is plain old black but I dream of painting it a bright purple or some other unusual color. Maybe I'll get motivated!! Thanks for your lovely blog.

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  15. Whilst I like red doors, I think you are quite right with the colour you have chosen for your door. It just suits it somehow.

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  16. I have to admit, I'm a red door kinda girl too, so I sympathize with your daughters (all our houses have had read doors as well) but I really love the blue! It really pops against the white trim :)

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  17. Your color choice is perfect. I’d love to see the entry all decked out for autumn. Alice and Dorothy have been so entertaining, first with mirrors and now with open doors. Happy weekend, Connie

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  18. I love old houses--and your door looks FAB!
    Catherine

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  19. Very nice color selection, Connie. It really is a classic entry.

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  20. I think that is the prettiest blue shade for a door I've ever seen, Connie! I LUV it!! Good choice!

    Ummmmm....and nice rugs, too.

    hehehe!

    xoxo laurie

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  21. Suits the house beautifully and is a lovely shade of blue. Is it really Farrow and Ball's Oval Room Blue?

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  22. You rock! I am lame, I probably would've done white again, sigh...

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  23. Love that soft and pretty color. I love to see the entry. Have a nice weekend. XOXO

    - Herman Swan

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  24. Linda (your email is not visible, so I will leave the answer to your question here and hope you see it.)

    The color is Farrow and Ball's 'Oval Room Blue', colormatched at Lowes from the chip on my F&B fan deck. It matches the chip perfectly.

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  25. Love the color! I think it will look great with the rest of the house when it's finished. I'd love to do our shutters in a similar color at some point.

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  26. to be honest I wasn't sure I would like it blue but it looks great with the white trim. Great job.

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  27. My home's door color is light brown, that is also very attractive color and the front doors looks very attractive if the front door color is light. So when I saw this blog then I thought about my home's door color. Really thankful to you for posting this blog. Front doors

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