a lovely living

One of my favorite projects that my husband and I have tackled since moving into our home is updating our front door. I wanted our entrance to feel friendly and welcoming both to our guests and to our neighborhood. I turned to my Pinterest board and knew almost right away what color I wanted to use, Sherwin Williams ‘drizzle’. It’s a near perfect match to a robin’s egg which we compared when my son found one in the yard. Changing the color of a front door can be daunting because it plays a large part in the overall look of your house. I read a number of blogs before and during the process to make sure I was doing my best to not make any mistakes. In the end, I kept reminding myself, it’s only paint!

I began by painting a sample swatch on the corner of the door so that I could see it both day and night and get a feel for what it would look like. I’m sure my neighbors wondered if/when I was actually going to paint it because our door looked like this for some time…

We decided to leave the door on and taped off the entrance with a large sheet of plastic. If you have a storm door you’d be able to eliminate that step. We then used a liquid deglosser (my new best friend) which allowed us to eliminate the need to do any sanding.

When I began painting, I switched between a roller and brush to precisely cover all areas of the door. What I read over and over was that thin, even layers were key. Here’s what it looked like after two coats…

It’s important to let each coat dry completely, which is why we started early in the day. Granted, I was going pretty light over a dark red door, but it ended up taking 4 coats until I was happy with the outcome (I read others that took up to 7!). Whatever it takes, it’s worth it.

My MIL insisted we needed a proper doorknob for our bright, new door so she treated us to a new one. I have to agree, it does wonders :)

The sidelights were something I really struggled with. Do I paint them the same color as the door? Go with black to match the shutters? Or cream to match the house? I ultimately ended up going with white to really make the door pop and ended up painting the trim as well. I’m so happy with the way it turned out. After this project the house really started to feel like it was ours. Welcome, friends!