Before & After: The Front Door

When we purchased our house, it had been “well” used.  Bluntly, it was filthy and needed a total make over.  We did a quick makeover of walls and flooring then moved into it as soon as we could.  Over the past six years (after moving in), we have slowly been fixing other little things as we can.  One of my recent “do-overs” was the front door.  We have a really nice front door with the side window lights.  I think the previous owners intended to paint the door after their dogs had ruined the finish as they scratched to get inside.  The front door looked like it had been lightly sanded at several places.  These are the before pictures of the front door:

Everywhere we drove this past summer, I looked at front doors.  I noticed the colors of the doors and if the side lights were painted the same or in contrast.  My favorite front doors were painted black with white side lights.  The contrast really made the front doors pop.  I liked black, but I remembered traveling in Charleston, South Carolina when I was in college and loving the color of their front doors.  At first glance, they looked black, but after looking closer, you noticed the color was really a green that was so dark it was almost black.  I started looking for that color and found what I thought might be a good substitute at Lowe’s.  The color is called Nocturnal Green and is made by Valspar.

When I began painting the front door, the paint looked to have a more bluish tinge to it.  My son thinks it looks black, but I can definitely see a blue tinge and not a green tinge.  When I hold the paint sample up to the door (which looks green when held away from the door), the paint exactly matches the sample.  Go figure?!  Maybe the bluish tinge is the reflection of the gray concrete on the porch floor.  I do like the way the door looks, so I am going to keep the color….just not totally what I was after.

Here is the way the door looks now (and decorated for fall):

The gold “Welcome” is a vinyl transfer from “Leen the Graphics Queen”.  Check out her website.  She has all kinds of sayings and scriptures to add to your walls, doors, or crafts.  They are reasonably priced and are easy to apply.

What new projects have you finished this fall?

Enjoy your weekend!

Judy :)