How I Painted My Front Door...Don't Ya Love Creative Titles?

Friday, May 15, 2009

Thanks for all of your nice comments yesterday about my "new" front door. I'm really happy with it.

I thought I'd follow up today with a quick post today about how I actually painted the door.



I didn't prime the door because, A) the existing finish on the door was already fairly dull, B) the previous owners had already primed and painted the plastic window thingy (a very pale tan)...thanks previous owners!, and C) I'm a tad bit lazy and I try to avoid priming when I don't have to...just keeping it real here.

I used Behr exterior paint in a satin finish, and asked the guy at the counter to mix it in a true black. I went with satin rather than gloss, because I prefer a more subtle finish, and glossy doors can show more paint strokes than less glossy doors (somebody get me a thesaurus please...).

And speaking of brush strokes, I really wanted to avoid them, so I only used a paint brush on the detailed areas of the door and window. I used a foam roller to paint everything else (which also made the painting go by in a flash).



I also forced myself to wait 4 hours between the first and second coat.

And that's it. It really was sooo much easier than I thought it would be. Really, the toughest part was taping off all of the sections of glass...and with the help of painters tape and an exacto knife it really wasn't that difficult.

Have a great weekend everyone!

20 Suburbanites Said:

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Still looks great! Did you have a hard time keeping the paint off of the door frame, or did you tape it off really well?

michelle said...

I've been thinking of painting our front door to help put our house on the market! Thanks for the tips and pictures! It looks great!

Kati said...

How did you maneuver around the door handle and lock? Looks great!

Kelly said...

Did you have to take the door off its hinges? This project is just around the corner for us, too...

Jo said...

This is a project I'd love to do too. I really wanted to paint the door red, but my hubby says no to that. I think black will be a nice compromise. Your door looks great, 100% better than before. Thanks for posting the tips!

Kim said...

Looks awesome. Last time I painted my front door, I did it in gale force winds and didn't wait between coats. I took that right off the front page of the book "How NOT To Paint Your Front Door!". Yup, like I said, that's the LAST time I painted my front door (hubs won't let me do it again!).

Unknown said...

Great job! Burgandy paint should be banned. Like you, I didn't like the bland colour of my oh so suburban front door - it was cream, to go with my boring cream house. So last year I painted my door too - black! Of course! Mine is semi-gloss and it does need cleaning regularly as it shows up every speck of dust and dirt, but still, that's a small price to pay. Next on the list is to paint the house itself - I'm looking at a cafe latte colour, but I'm going to get a painter in for that job, I refuse to do it myself!
Have a great weekend AnNicole.

Denise Vakili Fine Art said...

This turned out really nice. Great job.

Montee said...

I have really been wanting to paint my front door black. Thanks for the tips!

imjacobsmom said...

Thanks for the pointers. ~ Robyn

Mandi @ Sweetly Home said...

Thanks for the how-to. I have the same door and I just showed hubby your newly painted beauty. I said "What if I did this to our door?" To which he promptly said "Wow, that's pretty" (and totally meant it).

Anonymous said...

Wooooo WHooo!! Once ya go BLACK ya never go back!!

Heather
happychippyjunk.blogger.com

Anonymous said...

I Love it!!! Can you take a picture of the top label can and post it please....Thanks so much!

Jessica said...

Looks great! Come do mine next!

Unknown said...

Very nice results. I love the wreath!

Leen said...

Wanted to let you know that this post inspired me to paint all my outside doors. Thanks so much, great blog!!

evelania said...

Just wondering what type of door you have. Mine isn't wood, it's like aluminum-like or something. It looks like wood but I don't think it is. Anyway, just wondering cuz I want to paint my door too. Did you take it off the hinges to paint it or just left it up there while you painted? Thanks!

Hannah- Art.Paper.Scissors.Glue! said...

I'm planning on doing this next week! A BRIGHT yellow with our brick house... I can't wait... tee-hee. But I couldn't seem to find out if you ended up taking them off the hinges or if you painted it still hung up? And I'm assuming you don't paint the back (inside)?

angel0408 said...

Hi there! Love the door! Do you have any before pics of the door before you painted it black! Am seriously considering doing this as new doors are expensive! What a novel idea!

Thank you in advance!

Unknown said...

Hmmm… I think the color could have stood out more if you used primer paint. But seeing how your door turned out well, I say – GOOD JOB! ;D Maybe a golden or bronze doorknob would finish off the look on your door. What do you say?

Marla Hinds