door details

28 June 2011

frontdoor1
Door details! First off, I need to tell you  that I did this while my husband was off having (fun?) with the boy scouts on a 50 mile hike. I like to do these types of projects while he’s gone because sometimes questions come up like, “do we really want to get rid of the screen door?” or “the lights work fine, what’s wrong with them?”


Instead, I think it’s easier to just do it, let the house go awry, let the kids eat olives and ice cream for dinner for a few nights, and when he comes back and sees how great it looks, he forgets about his questions, loves that the work is all done, and remembers what a genius he is for marrying you. Kind of the easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission type thing.
Let’s get this door party started:
Take off the screen door, sell it on Craigslist. (Take off all the screws and have your 11 yr old help you move it aside.)
june 2011 069 1It’s gone in 2 hours. (+$20, but then we used it to go out for pizza)
I used black satin paint from Walmart:june 2011 003 Tape off the window, then spray around it. See the holes from the screen door? Just fill them in with some caulk or spackle, let them dry, sand them down, and then paint over them.june 2011 009 june 2011 011and then roll on the rest of the door with a foam roller. It took about 4 coats of paint to get a deep black.  You could also take the door off to spray it if you wanted to…  june 2011 012 1
The previous owners had a door knocker with their last name on it, so I just sanded it down and spray painted it a brushed nickel.june 2011 063 1  june 2011 068
june 2011 072
I had also found a brass kickplate at a yard sale for $2.50. These babies are expensive, so I was thrilled. Cleaned it up, primed, spray paint, then a few clear sealant top coats.june 2011 066
Remember to pre drill your holes! I taped the kickplate up where I wanted it, drilled the holes in the door, then added the screws.
june 2011 075 1

  *new lights found on Ebay for $27 a piece (they also have them at Lowes, but they are more of a brown/rust color and I wanted black)june 2011 070 1  Light fixtures seem scary, but they usually are not rocket science. Watch some videos online about how to install them and decide if it’s something you think you could tackle. I would say: have someone that knows what they are doing to help you the first time, make SURE you cut the electricity to the fixture, and then double check it with a little voltage tester (here is an example of one) These ones were actually easy to install~wahoo!
* a new door mat from Ross for $7june 2011 094 1 
* some new house numbers $4 each at Lowes. I would pre-drill my holes for these, so you don’t get a knick in the middle of your O like I did.june 2011 071 1
* a new doorknob set from H. Depot (a little note on this: We had purchased the Kwikset one and my mil was visiting that night, so she helped me out.   What a nightmare! The threads on the doorknob weren’t right for the screws, so we took it back and got another thinking it was just a lemon. Same thing again. Took it back and got a Schlage set and had it installed in 15 minutes. So worth the extra $25. Save yourself 4 hours and gas money and go with the Schlage next time. Just from our experience…)
june 2011 073 1 
And here we go:june 2011 078 1
*the flower pots you can read about here. I’ve been rotating them every week, but right pot continues to steal the spotlight.
june 2011 068 2 Price breakdown:
paint and spray paint: $11
numbers on door: $12
knocker: free from previous owners
satin nickel spray paint: $3
new schlage door handle set: $112 w/ coupon
new lights: $54
kickplate from yard sale: $2.50
doormat: $7
urns and flowers $60   ($11 each for urns, I bought a hanging basket  of million bells and one of geranium at our local grocery store-$7 each-and split them up between the urns. The topiaries were $12 each at walmart)
Total: $261.50
of course, you could do it for less than a hundred if you spray painted your existing doorknob and used a pony pack of flowers in your urns.
That’s how we done did it.
Happy Tuesday~signature

13 comments

  1. It looks gorgeous! It's amazing what a difference some paint and sweat can make. I do my decluttering when Mr Plum isn't home for the same reason you mentioned!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a difference! It looks amazing! I'm laughing at your reasoning for doing it solo. .very familiar!

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you would have posted the $261 cost upfront, I would have thought that was a lot of money just for an entryway update. But WOW what you accomplished is a gorgeous total makeover! I love all of the recycling that you did - no filling the landfill with things that could still be useful to someone.  Your cohesiveness was stellar! From the black door mat...to the black door...to the MUCH-improved black lanterns...to the black urns.  From the nickel door hardware to the nickel kickplate...the thoughtful choices in color really pulled everything together. Even though the plants were 1/3 of your cost, they really completely finish your look.

    ReplyDelete
  4. question, have you found your door to chip and crack, i want to do this but i am being swayed not to

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this! Beautiful! I'll be bookmarking this... wonder if I could get my front door repainted while hubby is at work... will he notice? hehe

    ReplyDelete
  6. meg duerksen1/8/14, 5:58 PM

    LOVE it!
    i remember telling a group of women at MOPS to just do it.
    why do you need to wait for approval.
    just start.
    half the time they will finish it for you!
    i do the same thing.....work before they can say no.
    :)
    it looks GREAT!

    ReplyDelete
  7. melissa*320 sycamore1/8/14, 5:58 PM

    I've painted the front door of every house we've lived in, so I was okay, but the first coat is always kind of scary :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this transformation!  It looks like a different place.   I often do things when my husband is away also. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. That looks fantastic!  I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very striking, inviting new entrance.  Talk about curb appeal!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very striking, inviting new entrance.  Talk about curb appeal!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks
    for this post (and pictures) of what you've done on your front door.  What a transformation.

    ReplyDelete
  13. melissa*320 sycamore1/8/14, 6:15 PM

    We did black shutters as well. I don't think you can go wrong with black
    shutters against siding or brick...

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note!