Paint Your Front Door For a Punch of Color
Modern Masters gave me some free paint to try out for this project! All opinions are my own!
This weekend, I painted my front door! It started off as a boring brown:
BEFORE
And now, it’s a fearless red!!!
AFTER
When you buy a house, you tend to rank the order of importance of your DIY projects. Usually, you start on the inside, starting with the ugliest eyesore, right?
But the eye-sore called my front door, I lived with that for 4 years!
Part of the reason is because the color of my brick is a bit “blah.” It’s this orange brick color that is limited in colors that can match it well. So I stuck with the brown. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
I mean, turquoise is my favorite color, but could you see this house with a turquoise door??
Ummm…no.
Another reason is because I could barely take care of the projects inside much less focus on the outside. (I still struggle with this).
5 Tips For Painting Your Front Door
Painting the front door, it turns out, was such an easy update, even the most uncrafty person could do it! Here are a few tips to help you out.
TIP #1 Get Your Hands On the Good Stuff
Probably one of the reasons I never painted my front door is because I didn’t know what paint to use. Recently, however, I had been offered an opportunity to try Modern Masters’ Front Door Paint. As a blogger, I love to try new products for my home (gotta love the perks!) :). So I figured I would give it a whirl. I mean, they claim it never fades. Probably won’t peel either. AND, I don’t think you need a primer. Now that I know it’s as easy as that, let’s get to it!
And although I was a little nervous about the color I chose, I knew I could just paint over it again if I didn’t like it. After all, it is just paint.
I just finished my kids’ bathroom makeover last week, and there’s this phenomenon in DIY: when you’re not working on a project, you go through DIY withdraw. It’s a real thing! Just check the DSM V…. 😉 LOL.
So working on giving my door a punch of color was just what I needed this weekend.
TIP #2 DIY All the Other Stuff, Too!
I can’t just paint my front door and call it a day. I’ve got to make sure the gutters are functioning (they were clogged). I’ve got to fix the lamps (I painted them, although I didn’t post pics of it). I wanted to make sure the whole surrounding area was taken care of, too. A front door is only going to look as good as its surrounding area!
Covered in Slop!
Let’s first back up to how my Sunday started this past weekend….
I just have to throw this in there because I was sooo proud of myself: I cleaned my own gutters!! When it rains, the water was just pouring down into the step below. I didn’t want any water to ruin my new paint job.
Okay–I just the front section of this itty bitty lower level. But I’d never done it before. It feels good to take your home maintenance into your own hands, doesn’t it?? Plus, I’m too cheap to pay someone to do my gutters right now. The 30-Day August Upgrade Room Challenge literally broke the bank (can we say “nonsufficient funds”??).
So now that this section of gutters were cleared, I was ready to make the door pretty.
(Does someone have $8,000 for new gutters? Plllleeease??) #FakeGutterGuards
TIP#3 Don’t Go Into It Blindly!
Even though it’s “just paint” and you can paint over it if it doesn’t look right, you owe it to yourself to at least “try it out” before you get started so that you’re less likely to waste your time if you’re unhappy.
Is This Going To Look Right?!
I was skeptical, though, about how the Modern Masters Front Door Paint would look in Passionate, the color I chose. When I first received it, I offered to “send it back” because it looked like “eggplant.” I’m sure the marketing reps thought I was crazy!! LOL
I had tried their app (free in both iPhone and Android) that lets you sample their 24 colors on your door just by taking a pic. I just had to snap and then drag the lines to crop it….
The red was a little….bright. But then, I figured it was just the screen resolution. It was fun testing out all the colors, though!
I’m not trying to be funny! Even my yougest made a comment about it!
But the blood red wasn’t going to stop me. I knew it wasn’t going to look that bright once it started to dry….
TIP #4 Plan on Two Coats When You Paint Your Front Door
In the DIY world, it seems like two coats is the standard coverage for ANYTHING. You can see why. Here with just one coat, the coverage is spotty. Looks like my youngest son painted it. Trust me, two coats will look perfect!
And please don’t laugh at (what my friend called) my “Nipple Lamp.” It, too, will get a makeover/upgrade when the budget is right! 🙂
After 2 wet coats, it was looking pretty good!
Tip #5 Don’t Forget Your Shutters!
The question here is, “Should You Match Your Shutters To Your Door?” when you paint your front door or makeover your shutters?
You don’t have to. I’ve seen many of red doors with black shutters (which looks GREAT on a white or gray house!) But in my case, because my house was already a couple shades of orange brick and off-white vinyl, I figured I would keep the shutters the same as the door. They badly needed paint. But I was just hoping that all that red wasn’t “too” much.
It’s okay to do a sample to see if you like it. If not, pick another color that compliments your new door and house color. There are not rules here :).
BEFORE
Worn….desperately in need of paint! Why had I never looked this closely at my shutters? I had no idea they were so scratched up….
No turning back now!!
AFTER!
Okay, I think this may work….I’m digging this deep red!
TIP #6 Safety First!
I had to go back and edit this post because of a reader/friend that told me about her dad that fell off a ladder 20 feet high with terrible outcomes. Yikes….that scared me straight! Be careful when using a ladder to paint your shudders (or doing anything with ladder work). I didn’t have a spotter, but probably should have.
The Challenging Part
I still haven’t done the upper shudders. I guess I’ll get to them some day….when I have a ladder…..
Buy Front Door Paint on Amazon
If you’ve ever wanted to add a punch of color to your exterior, painting your door (and maybe your shutters!) will be the easiest way (aside from adding pretty flowers!) :). This makeover didn’t cost me anything because Modern Masters supplied the paint. But for a normal quart of this stuff, you’ll pay $34.95 on Amazon
. It went a long way! I used two coats on (basically) two doors and 4 shutters, and I still had some left in one quart, which was impressive!
Okay, so what do you think??? Big improvement over the yuck brown??!! And what do you think– do you have to match your shutters to your house, or can you mix them up? Leave a comment below to tell me!
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Serena, I just don’t know how you do it all. Your home is just beautiful, you work full time, raising a family. My goodness, when do you sleep? You make me want to go home and change everything in my house! Great work!
LOL, Sharon, I do feel guilty because I took a few hours to do the gutters and door combined, and I pretty much “ignored” my kids. Okay, that’s being a little harsh. I didn’t ignore them…they were outside playing with the neighbor kid. But I did feel bad that I didn’t take them out somewhere. Then again, I’m pretty strapped for cash after doing my bathroom makeover, so staying home is a way to ensure I don’t spend any money! LOL.
My home is finally coming together, and it feels great! There are still so many parts that need attention. But I’m glad that it inspires you to make a change in your own home! That is my ultimate goal! 🙂 Thanks, Sharon!!
You did it again. Wow. This looks so fresh and uplifting. Since I have started getting your posts you have gotten a lot accomplished. Your laundry room , the bathroom and now this! What I really appreciate is that you use lots of pictures of the step by step accomplishments. For those of us who are timid about tackling some of these projects it really helps. You are a great instructor.
By the way, are you taking good care of yourself? Getting more rest? There is only one You, so take good care of yourself.
Hey there, Joan! You came upon the scene at the right time! LOL. It’s very unusual I should get so much done! For a while, I was just making over pieces of furniture here and there, but I realized one day that even with doing furniture makeovers, my house was still suffering! That’s where the 30-Day Room Challenge series came from–a decision to focus on the room as a WHOLE and now just the toppings 🙂
Awww…you’re sweet for asking! I actually am getting a lot of rest! I still observe my new midnight/12:30 a.m. bedtime, and some nights I just crash early around 10. You guys have proven that even if I am “missing” from the blogosphere for a few days, you’re not going to run off because there’s no new blog post :). So I am making time for rest! Thank you, Joan!!!
I also think white brick with red shutters and door would look awesome.
Serena, your door looks fantastic! I love the color and you did a great job. Do be very careful on the ladder because it can be very dangerous. How ironic that I see this post today since my husband and I are painting our front door this week and guess what color? red!!! The red door indicates that people are welcome in your home. I don’t think your shutters and door have to be the same color but it’s better when they blend. My rules are there are no rules, just please yourself. You don’t like your brick color but it looks fine. I do love though brick painted white and with black shutters and red door….just an idea for down the road….way down the road. You need to get more rest.
Hey Debbie! I know– the whole time I was on the ladder I was like, “Oh, Lord, please don’t let me fall!” I was being super cautious, though. Still, next time I will have hubby around (he works weekends), or better yet, find some cash and pay someone to do it for me. LOL.
Cool, great minds thinks alike! I’ve always loved white painted brick houses! In fact, I went to a home show a couple years ago and there was a company that specialized in painting brick, but it wasn’t just paint. It was like a breathable latex covering akin to paint. I can’t remember well, but I’m hoping they’ll be at the Home Show this weekend! I would LOVE a white house with red shudders!!! Good luck on painting your door, too! Send me a pic when you’re done. Would love to see it!!!
Good job – love the color red and matching shutters.
Thank you, Trish! 🙂 I really wasn’t sure about the matching shudders, but the more I see it, the more I like it! 🙂
Nice !
Thank you, Cynthia!
I LOVE IT! I wanted to paint my front door too BUT I have a security screen door so it wouldn’t look that hot. But if I did you know it would be RED just like yours! Hmmmm now you got me wanting to do a fall porch makeover…so many projects, what does one do first???
A fall porch makeover sounds AWESOME! And I smelling another 30-Day Challenge…..??????!!!!!!! BRING IT ON! Maybe October Fall Porch Challenge???
I’m thinking “October Overhauled Porch”!
COOL! Lets do it.
I love it. The red is perfect.
I love it! But red is a favorite color of mine. I have always wanted a red front door but our house has nasty old yellow siding and the 2 just won’t mix 🙁 and my shutters are brown! I think our gutters are original to our 1960’s home too, ugh our exterior is in desperate need of total makeover!
I love red passion! It makes a huge difference and feel to your porch. :)Kudos to you for cleaning your own gutters. I need to clean mine and will only be able to do the lower sections. I do not have a tall extension ladder to access the second story.