Last week, Ireland got a little unexpected Indian summer, a few days of blissful sunshine! I arrived home on the first day of this mini heatwave, took one look at our front door and decided this was my last chance for a front door refresh before winter sets in! Do you remember what the front door looked like in the house tour last summer?
I always have paint sample leaflets to hand, so I grabbed one quickly and gave myself an hour to choose a colour. All so I could run to the paint shop before it closed! Normally I have to overthink these things for days or even weeks before committing so this was well out of my comfort zone! Let me show you my three finalists…
The green Avoca Woods would have been lovely as red is opposite green on the colour wheel, but I didn’t think it would be modern enough for my taste. I ultimately chose Parisian Ink, as it matched the darkest colour I could find in the bricks and I just knew it would pop!
Step 1
The first thing I would do is remove as much of the hardware as possible. We did change the handle in this refresh but it hadn’t arrived in the beginning. As the screws were almost stripped and a bit dodgy we didn’t want to remove the handle until we had a replacement. But otherwise, removing the handle is actually a really easy job and it makes for a much better finish!
Step 2
Give your door a thorough cleaning. I scubbed it, to within an inch of it’s life and then mixed 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water to use a degreaser for extra assurance. After letting it dry, I then gave it a light sanding. And finally, after brushing off the dust, I added some masking tape in a few spots I knew would be tricky. Prepping takes soooo long!!!
Step 3
Time for the good part! The first coat was a primer. I needed a primer as the door was stained underneath, but if you had a previously painted door, I don’t think it’s a necessity. (As long as you didn’t oversand it earlier!) As the final colour is dark, I added a grey tint to my primer. This probably saved me painting an extra coat.
Step 4
I then gave this door three coats of Parisian Ink, allowing it to dry for about 3 hrs between coats. The handle arrived on the second day, just in the nick of time! This meant we could remove the old handle and paint the final coat smoothly. Top Tip: A few days later, I noticed some paint on the glass but I was able to remove it easily using nail varnish remover.
Adding Decor
Ireland simply doesn’t have the choice in doormats that I imagined. I wanted two mats I found it really tricky to get two mats, that layered, would look well. The bottom one is large and patterned, while the top has a simple stag design.
Those faux Ikea trees are no longer on sale but I found similar ones here. I bought two simple black pots but the trees were sitting very low in them. So I filled the pots with mixture of timber blocks (to provide some weight) and plastic bags as a filler. I then topped with these white stone pebbles. Result!!
It was the best last minute decision!!! It’s really just a phase 1 fix. At some stage we will be either getting a new front door or adding/changing glass, painting the trim, adding nice lighting and of course a house number is needed. But for now, progress is progress!!