“The door is the smile of the house.”
John likes to make strange declarations like that. For example, after talking about how both bacon and mustaches were trending, he once proclaimed that “the mustache is the bacon of the face, and bacon is the mustache of breakfast.” But back to the front door. Our first house had a red door. Our second house had a yellow door. And our new house has a….
Yup, it’s a happy little blue door. It’s sort of a peacock meets teal with enough gray to keep it from going neon when the sun hits it.
When it came to picking the shade, first we taped up a bunch of swatches in almost every color of the rainbow (we tried red again, some green tones, a bunch of blue options, and other colors like plum, orange, navy and charcoal). Then we stepped back about ten feet, took note of what we liked best, and stepped back a lot more – just to make sure we still felt the same way from further back. We did this a few times during the day and evening to make sure the colors we loved in direct sunlight didn’t look crazy or change a ton when the front door was in shade or lit up by the porch light at night.
Then I painted the cream sidelights white like the rest of the house’s trim. We really wanted the sidelights to be their permanent color before finalizing a front door hue, just in case the old creamy-yellow trim was throwing us off. So after rubbing them down with a magic eraser to get all of the bug guts off, I just used an angled brush to apply the same white exterior paint that the painters left behind (and later used a razor to scrape the excess off the glass panes).
That helped us to narrow it down to four contenders: Spirit In The Sky, Blue Lake, Peacock Blue, and Tranquil Blue (all by Benjamin Moore). We’re actually convinced any number of colors could have worked (nearly all of the swatches looked nice with the white trim and natural brick) so we just went with what we liked the best.
Then it was test swatch time. After the whole oops-we-picked-the-wrong-siding-color snafu, I didn’t trust swatches without putting a big ol’ rectangle of color right on the door. So here’s how things looked after I applied each of our four samples on four of the raised panels of the door, being sure to give them each nice thick coats so the true color was easy to see, but not goobery and drippy. Colors tend to darken as they dry, so we did that “live with them a hot minute and evaluate them throughout the day” thing. That’s Blue Lake in the top left, Spirit In The Sky in the top right, Tranquil Blue in the bottom left, and Peacock Blue in the bottom right.
And the winner is Blue Lake…
The others all looked either too dull or too neon in certain lighting situations throughout the day. Here she be, all glossy and gorge.
It only took about half a day to get it painted. As for the finish/type of paint, we used BM’s exterior paint that the guy at the desk recommended for doors called MooreGlo in Soft Gloss, which is their version of a semi-gloss finish (didn’t even need primer since it’s self-priming). We only needed to buy a quart, so this whole project was pretty darn cheap, which feels great after basically sweating money out of our pores for the last month or so on bigger inspection-item fixes that we needed to check off.
When it comes to painting doors, my favorite method is to start in the morning so the door can be open all day and has time to dry before you have to close and lock it at night. I like using an angled brush only – although John loves a foam roller, so it’s a different strokes for different folks thing. Literally.
I have a certain order that I swear by, so first I paint the frames of each raised rectangle, then I paint the insides of each of them as you see in the photo above. Then I paint the flat planks around them and between them, always going in the direction of that plank (I pull my brush from top to bottom to do the vertical plank down the middle, then I go from left to right to get all of the horizontal slats, and at the very end I drag from top to bottom to do those vertical parts on each side of the door).
I wait for that to dry about an hour (or two if it’s super humid) and then I do the whole thing again, in the same order. Then I just give it the rest of the day to dry and lock it up at night. Oh and we like to remove the hardware, so that’s why it’s off (we reattach that right before we lock the door in the evening).
We also updated both the door knocker and the doorbell, so we’ll be back with those details tomorrow (they involved a dremel and some paint as well as a bit of a manhunt).
Oh and I repainted the sides of the door but not the back, so that’s still a hazy dusty blue color like the rest of the trim in the foyer… but I’d love to paint the back of the door the same happy blue shade once we nix the blue trim and wallpaper going on in the foyer and get some nice white trim and sidelights in there as well.
So that’s how one quart of paint and one morning of work made our house smile. Not bad, right? It took me waaay longer to take pictures of the finished product than it did to actually do it (is it just me or has it been raining for 40 days and 40 nights?). Heck I think the little doorknocker and doorbell upgrades took longer than painting the door.
The lesson? If you’re putting off painting your door, jump on that pony. Then your house won’t be all “oh hi it’s you, whatevs” when you come home. It’ll be all “Hiiiiiiiiii! Welcome!!!! It’s so nice to see you!”
It’s so funny to compare it to the portico as it looked back when we bought the house. Complete with a really old wreath on the broken slatted screen door (we took that down asap). And remember how green those front steps were before we power washed them?
Oh but one more thing. Remember that time a deer photobombed my front door photoshoot? Wait you don’t because I didn’t tell you about it yet. Allow me to paint you a picture. I’m snapping a few photos, and here comes my deer friend, stage right.
He saunters across the yard right in front of me and stops to chew on a few weeds by the door. Directly in front of my shot. I’m telling you, I never laughed so hard. Dude must have thought our yard looked extra welcoming, what with the smiling door and all. It certainly wasn’t a lush lawn that was drawing him in…
UPDATE: I quickly snapped this instagram picture on the way back from our evening walk, and it one captures the green undertone in our teal door so it finally looks like real life. Leave it to the ol’ cell phone to take a more accurate picture than the fancy camera. #nofilter #instagrambeatsDSLR
Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house? Just click on this button:
Shawna @DakotaCreekChic says
I love things like this. I would have never thought about a bright blue door…yet it’s perfect. Looks great!!
Mary | lemongroveblog says
Well if that isn’t the happiest little door I’ve seen in a while. Love the color!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Mary!
xo
s
Riva says
I really want to paint our front door black, but the reason I’ve held back is that I read on another blogger’s tutorial that you have to check first to see if the previous paint is oil-based or latex-based to be sure you use the right kind for the new color. Did you test yours before you painted it, or did you somehow already know, or is the Benjamin Moore paint that you used some kind of magic that works on either oil- or latex-based paint?
YoungHouseLove says
If you’re not sure, oil-based primer will neutralize anything so latex works over it. We assumed ours was latex since our house is only 30 years old, and it was but if you have a super old house (60+) you might want to just prime it once with oil-based primer and then go with latex paint.
xo
s
Julia says
Love it! Looks so good – there’s a house in my ‘hood with a similar front door color and I admire it every time we drive by! Great choice :)
Lauren says
Loooove the door! It screams “happy people live here”! :) Your deer knows that too, don’t you think? So funny! I see a blog post coming about what to plant in your yard that deers don’t like to eat – it’s all fun and games while the yard hasn’t been done yet… :)
Stefani says
Very sweet looking! You always pick cheerful colors for your front doors :-) Our front door is black and I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the guts to repaint it any other color, but it’s fun seeing yours :-)
I found it funny seeing your blue painted trim inside, which I know is now so out-dated and you can’t wait to repaint it, and then seeing your blue painted door, which is chic and cute… so ironic right? In 20 years your blue painted door will probably be outdated whereas the white trim inside might be considered old and dated, too, who knows!!
Also, love your friendly neighborhood deer friends :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, totally! What goes around comes around!
xo
s
Christine @ Practical Decor says
The place is starting to look more like “you guys” every day! That’s too funny about the deer. I LOVE deer! And they must really love you guys too!
Robin says
Love the aqua blue door; so John, is that color trending right now for front doors cause I can think of a couple of houses that recently went with that color and I’m loving it on each. Maybe its a Richmond thing. And speaking of Richmond things … definitely friendlier to be photobomb’ed by a deer than the West End Black Bear! Have a good week.
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhh! The West End Black Bear?! Stay safe! And as for blue doors in RVA, we’ll have to keep an eye out for them so John can declare them the chevron of the exterior. Haha!
xo
s
Eri says
Wow, that neighborhood!
The front door comes much earlier than I expected, with an unexpected color. IIRC your waffling started with deep green colors, then red, and many other things… when did this blue final decision happen?! That’s (to me at least) one of those difficult colors to pull off. Congrats on another progress :)
YoungHouseLove says
I totally expected red or emerald to win, but when the swatches went up we both liked blue much better, so that’s all it took to go that direction :)
xo
s
Eri says
To clarify — I did read you guys tested a bunch of colors, but many of them seem to be in the blue family (the 4th photo from the top), suggesting you were already leaning toward blue at that point, hence the above question :)
YoungHouseLove says
We just started out with around five swatches (two emeralds, two reds, a blue and a plum) and then kept adding more blues since we loved that one swatch the most! That’s how the door went from having a few swatches in a variety of tones to a lot more blues. Once we noticed we loved them we kept adding in more to consider :)
xo
s
Eri says
You beat me! Thanks :)
Val says
Gah! You totally read my mind. I have about 14 teal/turquoise front doors pinned to my Exterior Ideas board. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet because our shutters are hunter green and too high to get to. We’re planning to build new cedar ones, which I’m really excited about.
Yours looks gorgeous! And once you paint the portico ceiling blue, it will look even better! What are those black rectangles on the stairs? Are those mats?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, just old mats for getting the dirt off Burger’s feet when he goes out into our mud-pit non-grass front yard :)
xo
s
Amanda says
The color plays off the color you chose for the siding. Gorgeous!
Erica says
Love it! That blue is really pretty, and I love it with the grey. It perks up your house so much! I definitely think blue was a better choice than yellow (too contemporary) or red (I feel like it would have blended in with the brick). The blue stands out and looks fresh without being overwhelming.
I really need to paint my front door, but it’s hard to choose a color when there are so many available! So, 3 years later, my door is still the same ugly color it was when I moved in. I need to get on the ball like you guys! It doesn’t help that I will have to scrape paint off the door before I paint it due to some previous shoddy paint jobs. :-(
Meredith says
Well color me bummed! I was pulling for kelly/emerald green… Hoping you would do a fun coordinating wallpaper in the powder room like this: http://www.jonathanadler.com/Bamboo-Wallpaper/?cat=419&initial=4919 or this: http://pinterest.com/pin/70650287873908248/
C’mon, that JA wallpaper is screaming YHL b/c it coordinates with your office chairs! ;-)
Oh well, not my house obviously. The blue does make your entry more cheerful :-) Hope y’all had a great holiday weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
I was totally gunning for emerald too, but once we got the swatches up there we couldn’t deny how much we loved the blue! But we’ll definitely be bringing emerald inside in other ways!
xo
s
Becca says
I love how the blue gives your brick house such a nice pop of color! If only I could convince my neighbors that we should change our front door color from grey to something much more fun…
-Becca
Ladyface Blog
Stephanie C. says
Love the blue!! It’s amazing how one little splash of color can liven up the whole exterior. Our front door is currently dark green, I am trying to convince the hubby that a brighter color will make our home that much more inviting.
Susan says
So much better! Love the blue lake-name and all :)
We love our aqua door, too. Will you replace the old screen door? I don’t love ours, but it’s a necessity for adding light/ventilation in our 1948 space.
YoungHouseLove says
Nah, we had one in our first house and didn’t use it either, so we liked it better without it in the way.
xo
s
Amy says
Love it! I’ve been trying to convince my hubby to paint our front door and replace the hardware. This looks super-easy. Question – you didn’t sand the door first? I’m a DIY wannabe. Thx!
YoungHouseLove says
It was a chalky finish (not glossy) so we didn’t have to sand first, although if your door’s really slick (or natural unpainted wood) you want to sand first to get the best adhesion.
xo
s
Chez says
Too funny- we moved 2 weeks ago and painted our door a similar aqua right before we moved in. I love it!!! I do wish that I did a high-gloss though. We used BM Exterior Aura in semi-gloss which just doesn’t seem to shine much. What are your thoughts on a high-gloss door? Or was Aura maybe the wrong paint to use?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, we love a high gloss but it’s harder to hide brush strokes and imperfections, so since semi-gloss has been what we used in the past and it has always been really glossy we have been happy with it. So odd that your semi-gloss doesn’t seem to shine much. I’d check the paint can to be sure they didn’t mix it with the wrong base!
xo
s
Diana says
I LOVE that shade of blue! Now maybe I’ll be more inspired to paint our front door…
Rochelle says
Love the paint color! Can you suggest where to get a door similar to yours? I’m looking to update our 1950’s rambler with something like this!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I’m not sure. I’d try a salvage/ReStore type place along with a few big box stores and see what you can come up with.
xo
s
shana says
Dislike cause that color is non harmonious with the house, but glad that you like it. Would have loved to have seen an emerald green as you had originally considered.
We also have tons of deer, and other wild animals, and I love seeing them but get man they make me mad when they eat my favorite hydrangeas.
Gretchen@BoxyColonial says
oh, I love it so, so much! The door of our brick front house is driving me crazy…I really want to paint it a fun color (kelly green is my top choice at the moment), but the shutters are dark green, and it’s really crushing my happy door dreams. I want black shutters! (I think I’m going to have a black door instead. Which is NOT THE SAME as kelly green!)
Katelyn @ evanandkatelyn.com says
Omg it looks AMAZING! Have been wanting to paint our door a light blue for some time now. Do you guys not have an HOA to deal with? The thing that’s been holding us back is we have to send the paint color to our HOA to get it approved, but we can’t choose a paint color without seeing a big swatch of it on the door. It has put us in a bit of a pickle
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully we don’t have any HOA regulations about door colors or anything (our neighborhood has a “covenant” so there are some rules but they’re not very strict).
xo
s
Jenn says
I love that these deer keep popping up!
Val says
Gah! You totally read my mind! I’ve got about 15 teal/turquoise front doors pinned on my Exterior Ideas board. The only reason we haven’t pulled the trigger is we have hunter green shutters and they are too high to get to. We’re planning on building cedar ones to replace them, which I’m really excited about.
Yours looks great! And once you paint the portico ceiling, it will be even better!
Val says
Ack, sorry. Duplicate.
Amber says
LOVE the color! I know you said you plan to keep the shutters black, so I’m wondering if you ever feel any hesitation about the door and the shutters not matching? I definitely love the way your door looks now with the black shutters, but for some reason I just can’t bite the bullet on painting our door a different color than the shutters. This is definitely great inspiration, though, for me to stop following some “rule” that I probably just made up in my head about everything having to match. Thanks!! =)
YoungHouseLove says
We actually prefer when doors and shutters don’t match. The door is more of an accent to us and the shutters are supporting players that we usually prefer in more of a safe tone since they’re all over the front of the house and we like the door to be the focal point :)
xo
s
Heather says
LOVE IT!!! We put off painting our hideous, ornate front door for two years, because we planned on replacing it.
Then we got tired of putting money into the house we were about to leave, so we just painted it to match our new shutters. OH. My. God. The difference is astounding. I hate that we waited so long and lived with the hideous maroon door for so long.
lindsey d. says
Love! I just repainted my front door from bright turquoise (think Tiffany blue) to a bright, happy green. I painted my house from terracotta orange to a slate grey (Gibraltar by Sherwin Williams) and needed yo update the blue, which was just a bit too blue for the grey. It didn’t pop anymore! I love the color I picked (Hep Green by SW), a chartreusetype green. I love a bright door!
Jane says
This is the post I’ve been waiting for since you first announced that you bought a new house! As a matter of fact I commented about what color you would be painting it a couple of times. Love your choice and I had a feeling you would go with some sort of a blue. Now I can sleep at night knowing what color won out! (ha)
Have a great day,
Jane
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Jane!
xo
s
Christie Ann says
But now you know where all your grass is going. Yummm!!
I’ve painted the front door on two houses now, and without fail, the paint sticks around the edges. I have even left the door open (cracked) for DAYS to try to get it to cure before we close it completely. Still no luck. Have you had this problem in the past?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe you were painting them on a humid/hot day? I always read the paint can to be sure I wait for a cool enough non-humid day (whatever the paint can recommends I stick to that like glue) since that really seems to help it cure faster. Also thin and even coats are great (faster drying time) than thick ones!
xo
s
KatyO says
Looks fantastic!!!! I emailed you pics of our house when you first posted about buying this one – it looks so similar that at first I thought you were showing my house! Our front door is a soft teal as well – we have Mediterranean by Sherwin Williams on there. Looks amazing with red brick and black shutters! Good job! I’m going to pretend like you got the idea to do a teal door from looking at my house! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I remember those pics and I remember loving your door!
xo
s
Amy @ a new old house says
Such a pretty door color! And goes so nicely with the gray triangle piece above the porch!
Love the deer stories- we have a ton of them too… check out this little baby one we found in our yard last month:
http://new1790house.blogspot.com/2013/05/oh-deer.html
My boys (ages 8 & 4) totally wanted to keep it!
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet!
xo
s
Natalie says
Love the new door! So glad you mentioned that it has been raining forever because I’ve been postponing my door painting (I’ve had the can for months) for that reason! I’m afraid that the humidity will keep it from drying completely and it will end up sticking that night no matter what. How did your paint do?
YoungHouseLove says
We waited for a day that met the requirements on the can (be sure to read them because they’re different for each type of paint that you use). So far it’s doing great and seems to have cured up nice and strong.
xo
s
Liz Rose Bowman says
Blue door is def my favorite!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Liz!
xo
s
Julianne says
I always enjoy seeing your bold, daring (but beautiful) choices. Most of us (read *I*) get so caught up in having to choose match-y neutrals for our home, that a bold blue or a bright yellow would never cross my mind, so it’s quite refreshing to see it done. Your door looks amazing & very welcoming!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Julianne!
xo
s
Kate says
Love the blue!
I’d love to paint my door and side light but have three issues:
1. The current paint is peeling and I’m really not sure how to get it off since the door is metal (so I can’t sand it down in the same way I would with wood).
2. The sidelight is metal and pre-finished in the color; I’m not sure if I can paint it or not?
3. The screen door (which has a broken lock anyway) is also pre-finished in the color and I don’t think paint would stick to it. We really need a screen so that the cats can sit and look out without escaping, but I don’t know if I can replace it with a non-green screen door somehow?
Does anyone have input on any of those issues?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, anyone have tips for Kate? I’d take photos and bring them to the paint store and ask a pro what they recommend. Maybe some stripping agent would work instead of sanding and then you can prime & paint?
xo
s
annie @ anniehearts says
You guys always pick the most cheerful colours! That house has really got your signature on it now. It looks great.
I’m so excited for you about this new home! I just know you’ll make it amazing.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Annie, you’re so sweet!
xo
s
michelelouise says
The blue door looks great! We ended up with a blue door on our house as well when we purchased a new door. It looks great on our white house with brick walk/steps. I am interested to see how you end up dressing up the portico. Ours is distressingly empty but I am all over the place on how to style it, since it is too small for seating of any kind. I should put in some plants but I am so bad at rememebering to water. :)
Jessica says
Pretty blue! What’s on your front steps? Did you guys put a small welcome mat on every other step?
YoungHouseLove says
Those are just mats to keep dirt off Burger’s feet when he comes in after running around our mud-filled front yard.
xo
s
Shelise says
Your neighborhood is beautiful! Such a dreamy place to live. And I am loving your new house. I can’t wait to see what you do with it. It’s been fun to see the transformation that has already taken place. Also, I love that you choose bold colors but I like that they never feel TOO bold.
Maddie says
LOVE this color choice! I must say, your house has a beauuuuuutiful smile. And it clearly brings all the deer to the yard :)
YoungHouseLove says
My blue door brings all the deer to the yard. Haha!
xo
s
Jean says
I totally love the colour! I’ve using similar tones in my house, just love it. And what a transformation – and John is completely right, the front door IS the smile of the house :)
Kate says
Maybe I missed it somewhere, but I’m curious – what color do you plan to paint the shutters? We just painted our front door a few weeks ago, and I’m having trouble deciding on a shutter color!
YoungHouseLove says
They were black when we bought the house, which seems to be our favorite color (our first two brick homes had black ones too).
xo
s
Stephanie @ My Messmerized Life says
I’m so happy you posted this because I’ve been itching to paint our front door some shade of blue!
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
Beautiful blue!! It definitely puts a smile on my face and the house! :) It seems like it is all the rage to paint the front door these days. My last blog post was about painting our front door too! http://rappsodyinrooms.com/2013/07/05/how-to-paint-a-front-door/
Hanne says
LOVE the Carolina blue, it matches the house’s personality so well! (and go tar heels!! haha)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
gena says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Makes the house smile for sure!
gena
Liz says
John, what was your top color pick?
YoungHouseLove says
Blue all the way! Sherry was pushing for red or green in the beginning, but once we put some swatches up it was clear to both of us that blue was our favorite (all of the greens blended in so much with the bushes when we stepped back, and we already had a red door so I wanted to try something new).
-John
Kristi says
I love it!!! I just did something similar with my entrance door through my garage. It’s such a nice welcoming when I come home- I smile every time I pull into my garage now!!
http://girlwiththepinktoolbelt.blogspot.com/2013/06/got-paint.html?m=1
You can see the color I did clicking the link above. Very similar!!
YoungHouseLove says
Looks awesome!
xo
s
Theresa says
I really like the door color. I’m in the process of color picking. Not sure my HOA would approve such a bold choice, but they might approve of a rich plum. On a side note, how do you keep Burger from running off? My dogs, for as well behaved as they were (they have gone over the Rainbow Bridge) would have taken that moment and seized the opportunity to explore and visit. (Not to mention chase a cat or deer…)
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully Burger is sort of a home-body, so it doesn’t usually run very far (he’s been known to chase a squirrel a few yards and then give up and stop running, haha!). We would eventually love to add a fenced area for him though, just because our first and second house had those and he liked being outside for a while without us watching him like a hawk!).
xo
s
Theresa says
And I love, the updated family picture. Adorable.