“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:
Martha says
Kuddos to you for your patience and prep! The whole time I was reading the post I thought it was the Peacock Blue based on the photos of all four colors – the Blue Lake you picked is way brighter than I would have thought based on the small swatch. Can’t imagine how bright it would be if you’d actually used Peacock Blue!!
AnnaP says
Just curious why you used the magic eraser to clean off the cobwebs? I have a ton to start cleaning so I can paint our trim and wondered if there was a secret trick that the magic eraser does vs a sponge?
YoungHouseLove says
It seems to get bug smudges off a bit better than just a moist rag, but that works too (you just need more force)!
xo
s
Aly says
I’m in love with ur door! The color goes great with ur brick! Will u shudders as well? Can’t wait to see what color they’ll b (if u do)!
YoungHouseLove says
They’ll stay black for now (they go with the storm windows, the roof, the door hardware, etc) but who knows where we’ll end up down the line.
xo
s
Darcey says
I love the new door color! Granted, I might be a little biased since it’s similar to the one we just did on our front door!
I must say, after living in an apartment for the past 4 years, I appreciate all the documentation ya’ll have done… I keep going back to your archives and book while keeping up with the new posts about your new house to update our new house that is filled with 90’s hunter green and brass! :)
Since we moved into our house about the same time ya’ll made your move, your new posts are also very reassuring that I don’t have to have all of my planned projects finished in a week (living in an apartment for that long had me pining and planning SEVERAL diy projects!).
Thanks, ya’ll!
Darcey says
I use far too many exclamation marks… lol.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, NEVER!!!!!!!
(can you tell I’m a fan?)
xo
s
Leah says
I feel like a YHL traitor because I actually don’t like the color… : (
Ashley says
Totally called it. I’m in northern Sweden and the internet is really slow, so while I was waiting for the pictures to load I tried to guess the door color and I chose the same color as the links on your page…pretty darn close!
YoungHouseLove says
Love the guessing game!
xo
s
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) says
Sherry, I never trust those little paint chips either. A little trick I do, in case this is helpful for a future project, I buy 3-4 posterboard pieces from Walmart, you know the kind we all used for school projects. Then I paint a couple of coats of the color I’m thinking about on the posterboard and using masking tape, I tape it up to the wall (or door in your case) to get a good look at how it will look. It saves having to paint over the color later, which can be a real pain if the color is real dark. So much fun watching you and John transform your home into a beautiful haven for your family!
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo
s
Hector says
The door looks great! I love the color, so much better than a plain white door!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Hector!
xo
s
Jennie says
Really nice, you guys! I think it looks happy and fun. What a pretty color!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jennie!
xo
s
Dana says
Our front door also has a side light on each side that is full glass. How do you decide to paint them a separate color vs. All the same? These doors take up a lot of space! Thx.
YoungHouseLove says
We just googled doors with sidelights to see how they were treated and most of them were the trim color with the accent color on the front door only, so we liked that look most and decided to go for it!
xo
s
RLR says
I am so excited that you posted this today, because I decided over the weekend that I want to paint our front door – peacock blue, no less! – and needed a little tutorial. I picked up a couple of pillows on Friday to liven up our porch furniture, and decided that the whole porch needs a pick-me-up. I think I might wait until the fall – isn’t the rain and humidity crazy right now? But I’m glad to know it is a one day project, including the hardware. (Which may get an upgrade, too! We have shiny brass. But if I change that out, then the knobs in the rest of the house will need an upgrade! If you give a mama some new throw pillows….)
John says
what about adding a round window in the pediment over the front door?
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun!
xo
s
Louisa T. says
You so inspired me! I have had the paint for our front door for over a year. When I saw your post this morning, I told my DH I was doing it today. Two coats down, one to go and I will have a very happy, fire engine red front door! Thanks so much for “virtually” kicking me in the rear this am!
YoungHouseLove says
Go Louisa! Hope it turns out awesome!
xo
s
Louisa T. says
It did, it really did!! Wow, I’m amazed at the difference a simple project can make. Love, love, love my front door now (and yours, too! Such a pretty color.)! Thanks again for the shove!
tia says
http://goodmorningvoice.deviantart.com/
bacon is the new mustache
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha!
xo
s
Meredith Jones says
I LOVE it! I’ve been putting off painting our front door until we paint our house next year, but I think this changed my mind! Why the heck not paint the door a super fun color and get rid of the lame old white? Now I just need to decide on a color……
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Meredith!
xo
s
Heather says
Love it!
The color looks just like your book spine!
Krista says
LOVE the blue door! It looks so serene and happy. Drat. Here I was all convinced I wanted to paint our front door lime green and now you’ve got me reconsidering. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh lime green would be pretty too! There are some houses with that color door here and we love them!
xo
s
Carolyn says
That’s IT. I’m painting my door! My house is a million different colors of brown – brick, siding, roof…. We need a “smile” makeover! Sometimes these things don’t occur to me until I see you guys do them, but then I wonder why I hadn’t thought of it yet. The Blue Lake is gorgeous. You rock.
P.S. Last month, we finished 52 weeks of photos for our baby girl’s first year. I get lots of compliments on my project and am constantly giving credit to you guys. Thanks again for inspiration! Any thoughts on a classy way to display Clara’s weekly/monthly photos in your new house?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet Carolyn!
xo
s
elizabeth claire says
liked the former color of the door better, and the gray pediment isn’t as cohesive as the the former color treatment. BTW, “irish spring” is one of those urban legends that isn’t effective for keeping deer and varmits away from vegetation. “Liquid Fence”, a sprayable solution, is the only thing we’ve found in over 30 years of gardening that is efficacious. You can find it at Lowes or home/garden shops. LOVE your blog and choices, except for the new house front porch colors.
Stephanie says
Looks great! BTW, do you all have welcome mats on your stairs and your front porch??
YoungHouseLove says
Those are little rubber mats for catching mud from Burger’s feet since our yard is so dirt-riddled!
xo
s
Deidra says
We painted our front door almost the exact same shade two years okay. (Okay, so my mom did it when my parents came to stay when I had our first babe.) It makes me SO happy. And as my mom says, people who drive by have to think, “someone cute lives there.” I’d like to think she’s right! :) We’ve done some bigger projects around our house, but this is one that makes me think, “yeah! That’s my house!!” more than most.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love that theory Deidra!
xo
s
cathy says
Hey! love the colour! I absolutely love the house. its my dream house too!
I’m wondering if you guys contemplated using the paint gun to paint the front door rather than the brush?
YoungHouseLove says
I actually like doing the front door by hand with a brush (nerd alert!) but the sprayer would have been awesome too! We just would have had to take it off the hinges and make a little spray area in the garage or on the lawn.
xo
s
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
I love it. The blue is so cheerful and inviting. I would love to do something like this to our house but I haven’t been able to take the plunge yet. Our shutters, awning, and front door are all black. I can’t help but wonder if it would look funny with a colorful door. Yours looks great though. Maybe I should play with mine in Photoshop to see if it could work.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Krystle! I would totally play around in photoshop! You can even paint a big posterboard and tape it up to see how it looks in real life without getting paint on the door :)
xo
s
Kim says
Love the blue! Now that my husband and I are house hunting, he has been commenting on any brightly colored front doors of houses that we’ve looked at. Primarily, he is saying that the color would have to change. We have slightly different tastes in design/style. He prefers a very neutral palette, while I like things to be more fresh with pops of color. Did you two always agree on the overall aesthetic of how things look or did one of you persuade the other to open up/branch out?
YoungHouseLove says
We have a full agreement agreement, which basically means we don’t do/buy anything unless we both agree. It might take longer to find something we love or decide what kind of project to take on, but when we both agree it helps us both feel at home and not hold anything against each other :)
xo
s
elizabeth claire says
forgot to tell you “why” I didn’t like the front porch colors. They seem WAY out of keeping with the style of the house. The blue door and gray pediment are distracting and give a choppy appearance. Painting the door the same color as the trim and side/fan lights and beefing up the size of your columns would have a grand impact. At the very leas,t consider re-painting the pediment the same color as the trim.
YoungHouseLove says
The pediment is the same color as our siding. We noticed that a bunch of houses in our neighborhood did that and we liked it better than the ones that were trim colored so we went for it.
xo
s
Troy says
Really loving the color choice. Really brings personality to the home.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Troy!
xo
s
Kim says
I like the door – it does not fit the “traditional” look of your house but I think it fits you guys. Sometimes you can make it work even if it does not architectually jive.
I personally love the traditional look and tried to paint our split entry door a barn red with blue shutters and white siding. Well because the door is recessed it was always dark and just boring. I am going through a bit of a 5-year home crisis (similar to a mid-life crisis but instead of buying motorcycles I am picking up home improvement tasks). So I convinced my husband to paint our front door a bright Yellow as I think it contrasts nice with the blue shutters BUT we are now on our 5th coat. I think he is ready to divorce me – plus I got him to replace our vanity top, sink and faucet in our master bath (which of course then included drywall patching and painting)so between that and a 3 year old and 1 year old running around we are lucky to have survived the weekend. I dont know how you guys manage all this work with Clara. We managed to finish the vanity project just in time to run the vacuum, set up the coffee and go to bed to start our weekday jobs. YUCK.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I hope it turns out awesome! We loved our yellow door! It sounds so pretty with blue shutters :)
xo
s
Tirsa says
Love that door color! It is definitely a smile inducer. I love a pop of color on a traditional setting – makes things feel fresh and new. Our house is also brick with black shutters and charcoal roof, but it has grey/blue siding on part of the front- so I went with a very deep teal. We all love it, and yes it makes us smile too. :)
Lindsey says
I LOVE your new color on the door. It looks fantastic. You have inspired me to do the same. I am so overwhelmed on picking a color. Our brick has a peachy/ pink hue that I don’t particularly like. Any tips on a color that may flatter the brick color some?
Lindsey says
sorry for commenting twice, I didn’t think my first one went through.
YoungHouseLove says
No worries!
xo
s
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Lindsey! I think holding up swatches might help you choose better than my wild guesses, but maybe something plum would be pretty? Or even glossy red (to pick up on the pink undertone somehow?). Not sure how it would work!
xo
s
Vanessa says
I’ve been coveting a similar color door. Both are pretty happy. Looks great and thanks for the tips of painting.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/599724/Colorful-Cottage-eclectic-entry-los-angeles
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet!
xo
s
Ashley says
Just curious… What made you decide to paint that little triangle area thingy on the portico roof grey?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s the siding color of our house and we noticed other colonials in our neighborhood did it that way (instead of making it the trim color they did the siding color there) so we liked the look and went for it!
xo
s
Ashley says
Gotcha. I’ve never seen that before, I think it must be a regional thing, I really like it! Not 100% on board with the teal against that brick color but I AM 125% on board with you guys doing whatever the heck you want to your house and your attitude handling snarky comments! Good on ya. Some people need a hobby, some perspective, and maybe a glass of wine to mellow the heck out!
(Very sincere) Xo!
Jade says
I love the door color. It has me thinking about the color of my parent’s front door. It’s a depressing gray color. Now I’m inspired to repaint it as a gift to my parents.
YoungHouseLove says
That would be so sweet!
xo
s
Carrie says
Love it! This was the color of the door on our old house, which made the house so cheerful.
cindy flora says
One more nosey opinion. . . I like the color. I like the tone and the depth. Wondering if you just need more of it. I’m sure you have already thought about it but if not maybe think about painting the side lights the same color. The look and scale of your new house “seems” so much larger that maybe a bigger area of the blue would really make it sing. Ha! Love the black shutters too! Any thoughts of painting your brick. Good Grief! I’ll stop.
Love your work and your methods!! Keep it up!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Cindy! Here’s a thread about the sidelight thing for ya. As for adding more of that color, we’re only about 1% done with the landscaping, but we’d love to bring in blue hydrangeas and even some blue planters to tie into the door color down the line :)
xo
s
elizabeth says
While I like the color…I think the hue is off. There is just not enough pigment in the paint to compete with the shudders. I guess what I am saying is the color is pretty but needs to be darker….
Jessica says
Agree 100%! The color is pretty in the close up picture, but it looks very anemic from the street. Also, the Pinterest examples are more saturated forms of blue. I really like the idea of the blue door, but this blue isn’t the right one. It needs to be a few shades darker.
Kirby says
Omg! That exact shade of blue is my favorite color. LOVE IT! Happy belated anniversary by the way! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kirby!
xo
s
Robin says
cute bunny!
heather says
So fun and cheery!
liz says
Seriously? How do you guys do it? I NEVER would have thought to paint a front door on such a traditional style house THAT color… but it works.
I guess it’s surprises like this that keep me coming back to see what other tricks you guys have up your sleeves!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Liz, you’re so sweet!
xo
s
Laura & the Shell says
That is a happy door indeed! Very YHL! :)
Elisha says
The color looks great guys! But in an unrelated question i noticed you don’t have grass what is your yard situation when it rains?
YoungHouseLove says
Mud pit! The worst! We can’t seed until fall, but we can’t wait to get rid of all the weeds and dirt. Just a few more months of this I hope!
xo
s
Gemma B says
I’m loving the blue door and the little white rabbit. Too cute!
Alli says
Hi there!
First of all, congrats on your new home and your front door looks great! That’s an awesome color!
I have some questions for you: How did you prep your front door before painting? I ask because we have two fiberglass doors that need to be painted (our front and back doors) and I’m not quite sure how to prep. I know they need to be cleaned and I’m curious what your method is. Do you just use the majic eraser? I’m thinking of using a glossy black for our doors. My second question is: In your opinion, would you go with gloss or a semi gloss? Thanks for your help! Can’t wait to see more of what you both do to this new home…it’s coming along great!
YoungHouseLove says
I would use a liquid deglosser and even sand it if it’s super glossy (ours was matte and chalky) and then use a primer if your paint isn’t self-priming. I love semi-gloss more than gloss because it’s shiny but hides more imperfections and brush strokes, so it’s great for a non-expert :)
xo
s
Alli says
Thanks for your help! Our doors have never been painted so they’re matte and chalky too. I’ll definitely look for a paint with primer already in it – anything to make less steps for myself! Semi-gloss sounds great! Thanks again :)
Lisa C. says
Besides the awesome color choices you make, your front doors look additionally swell since you remove the storm doors. I wish I could do that, but functionally, need that extra door to prevent the dog from hurdling herself into the street every time I answer the door. How do you deal with that sort of practical matter?
YoungHouseLove says
Burger generally doesn’t hurdle himself, haha! So maybe we just got lucky? When I answer the door I typically step out onto the porch and close the door behind me so that Burger doesn’t go nuts!
xo
s
Sarah J. says
i was just thinking (when you shared about getting the siding painted) that your door would look so cute in a happy blue color. :) lol! good choice!
Laura C says
Looks great! I love the way it pops.
Claire says
I like it! Wish I could do fun color on my door, but alas, dang HOA. At least it’s a conversational red though. What’s your take on doing pop of color on back doors?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s fun! I think it depends on the house/layout, but it can definitely work in some ways.
xo
s
Stephanie M. says
I’ll admit at first glance I was not feeling the blue on your house but the more I look at the pictures, the more I kind of love it. Although, I was kind of hoping for a bright emerald green! ;)
Sarah says
It’s official you have “Young House Loveized” your house. The door is so you….congrats on the cheerfulness and fun message it sends.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
karen says
Looks great! The white trim makes a huge difference from that old dingy yellowish color. It just looks happy!
I don’t try to keep the deer out of my yard either. I would so much rather live in an area with deer than without, so it doesn’t bother me at all that I can only grow plants that they won’t eat. And your right, there really are lots of those to choose from.