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October 8, 2013

Who knew that choosing paint for a front door could be so difficult?
While we're struggling with that decision I decided to turn to some
Before & After photos for inspiration.







Many old hollow core front doors simply have to be replaced:


I like the addition of new lighting but even painted red this door still looks sad:
Home Talk




A can of paint and a Sunday after . . . . . . 
The new numbers and hardware complete the look.


I understand the purpose of a screen/storm door but
they hide the architectural interest of most doors:



Love the turquoise but I'm not sure about the black:


This door is quite stately but needed a little punch:
Subtle but elegant.


Stain vs. Paint:
Before                                  After
I choose paint.


Is it just me or does this door look more inviting than before?
Before                                                   After



I don't know West and Amy but I'll bet
they're thrilled with their red front door:



The white door, below, got lost in the light color of the brick:
Much better.

Although the natural stain was lovely, this
door is even more beautiful painted red:
Before                                        After



Here is a visual testament to paint and a lot of  carpentry work:
Before

After



Let's take a few moments to contemplate the properties of glorious green:

Before                                                  After


I like the shutters now that they're black
but I'm crushing on that green front door!



The beige siding on the house, below, needed a spot
of color and the green door is the perfect 'spot':
Before

After




Before                                                     After










Check out this dramatic improvement:
Before                                                   After




There are so many improvements to this house
that you might not even notice the new front door:
Yeah, incredible, isn't it?


As promised, today is Miss Money Pitt Update Tuesday.
In the last week we've managed to do our part in keeping many local home improvement professionals employed.

We had hoped to get one more year out of the old roof but, alas, it wasn't to be so we're the proud owners of a new roof.  



Another unexpected expen$e was our intolerance of a column
sticking out of the counter in one of the downstairs bathrooms:
 We discovered that an old cast iron exhaust pipe was hidden behind the column.  

Seriously, what genius 50 years ago thought this was acceptable?


Thankfully, the plumber can replace the pipe with PCV and
move it back against the wall to make it less conspicuous.   


The foyer is coming along nicely.  To the person who invented Kilz
I would just like to say from the bottom of my heart - "Thank you so much!"

Before


During


Hopefully, you'll get foyer 'After' photos next week.

In the midst of Renovation Week 1 our technical adviser, Archie Ball Harrington, had a large non-cancerous tumor removed and needed massive doses of TLC.
He's actually considering a Cone Head as his Halloween costume.

Have a great Tuesday!

15 comments:

  1. Can you teach him to say, "We come from France?" Cause that would be awesome.
    Love the front door pictures.
    Two years ago -- struggling to choose a new color for our old door -- I threatened my family with painting it hot pink, and that's how I got them to agree to a brilliant, screaming yellow. Psychology.
    But I'm still thinking pink looks great on a front door . . . very welcoming!
    Cass

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archie has a wide vocabulary but most of the words are somehow related to food! Great use of psychology on your family. We're actually considering yellow for the front door - so bright and sunny. -- Jan

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  2. I'm sure that moving the pipe wasn't cheap, but you will appreciate it every time you are in the bathroom.

    our house needs some good curb appeal, but we have no money to do it now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's amazing how quickly a budget can be blown out of the water over one seemingly inconsequential event - that little bathroom do over is turning out to be a lot more than we estimated. Honestly, I've never heard of anyone over estimating, have you?! -- Jan

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  3. I noticed, as you did, that the red door looks like it has two eyes and upside down mouth. It is sad, and will look sad no matter what they do.

    It looks like you are making progress!

    I hope the little dog makes a full recovery.

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    Replies
    1. This might sound silly but the door reminds me of something out of Walt Disney's Cinderella - like it should be at Disney Land or something. Archie is feeling better every day. He's only 5 years old and we were so frightened that the tumor would be cancerous as it grew so quickly. When the biopsy came back benign we celebrated - liver treats all around! -- Jan

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  4. I love looking at photos of front doors and porches as I am seeking inspiration for repainting ours! It's not that we have a "bad" door - it is actually quite nice, in appearance. But, it is old and somewhat warped and weather damaged. So, the quest is on! I lean towards red on a front door, which works for us since it works nicely with the house color and white trim with black shutters. But, some of these make me stop and re-think that choice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're not really risk takers but we're also considering red. The house is actually brick painted cream and it previously had dark green shutters. The front door is just stained a natural wood tone but I'd definitely like some color. It is original to the house and even has one of those old fashioned mail slits in it. -- Jan

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  5. Lots of inspiration here, Jan! I hate making those paint color decisions! We have a chocolate brown house and a colonial red door. I can't imagine it any other color. It's a nice deep red. Good luck in choosing. Glad you got the column out of the bathroom. Every house has it's little quirks! xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This might sound odd but, to me, painting the door is like putting lipstick on the house - she's ready to meet her public! I think we'll save that photo for the last reveal of the renovation. Deep red is a GREAT color! -- Jan

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  6. What a big difference changing the colour of the door makes, quite surprising really.
    Looking forward to seeing more renovation pics. It's looking goooooood!

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diana, we've decided to take the renovation in two phases - downstairs and upstairs. The 'public rooms' will obviously be seen a lot more plus the upstairs bedrooms just don't need much work at all. We've already learned to pace ourselves! -- Jan

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  7. Awakening’s “after” door really looks nice. The dark wood stain goes well with the muted green frame. But as far as simple and elegant goes, I would have to go with 320 Sycamore’s “after”. The door plate, knobs and number stands out nicely against the non-glossy black, and it looks great with the white frame and sidings.

    ReplyDelete