WHOA! I tackled a project within a project and I'm sooo happy I did it! I'm in the middle of DIYing my kitchen countertops (read the kitchen plan here) and since I already had bonding primer on my paint brush, I figured I would hit the front door! Of course, being me, I turned it into a bigger project and ordered a few updates for the porch.
It divided my attention slightly, but I'm actually glad to have a small win on the books! Now I have a little confidence going into the final push of my kitchen project. Here's what I did on the front porch. You can see the "before" photo below...*cringe.*
We'll be painting the house exterior white (after the kitchen is done!) but for now, the brick is painted a putty/beige color that I'm not a fan of. The white front door felt cheap and like there were shortcuts taken when it was installed. We'll have to address some of that when we paint the house (removing excess caulk, etc.) and will eventually replace the front door with a wood or more modern door (tbd!). Hoping to get to the door and window replacement next year.
For this quick DIY project, I wanted to paint the front door black and replace the mailbox...obviously hanging on by a thread here! I ended up also ordering a new porch light and house numbers, because why not. All in all, I spent $127 on my updates, and I think it was well worth it! What a difference!
I started adding in some Christmas decor, but not quite done, so here's what we ended with! I LOVE it and think it makes a huge difference! The contrasting door looks so much better. I'm linking the specific items I used below, and sharing my steps!
Painting the door:
- Taped off the surrounding brick.
- I used a Behr Bonding Primer on the door and frame. (I originally purchased this for my laminate kitchen countertops!)
- Used Behr exterior semi-gloss enamel paint (deep base tint) in "black." I bought 1 quart and had some leftover.
*Note: remember that if you're painting your door, you have to leave it open for a few hours to dry...start painting in the morning!
I bought these house numbers (not pictured), this mailbox, rug, and this porch light to complete the porch update! I love it so much! I can't get over how much better it looks just going from white to black! If you're on the fence about making an exterior home update, I say give your front door a makeover and see what that does for you before doing anything else! Happy DIYing!
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