The House with the Blue Door

It wasn't until we painted the front door blue that I felt like our house was really our house.  After several months of renovations, which I'll start to share with you soon, we finally had a perfect fall day that allowed us the chance to paint the door. We'd purchased a beautiful shade of blue several weeks before, and just hadn't gotten around to making it happen for a long time!

When we bought the house, the front door and shutters were painted a tired green, a colour that blended well with the faded, drooping shingles. At one point or another, I'm sure it was lovely, but by the time we purchased the house, it looked dirty and sad.

Over the last few months, we've changed the roof to a higher end, black shingle, removed all of the green shutters, and started to install black, vinyl shutters. It may not sound like a big deal, but painting your front door can make as big of a difference as changing the roof and the shingles combined.

First Thing's First: What's the big deal about a blue door? Okay, first of all, Notting Hill's House with the blue door. Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Travel Bookshop and secret gardens for romantic rendezvous. Need I say more? Then, there is the undeniable beautiful colour combination that is blue, red, white (America, anyone?) and the crisp black that ties it altogether. Classic and Timeless.

Now, to get onto the main event! The process was pretty simple, but it needed one key ingredient to get things rolling: good weather.

To paint your front door, you want the weather outside to be complimentary to the temperature inside your home. The front door is going to be open for a few hours, so you don't want the heat or A/C running the whole time.

Second Thing's Second: Remove all of the hardware, and sand everything. You don't want an uneven coat of paint on the door, and paint sticks best to a rough surface. Our door had a bit of peeling paint too, so we needed to get rid of all of the loose stuff before painting over it. To do this quickly and painlessly, grab a random orbit sander. We used a Mastercraft Maximum 6amp sander that has survived countless projects and is still kicking.

Our door had a metal plate behind the locks and knobs, as well as a kickplate, all in a very dated brass colour. We decided to paint all of this hardware with the same Rustoleum Hammered Spray Paint that we used on our kitchen light fixtures. When painting smooth metal, it's even more important to sand and rough up the surface, otherwise the paint will start to come off some light wear and tear.

We placed all of the hardware on a big sheet of cardboard on the lawn and sprayed them with 3 coats of paint. Then it was time for the door. We picked out a calming shade of blue from the store we go to at least once a week, Home Depot and had it mixed into Exterior Flat Behr Marquee paint.

This is a tough indoor/outdoor paint that has a really nice finish and stands up to the crazy temperature changes we experience in Toronto throughout the winters. It costs a bit more than typical outdoor paint but it's worth it.

Two coats of paint and some drying time, and we were able to put all of the hardware back on the door. All in a day's work!

Every time I walk up to the door, I can't help but grin. It's beautiful blue! It's our house, and it's finally really starting to feel like it! Our house has a long way to go, but every small DIY achievement makes us feel great. It takes hard work and time to make a dump into a home...but don't you agree? This door makes a huge difference!

Cost: If you have all the tools and are happy with your existing hardware, our costs were $30 for the exterior paint, and $15 for the Spray Paint

Time: A few hours, including (apple cider and dog-walked filled) breaks to let things dry!

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