After months deciding what color we wanted the front door to be forever, we settled on the best, safest, darkest choice: black. I ordered myself a jar of Art Deco exterior metal door paint and waited for a dry 65 degree day when we would be home all day (oh, convenient this year) to get to work.
This before photo is post-power-washing. The first step was to clear the porch and then blast the door, siding, and porch with the power washer to clear the area of all dirt and pollen, and to get the work surface clean. I also used a scrub brush and a bucket of soapy water to get the door extra well, because the dog likes to put her dirty face all over the door to make sure it’s not open.
Once everything was dry, I taped the edges of the door and Jake removed the lock. We put up mosquito netting outside the door, and a baby-gate to keep the dog out of the painting area. I spent a few hours in the morning painting the door itself, two coats and some touch-ups covered it. Turns out that painting a metal door is not like painting an interior door; it’s much harder and less forgiving with brush strokes. One area where I tried to use a roller came out so bad I had to sand it down and do it again.
The panels on either side of the door I painted the next day. We chose to paint these panels in addition to the door to make the entrance look bigger, and left the white trim for the highest possible contrast. The front door is a focal point, after all.
Black ultimately won out over other colors because our porch fixtures are black, I had already stained our Adirondack chairs black, we like black, and it might be the easiest color to decorate for holidays over. Now, colorful wreaths really pop against the dark door, and can you imagine the possibilities for halloween? Fall in general? Or winter white? I’m very excited to dress my new door all year and for many years to come.
