DOORS
When I first met bf, or rather, when I first met his front door, it was covered in a bizarre... gooey.. sticky residue. There were also remnants of something that seemed suspiciously like carpet tape. (It WAS, in fact, carpet tape. Bf had tried something festive the year before and had stuck a wreath to the door with carpet tape. This is essentially the same as crazy gluing the wreath to the door and is, I don't have to add, a terrible terrible idea.)
Anywho. Armed with all sorts of cleaning goodies and a dozen SOS pads, I attacked the door one sunny sunday. Plus side - the goo was gone! Downside - I had basically scrubbed the paint off the door in parts.
Add to this, the door handle was in pretty grim condition. Bits of plated brass were chipping off and it was oddly discoloured.
Our house lacks the grandeur and turrets necessary for such a creepy door - this isn't ZORK - it's got more of a cute cottage feel. So one project that needed tackling was getting that door in order.
My attitude towards DIY projects is thus: You might as well try it, and if you fail, then you can buy a new one.
There's quite a bit of fuss on the internet about painting doorknobs and some debate on if its a thing that even works long term. (Also for some reason everybody wants to paint their door hardware black. I'm not opposed to this, I love me a gothic feel and long to live in Halloween Town, but it doesn't suit our particular house. Also I have a terrible feeling that we'll feel the same way about black doorknobs as we now feel about brass from the 90's)
My thoughts were: well it can't look worse.
Painting a door and painting a door knob are essentially the same. You start off with some sandpaper and scrub the thing raw. Thankfully, bf is a woodworker and we have oodles of sandpaper in an impressive array of grits and an orbital sander! I would tell you what grit I used except that I don't really care and got distracted thinking about sharks and their skin. Gritty enough that it could get paint off. *SHRUGS*
Once you've sanded the crap out of it, paint the door about 40 times (ok. I think it was 4. But it felt like 40) taking care to let each coat dry completely. This will actually be the hardest part. Go have a mimosa.
For the door hardware, take it outside and spraypaint it. I taped a tiny round piece of painters tape over the keyhole cause I didn't want to fuss with it as it would get the most wear and tear. If you DO want to paint it, stick an old key that fits into the lock. voila.
Some people bother with also painting the hinges to match. I can't fathom a point in my life when I'll meet somebody who cares about my hinges but eh, whatever brings you joy.
ANYWHO
Here's the before:
When I first met bf, or rather, when I first met his front door, it was covered in a bizarre... gooey.. sticky residue. There were also remnants of something that seemed suspiciously like carpet tape. (It WAS, in fact, carpet tape. Bf had tried something festive the year before and had stuck a wreath to the door with carpet tape. This is essentially the same as crazy gluing the wreath to the door and is, I don't have to add, a terrible terrible idea.)
Anywho. Armed with all sorts of cleaning goodies and a dozen SOS pads, I attacked the door one sunny sunday. Plus side - the goo was gone! Downside - I had basically scrubbed the paint off the door in parts.
Add to this, the door handle was in pretty grim condition. Bits of plated brass were chipping off and it was oddly discoloured.
Our house lacks the grandeur and turrets necessary for such a creepy door - this isn't ZORK - it's got more of a cute cottage feel. So one project that needed tackling was getting that door in order.
My attitude towards DIY projects is thus: You might as well try it, and if you fail, then you can buy a new one.
There's quite a bit of fuss on the internet about painting doorknobs and some debate on if its a thing that even works long term. (Also for some reason everybody wants to paint their door hardware black. I'm not opposed to this, I love me a gothic feel and long to live in Halloween Town, but it doesn't suit our particular house. Also I have a terrible feeling that we'll feel the same way about black doorknobs as we now feel about brass from the 90's)
My thoughts were: well it can't look worse.
Painting a door and painting a door knob are essentially the same. You start off with some sandpaper and scrub the thing raw. Thankfully, bf is a woodworker and we have oodles of sandpaper in an impressive array of grits and an orbital sander! I would tell you what grit I used except that I don't really care and got distracted thinking about sharks and their skin. Gritty enough that it could get paint off. *SHRUGS*
Once you've sanded the crap out of it, paint the door about 40 times (ok. I think it was 4. But it felt like 40) taking care to let each coat dry completely. This will actually be the hardest part. Go have a mimosa.
For the door hardware, take it outside and spraypaint it. I taped a tiny round piece of painters tape over the keyhole cause I didn't want to fuss with it as it would get the most wear and tear. If you DO want to paint it, stick an old key that fits into the lock. voila.
Some people bother with also painting the hinges to match. I can't fathom a point in my life when I'll meet somebody who cares about my hinges but eh, whatever brings you joy.
ANYWHO
Here's the before:
Bonus, the entire entrance way and the border around the tinnnyyyy window on the door were coated in that globawful textured paint. Bah.
Also, I bought some white spraypaint and repeated the process (sand, sand, wipe, spray) on the cement.. step? under the door. I realize I never really took a good photo of the mailbox beforehand.. but you know what a weird rusted gross looking mailbox is.
Also, I bought some white spraypaint and repeated the process (sand, sand, wipe, spray) on the cement.. step? under the door. I realize I never really took a good photo of the mailbox beforehand.. but you know what a weird rusted gross looking mailbox is.
Bonus! Heres a close up of the doorknob. Some of the gold rubbed onto the door but it cleaned up nicely with some rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip.
Now. I still have like... 3/4 of a gallon of dark blue paint. Hmm. I wonder if this would look good on the back of the stairs??
Now. I still have like... 3/4 of a gallon of dark blue paint. Hmm. I wonder if this would look good on the back of the stairs??