Add a burst of color to the door

I love paint; I love that it can completely change the look of anything.

Furniture, walls and doors can be updated inexpensively by simply covering them with a fresh coat of paint.

Putting a fresh coat of paint on your front door can give the outside of your home a completely new, revamped look. With the right color choice and maybe a potted plant or two or a nice wreath, you’ll have your neighbor’s admiration.

Your front door is the first thing guests will notice, and it adds to the overall curb appeal of your home. Sometimes a small change like changing the paint color of your front door can better your overall outlook of your home.

Not too long ago, I became bored with the simple brownish color of our door and was ready to update.

After flipping through magazines, browsing on Pinterest and looking around our neighborhood for ideas, I settled on a dark navy blue for our front door. The front of our house is a light red brick with cream colored siding and trim. I thought a pop of blue would stand out against the existing colors of our home.

Painting does take time, however, and a little bit of patience (not my strongest qualities) and with a 1- year-old and 5-year-old constantly keeping me on my toes, I don’t often find myself with a lot of time to tackle a large painting project. Painting our front door however was incredibly easy, and I was done in about an hour. The best part was I could close the door and allow it to dry without worrying about little hands smudging the drying paint and smearing it all over my walls.

Believe it or not, there is apparently a method to painting doors. After researching online, I was equipped with a basic understanding of how to paint our front door, and I was eager and ready to try it out. Although there are several different techniques and tips out there, the one I am going to describe below was what worked best for me.

After a quick trip to our local Ace Hardware store, I grabbed all the necessary supplies: painters tape, brush and a gallon of paint. With the help of an employee, it was suggested that I use high-gloss enamel paint because it was going to be used for outdoors and is easy to clean. I choose Hudson Bay by Clark & Kensington.

When you have all your supplies on hand, you are ready to start painting. Lay a drop cloth down so you have an easy clean up once you are done painting. You can use newspaper or an old sheet or towel if you do not have a drop cloth. Next, wipe down your door. Plain soap and water will work, or even a household cleaner. You just want to make sure you’ve removed the dirt and grime from the door so you’ll have a smooth coat of paint. Next, you will need to tape off your door, around the knobs, hardware, etc. You can remove the hardware if you would like, but I found it easier (and more time efficient) to just paint around it.

Next, start painting by painting the bevels of the door. This is the part that slants down around the squares or rectangles. Once you have painted around the bevels, paint the squares and rectangles. After the squares are painted, paint down the middle of the door, between the squares and rectangles. Now paint horizontally, above all the squares and rectangles. Lastly, paint vertically; the only areas left to paint should be the sides of your door.

I found that three coats of paint was the amount it took to completely cover our door. One coat was a good base coat, the second coat left some spots but the third did the trick.

One thing I learned and will try next time was using a brush versus a roller. I stuck with only using a brush, but I think that a roller would have saved me some time. Next time, I’ll use a roller.

Also, note that if you remove the hardware, it’s probably best to let the door dry for 24 hours before reinstalling the hardware.

Spring is here, flowers are in bloom, and you see vibrant colors popping up everywhere in nature.

What better time than now to add to those bursts of color by painting your front door with your favorite hue?