I SEE A RED DOOR

Well actually, it was more of a salmon color, and dirty white. But you get the idea. I wanted to paint it black.

So I did.

Oh my goodness, isn't that SO much better? It's down right rich. An instant upgrade to a sad, old door.

This was my weekend project, completed during naps, afternoons and one whooping Saturday night. That morning as Thora and I walked out this very door to run some errands and play, I asked Mike to please take it off its hinges and set it up out back. Upon our return, we had lunch and I sent my munchkin off to nap. Tangent: My child takes glorious 2-hour naps everyday at noon. It's fabulous. If you have a little one, it's all about schedule I tell ya. Give your child a consistent schedule every.single.day and reap the reward.

Anyway, in order to take full advantage of said nap, I needed to complete all work in the Thora-accessible zone. I started by touching up the frame with white paint—much easier to do this with the door off anway.

The original threshold, or rather, thresholds, seeing as there were two stacked on top of each other, were worthless and the door too short, creating a mighty gap for a cold breeze. I couldn't wait to take them off and start anew. One went straight to the trash, the other got a good cleaning. Since I knew I would be adding length to the door, my hope was to make this single threshold work.

Once it was cleaned up, I reinstalled it then surrounded it with painter's tape. It was getting a fresh coat of Oil-Rubbed-Bronze spray paint.

While I was at it, I taped the mailbox too, getting it ready for the same black as the door.

I was able to get all of the framing touched up, two coats of spray paint on the threshold and one coat of black on the mail slot before Thora woke up. Yes!

Mike took over Thora duty so I could continue this project in the backyard. It was critical that we got that door hung back up in one day. You just can't NOT have a front door all night around here, know what I'm sayin'?

So, oops I forgot to take process pics, but here is the gist: The previous owner had already added an extension piece to the bottom of this door, but obviously it wasn't long enough. I picked up a piece of .75" x 36" poplar at Home Depot then attached it to the bottom of the door using 3" wood screws. Amazingly, it was the perfect size and required no cutting. You can sort of make out both layers in the above images.

Then I taped all the windows and got to painting. The plan here was to get all the painting done that would be in the way once the door was hung, meaning all the edges. Then put the door back in place to finish. Which is pretty much how it went, and how I ended up painting my front door on a Saturday night. The neighbors across the street were throwing a party while I worked. I must've looked pretty rocking sitting on the floor in my pjs, just me and my paint brush. It should be noted: normally I would remove the hinges, strip them, give them a clean coat of Oil-Rubbed-Bronze etc. Which is what I've been doing on all interior doors, one at a time. Just a little, you know, tedious. But since the plan is to ultimately replace this door with something brand new, I just didn't think it was worth it. So guess what I did? Shame of all shame, I painted the hinges black.

By the end of Saturday I was able to paint the threshold and mail slot, extend the door and get the first coat of paint applied. On Sunday, during nap time, I finished the second coat. And heck, while I was at it, I painted the front too.

Behold! I added a draft dodger to the door itself, which sealed the gap between door and threshold.

It's not perfect, this door is far from perfect. Poor thing has been painted a million times, scraped over and over by a wheelchair, patched and coated in silicone more than once. It has battle scars, 100 years worth. But I think it works for now, which is likely exactly what the previous owner said. In the meantime, we will save our pennies for the door of our dreams. And I can finally get the Rolling Stones out of my head.