They said, "Because Bilbo's door is green and maybe some dwarves will stop by someday!"
I replied, "Wherever Gandalf's mark is... there will be dwarves!"
But seriously, I've gotten a lot of different advice concerning this door. Someone suggested that the direct sunlight concentrated on this section of the door made the paint bubble and that I should look for a high heat resistant paint. Another person suggested that it was because the door wasn't primed correctly that caused it to bubble but the major bubbling was only in one section, not all over. Presumably, if one section wasn't primed, the whole door wasn't primed so why wouldn't the paint have bubbled all over? Maybe it was a combination of the two factors. My plan is to scrape and sand down the bubbles as best I can, prime really well and then paint. I had thought about going with a lighter color by quite a few shades, but I'm wondering if that's necessary. I also need to choose a door color that will compliment the trim color and brick color. The siding and trim will be painted this fall (probably all one color instead of two) and the brick, while staying the same, is a color that I would like to alter by choosing colors that pull out the pink, grey and red and tone down the orange. Here is a picture of the brick, siding, trim and door right now.
Ooohh...I thought I would lean toward the green, but after seeing your inspiration pick, I am all about the light one! I love that look! What about that with a very pale grey for the siding to bring out the other tones you are looking for in your bricks? THen maybe some cement planters (bringin in the grey, with pink flowering plants to pull in the green and add that touch of pink next to the brick? That My twenty-two cents ;-)
ReplyDeleteThere are already a lot of houses in our area that have grey siding and trim so I'm still leaning towards an offwhite or light beige. I hesitate to put anything in planters here because they will get fried! Do you know of something really hardy that would survive the long direct sun exposure?
DeleteOh, and spray paint your hardware? Pewter or dark grey brushed or even black to make everything look really finished off?
ReplyDeleteWe just replaced the hardware so I don't think I'd want to spray paint it. I agree that black would probably look better with the lighter color, it would also get super hot in the evening. Even the lighters ones get so hot we can barely touch them.
DeleteI would go for the darker green, it’s really pretty! :) One thing you may want to think about it since both shades are lighter than the original color, the really light green would be a very dramatic change (which is totally fine :-) ). If you aren’t sure which color you want to use, you could always get a small can of both colors and test paint your door. ;)
ReplyDeleteI did think about getting a quart of the lighter and painting over it with the darker if I didn't like it. The darker would cover it easily.
DeleteI can’t wait to see your freshly painted door! I bet it will be beautiful! :)
DeleteWhy don't you wait until your siding and trim is painted? You may want a different color then unless you choose it now.
ReplyDeleteWe have a family gathering coming up and I really need to get the front door taken care of, especially with the big section I scraped off. I'm pretty sure I'm going with something similar to what I have now for the siding and trim. I'm not really changing the whole color scheme, just altering some shades.
DeleteOK...I am going to be completely honest here so don't get mad...I love your sense of style so this is just my opinion. I actually like the green...but more like a bright kelly green. It would look fabulous with the brick. The lighter one from your inspiration photo just washes out to me. In the bright sunlight it might look more white than anything else. How about something like Sherwin Williams "Lucky Green". You can check it out on their website. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI love that inspiration photo! If you do green, I would definitely go lighter. Foresty greens seem too dated for me. It may just be my screen but the inspiration color looks even a few shades lighter than the lighter shade you have. Everything always looks a bit darker once it's up! Can't wait to see what you decide!
ReplyDeleteOur door is a light color and also needs repainting. It faces West. I was thinking about a shade of red. I think I like the darker shade of green but I like your idea of painting light then painting over darker if you didn't like it. I wish that we could do planters by the door but everything just fries even with daily watering!
ReplyDeleteI think the darker green looks better. The green door in your inspiration photo looks great, but I think it works because the color of the house is much lighter. I'm not sure the lighter color will look as good with the brick and the color of your siding.
ReplyDeleteSomething to consider down the line might be going with a stained wood door instead of a painted door. We have a lot of neighbors with beautiful wood doors with fancy decorative glass panes. But something like that will cost a lot more than putting a new coat of paint on an existing door.
Oh yes, a beautiful wood door would be my preference but it' s just not in the budget right now.
DeleteI'm right there with you. I've got a scratched up dented steel door. One day when all of our other home improvement projects that take precedence are finished I'm determined to have a beautiful front door installed.
DeleteI think the color trim we have is Sandstone. You can look it up and see a color sample. The only reason I recommend it is because we have Chicago pink brick and they seem to compliment one another. We also had our window trim match the trim color. That also looks good with the brick. As far as the door, I would go with the darker since it's really lighter than the existing color. I'm not into light green colors anymore. My kitchen is painted that lighter shade of green, and I'm itching to repaint it. Problem is we're looking at a future kitchen remodel so I really should wait to see what the architect comes up with. We're talking major overhaul of two rooms. Can't wait!!!
ReplyDeleteHaving had light colored doors and also having a number of children with nearly constant dirty hands, I would go with the darker green. My doors are white right now and I'm thinking of painting them either red or black. I'm looking forward to seeing your finished results.
ReplyDeleteI like the darker color, but then it would depend on what your whole house looks like. It were all white the light color would work, but then again... ok, I just like the darker color!
ReplyDeleteI like the darker green with your bricks. Your inspiration photo is lovely, but I think the white house is the clincher there.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to lean that way too, but I'm still so undecided. I might get a quart of both, paint it the lighter color and then paint it darker if I don't like it.
DeleteEchoing the recommendation to go with the lighter color now ... and if you don't like it .. go with the darker color later when you have time. I like the softness of the light color. The contrast with the dark color, well, it just reminds me of ... contrasts!
ReplyDeleteIf you hear of hardy plants (besides cactus & similar plants) that are good for direct sun, let me know. I'm in the same boat with part of my back yard -- one side of the house is cemented from wall to fence -- about seven feet wide by fifty feet length-- yuck!yuck!yuck! I want to put some planters in there to soften it up and distract from the tipped over bikes & garbage cans. ;)