I See A Red Door and I Want It Painted Black ...

OK, not really.  But the Rolling Stones' song is so perfect for the segue into my post about my refreshed front porch.  First up is the instant gratification after picture. Here she is!

You all know that I have been debating for weeks about whether to paint the front door red (like I originally wanted) or black.  I thought I finally decided black was the way to go.  Through the magic of Photoshop, I compared what the house would look like with both colors.  See? (excuse my wiggly unsteady lines)

And, it became super duper crystal clear that red was the way to go.  I went with a deeper, browner red vs. a glossy tube of red lipstick red like I thought would work and like is pictured above.  When I looked at the color scheme on the exterior, I felt (and my design guru Angie agreed) a much darker more maroon, brick red was the way to go.  I ended up choosing Sun-Dried Tomato by Sherwin Williams, which I purchased during their Fourth of July 30% off sale (yay!) and with a $10 coupon from my friend Robyn (double yay!) along with a can of primer to speed the process along.  Unfortunately, the guy working forgot to tint it a deep base, which I did not realize until I cracked it open ready to go.  It took four coats (ugh!) of the red, but look at how lovely!  I'm so happy with how it turned out.

You'll also notice the new house numbers above, scored from Home Depot.  While I was at it, I painted the mailbox black; it used to be brown and just looked sad.  I wanted to tie in the black of the light and the house numbers.  I even took a moment to paint with brushed chrome craft paint the letters "US Mail" on the front, which now stand out and look great.

I grabbed a new welcome mat at Lowes with a giftcard my parents' friends sent to us as a housewarming (thanks Danny & Marie!)  I wanted to replace the hardware but got a little intimidated about it going awry.  I think I will have a pro do it and stand over his shoulder while s/he does.  

There you have it!  My new front door.  Here is a before and after shot.  Look how far it's come!

before

after

after

Also, how exciting: we have blue hydrangeas out front! Two huge bushes! I cannot wait to see them in full bloom.

Next up for this space is a black iron bench for under the windows and maybe some black shutters on those windows (I will try Photoshop again before I commit).  I'm also thinking of painting the porch posts white.  But in the immortal words of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz: "All in good time, my little pretties, all in good time."  ha. (she was so scary. but not as scary as a clown. nothing is as scary as a clown)

See you swoon,

Wanna know how much it cost? I'm happy to share.

* Light, Allen + Roth:  Lowes = $59

* House numbers: Home Depot: $5 each = $20

* Welcome Mat: Lowes = free (used giftcard)

* Front door paint & primer: Sherwin Williams (Sun-dried Tomato) = $20 (coupon and sale)

* Black paint for mailbox: Sherwin Williams (Caviar) = $10 (coupon and sale)

* Chrome paint for accent on mailbox: Michaels: $.99

Total so far: $110.  :)