The light fixture looks amazing -- what did you use?

Paint the front door black! Would look wonderful in your foyer -- with your gorgeous sideboard!

Jan

When I saw the first pic of your painted light fixture, I thought how perfectly suited it was for your front door! Then I read you hated the door. I vote to keep the door. I really can't help you with the refinishing of it - sorry- just wanted to chime it how great it goes with your new light. You did a great job refinishing the light.

Thanks for noticing my door!

I think yours is a beautiful style. Can you show us a pic of the outside of your house, so we can see how the door relates to the style?

Do you know what type of wood the door is made from? It appears to be a new door. I didn't know what mine was (other than old) until I stripped it all. I saw that the recessed panels were different from the raised parts. It wasn't until I had finishing stripping and sanding, and then held my breath as I applied the first touch of stain to the various ares that I knew it would work.

You did a wonderful job on the light and I love that it was only $10 plus paint and time. For me when that happens it feel like I really made out! I love your door ...I think what is giving it the cottage victorian look is the white paint and although I ususally like doors stripped to the wood and refinished I think on this door black paint would look awesome .

Hmmmm. I love black paint. And honestly? I never even thought to paint the interior of the door black!

Here are a few shots of the exterior:

So the suggestions are black for the interior and also for the exterior?

Forgot to add, to paint the fixture, I just spray painted all of the brass with flat black spray paint.

When it was dry, I dry-brushed (with an *extremely* dry brush) some oil-based gold paint onto the edges to highlight the shape.

What a beautiful home you have! You definitely have a truckload of curb appeal. The outside of the door looks great painted black and I think the inside of it would be great in black, as well. You'd have to paint the other door in your foyer black too, though. The new light fixture looks wonderful in your foyer. Great job!
Lynn

You did a fantastic job with that light! I love the look of it in your foyer, and I never would have guessed it was repainted - you did the highlights really well.

As for the door, I like it. I think it's the green on the exterior that is getting to you. That is a pretty garish green. I like the idea of going black, or maybe even a rich red or something. But I think the shape is very nice. Also, I might trash the kickplate on the outside. That big piece of brass doesn't help the look at all.

Mary

I love the door -- I'm just not sure I love it on your house. I do see what you mean about how it just doesn't feel right with the exterior of your home. I think I'd leave it alone on the inside, but paint it black outside.

I think it would look great painted a really glossy black - inside and definitely outside too!

Thank you all for the kind words.

I agree the color is awful, and the brass kick plate should go as well.

I'm a sucker for a deep cranberry red door, and that was my inital thought for the exterior. But I've just never been able to get past the design of the door. I've done nothing with it for over a year because I just hate it so much. (Well, I've done nothing other than walk by it and jeer at it, and sometimes hurl insults at it. So far, though, that hasn't helped at all. I keep hoping it'll want the abuse to stop and it'll run away in the middle of the night, but no such luck.....)

Here is a closeup of the green side:

I'd love it for my house! Can ya just send it to me and be done with it? ;-)

The only problem I see with painting it black on the interior is that you'd have the other door in your entry that would then really stick out, I think. And I think it would look a bit odd to paint that door black as well. With your crisp white trim, I still prefer the door left white on the inside.

But really, I like my solution above best of all. Just send it my way.

Jen, I tell ya, if I were closer, I'd *hand deliver* it to you!

There are a few things that about this house that have left us scratching our heads. This door is one of them. It's original to the house, which was built in 1983. I can't imagine what they were thinking. It just doesn't seem to go with the house at all. All of the cream colored exterior wood used to be dark brown wood. So the house had blue and tan stone, dark brown wood, and a green victorian cottage door?? (((Smacking forehead)))

Since you don't like the door and have correctly surmised that it doesn't fit the style of the house, I would put it up on CL and buy another. I think that painting it black will just highlight it more. BTW, it would look great on my cottage too! Some one will love to have it.
Diane

I'd do just that, powermuffin, but the coins in the piggy bank aren't allowing me to buy another. The one I want would be a minimum of $750. I just can't do that for a while; probably not until next spring.

Great job on the light fixture. It looks great.

First off the new light fixture is better looking than the Ballard one! I love your very light touch of gold accent too. Gives it just the right finish.

As for you door, have you checked to see if you could have the whole glass area removed and either an encased miniblind or plan window added in it's place? It looks as though that would be possible. And would be way less then the cost of a new door. It's still not the style one would normally see on a home your style. Which is beautiful by the way. But I believe once the Victorian glass and a solid pane in it's place and painted black you'd not notice so much.

If that's not possible then instead of painting it black, which I believe will stand out just as much as the dark green, I'd either remove the brass plate or paint it to match your light fixture and paint the door itself to match the storm door. The window design wouldn't stand out so much then.

As for the inside of the door, I've seen in homes with stained wood interior doors where they've painted a metal exterior door in a color. I don't see why you couldn't paint the interior of this door differently then your other interior doors just because they are painted.

~Becky

Reno I would definitely paint the door black outside. Perhaps a Hersheys chocolate color.I like the white inside especially with the molding and it does go with your foyer decorations.
I think it is a great door by the way and I would keep it. The overspray can be scraped off with razor window scraper.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Okay, I'm shocked. I actually *like* the exterior painted black! (cue the Rolling Stones, here....) The color change helps the door lend itself much more to my style which is an amalgam of Ballard Design-inspired French Country. Hmmmmmm.....

Wow that looks great in black! I would also paint the surround on the storm door black. I agree with justgotabme that the inside color of a front door does not have to match the color of the interior doors. I think black inside would look beautiful. To me the green kind of says "country" which really fights the style of your beautiful home but I think the black works really well.

{{!gwi}}

I was surprised that I too prefered the dark door. Though I took the color from the bench which I thought was a dark brown. Very dark.

As for the inside I'm not so sure I like it so dark.
Hmmmm...... What do you think Reno?

~Becky

I think it too much contrast with the molding. Perhaps a lighter color? milk chocolate perhaps?

{{!gwi}}

Loving the door redos outside, either one, actually. I like it matching the storm door, in some ways, so you don't have the double rim effect. Looks more substantial that way. I'm actually considering painting the storm door to match our new door paint, which is another option to consider if you really like the dark better.

And if you can't change out the door, might you like some new hardware for the door that fits the home's aesthetic better? Or maybe polish up what you've got and paint the door and you could have a whole new day.

Fabulous work on the light, btw :)

I have no clue. Any other color you want me to try Reno?

I agree that, after seeing the inside painted black, it might be too much contrast with the trim, but I still like the black better than white. But this red color looks fantastic! This is fun!

Great job on the light fixture - looks great in the foyer.

On the outside door, I agree with removing the dated brass kickplate and would it be possible to remove the storm door? Do you need it? Or if you prefer having a storm door, I do like the door painted to blend in with the storm door.

I would not paint the interior of the door a different color. 3Dog's door is wood and, to me, is different than painting one interior door a different color from the others and the trim. The black is too much of a contrast with the white trim, IMHO.

The door does look a bit cottagy, etc. but I think it could work with the house.

tina

Great job on the light fixture, reno!

I like your door! Here's what I would do: paint it black and then apply a design with antique brass "caming". You could even use some glass etching on parts of the design for more detail. Design-wise, I'm thinking of some of the beautiful mirrors Ballard Designs has offered (one in particular had an oval shape similar to your door--I don't think they have it any more). Or check to see what Horchow offers for mirrors to use as design inspiration. I think the "leaded glass" look with the black would be very "french country". Perhaps a new door handle/hinges?

Since you were planning to replace it down the road anyhow, you could get really creative and not worry too much about living with it forever. I did a quick google search and found this method of applying metal caming to glass:

Here is a link that might be useful: leaded glass technique

Black on both sides with the storm door painted to match! (with a large pot of white flowers in a black pot by the bench)

Or possibly the dark rich red on the inside and outside with the storm door painted to match! LOL! (with a large pot of red flowers in a black pot by the bench)

In either case -- do paint the storm door to match the new color -- what a HUGE difference that will make -- you whole door area will look so much bigger and more co-hesive.

Could you paint the brass door kickplate to dark bronze?

Jan

Your door is wonderful with your new light. I love the red in and out. Inside it picks up on your lampshade and flowers. Agree with all the suggestions to remove the brass, match the storm door, update your flower pot, and it would look great if you put a red toile print seat pillow on the bench. Love it!

Reno, if it were my house & door, I wouldn't waste money & time painting it. Start saving your spare change for a new door. Just curious, what style do you envision for your dream door? Cool house, btw, and I love what you did with the lamp.

I wonder if you could add pieces of moulding, perhaps adhered directly to the glass, that would link the four smaller straight moulding pieces as if they ran horizontally and vertically through the center of the oval? In essence, you would be a adding a big plus sign to the middle of the oval, but the four legs of the plus would line up with the four pieces of straight moulding on the outside of the oval.

Love the light fixture, and I, too, thought that the arched pieces on the top of it complimented the design on the door.

Had to take a break from GWeb yesterday; we had no food in the house and I had to go to Sam's and the grocery store. (I don't think my kids would have been super-enthused to come home and find out that I had solved the problem of what to do with the front door!!!, but they'd have to have 4 stale Cheerios, some canned peaches, and some Fiesta Nacho Cheese soup for dinner....)

Anyhoo, here's what I'm going to try, only because I already have all of this stuff on hand, left over from previous projects:

I'm going to start with a red exterior. Why? As much as I love the mockup of the nearly-black front door, the dark dark green "reads" as black already, especially behind the glass. The whole door just sort of disappears. Red will make the front door noticeable, and it's my favorite color, so it's worth a try, and I already have "front door red" paint. I think the front of my house is desperately lacking in color and "umph", and I just love a red door. (I'm going to ditch the brass kickplate.)

Then, if I hate the red, I can always paint it black (have that, too!)

For the interior, I'm going to do a dark brown. I think black would be too stark, but I'm going to try brown. It's brown wood underneath all of the paint, but I don't love the door enough (or even like it!) to spend the considerable time and energy it would take to strip it. There's just something about the stupid white paint that bugs me, and since it's currently 1/2 old paint and 1/2 overspray, it needs to be painted *some* color.

It's really no trouble to just paint both sides, and it'll make me feel better to at least have it look decent until I can replace the door in the spring.

I'm leaving the storm door alone. (Have to keep it, as we use it every day.) Plus, we are painting the exterior of the house that exact color sometime in the spring, so in the not too distant future, the frame will match the house.

I'll post pics as soon as I'm done!

Okay, I have the first coats up on both sides, and it's already a VAST improvement.

Love it!

Great job! Looks great. Much more personality. Great Red color.

Do you need the all the light the glass in the door provides? When you are done with the project maybe add a red curtain covering the entire glass area. What I am referring to is a curtain with a rod on both the top and bottom completely covering the glass area and the curtain is held taut. You have a red lampshade in the foyer already. A red curtain on a brown door won't look jarring. From the outside view the red curtain showing through the glass with the red painted exterior would give the illusion that it is a solid red door from the street view (sort of). You could use a very sheer red material that would still let some filtered light in.

I like it! It brings out the color in your tile floors. Now, once you get all the paint off the glass it'll look even better! :)

Before I got to the end of this thread, I thought I hope she picks RED! I love it when things work out... :)

And awesome with the light!

Susan

Love it! Particularly love the brown interior. Way to make some changes!

Love this thread.......

Red

I absolutely love it! It really warms it up.

Alicia

Thanks all!

Dilly, we've tried various incarnations of curtains covering the glass. We truly do need the light, and as of yet we've found nothing that provides any privacy while at the same time doesn't make the foyer look awful. Red fabric allowed just enough light to filter in, making it look some sort of garish, bloody, Halloween spectacle, gold fabric gave the whole foyer a pallid, sort of sickly nursing home look, etc.

If we do anything over the glass, it will have to be purely decorative, and *very* sheer.

I'm going out today to see if I can find something that's an embroidered sheer.

I love that door!!

I am glad that you are liking it better with the new colors - they are really great.

As for curtains, I can't imagine any fabric looking good on that door. Do you need to do anything? If it's privacy you're after, can you etch the glass?

Wow! What a transformation! I love what you've done -- you've given that great old door a completely new life!