Last Updated on February 26, 2013 by Kristi Linauer
Well, I did it. I went and painted my front door a color other than white.
But let me start at the beginning. For two years now, my front door has had nothing but a coat of primer on it. Have you seen what happens to primer, especially in high traffic areas? It gets dirty. Really dirty. Primer has a very flat porous finish, which makes it great for sucking up paint, but also makes it great for sucking up dirt if it’s not topcoated with paint.
So after two years, my poor door was looking rather pitiful.
So off to Home Depot I went. I knew I wanted orange, but picking a shade of orange was quite challenging. I thought I had found the perfect one called Vintage Orange. It looked like a soft, pretty orange…not too harsh. (Okay, I know orange isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I happen to love it.)
Vintage Orange was a bust. What looked soft and creamy in Home Depot looked harsh and neon on my door.
Being cheap like I am, and not wanting to go back to Home Depot and spend more money, I decided to try to fix the paint myself. I started by mixing a bit of black, which just made it dull and muddy looking, and even gave it a very slight greenish undertone. Definitely NOT what I had in mind. I knew that it needed some red, so after rummaging a bit more, I found some pinkish red left over from the original pet station project. So with these three colors, I was determined to make it work.
And somehow, by some miracle, it worked! I actually ended up with the exact orange that I had in my mind from the beginning.
I was definitely nervous painting my door orange. In my mind, I had visions of people pointing and laughing, word spreading through the blogosphere about this insane blogger who at one time had pretty good taste, but now had clearly lost her mind.
But now, I’m so glad I did it, because I absolutely love it.
After all, life is too short to always make safe decisions, right?
(And yes, that’s yet another strip of flooring that needs to be finished. Uugghh!!)
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
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26 Comments
Jeri patton
August 4, 2011 at 6:19 pmI love how it ties in the the valance and it compliments the cabinets wonderfully!! Perfection!
Lisa
August 4, 2011 at 6:24 pmYour door looks awesome! It looks more like mustard than orange on my computer but either way it looks great.
Lawsonch
August 4, 2011 at 6:28 pmHi Kristi,
I just love the color you mixed for your door. Orange is my favorite color and this shade works beautifully in your room. Nice Job!
Cheryl at My Sister's Cottage
Jbsemicolon
August 4, 2011 at 6:57 pmLove it!
Beverly
August 4, 2011 at 6:59 pmI love your orange door! It is yummy.
Corie Roberts
August 4, 2011 at 8:23 pmI absolutely love it Kristi! If you've lost your mind, then clearly I have too.
Heidi Cephus
August 4, 2011 at 8:24 pmLove it! I'm inspired! 🙂
Madalanesmimi
August 4, 2011 at 8:31 pmPERFECT COLOR!
Elle The Heiress
August 4, 2011 at 9:43 pmThat's a lot of locks on your door!
Littlebluechairsdecor
August 4, 2011 at 9:44 pmNope not crazy- I love it!
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
August 4, 2011 at 9:51 pmI know, right?! You'd think we live in NYC!
Sydneybeth
August 4, 2011 at 11:05 pmI really hate the color yellow and at first I thought your door looked too yellow but the final picture showed a beautiful fall orange. Love it!
NancyU
August 4, 2011 at 11:23 pmMixing up the paint yourself not only saved cash but saved space in the toxic waste round up. Good Job. PS love the color!
Lisa
August 5, 2011 at 2:11 amKristi, I love-love-love your door!!! Orange is my favorite color, but I haven't used it much in decorating (for the reason you gave). I'm totally going to paint my door orange. I like that yours is more on the gold side. Too bad you weren't able to find it through a paint company cause I don't know how to mix my own paints.
flyer printing
August 5, 2011 at 2:30 amGreat idea, and that looks nice by the way. Better with the color, made it more bright! Now I want to paint our dull brown door. Thanks!
megan
August 5, 2011 at 11:03 amGorgeous, what a fun color! I've been dying to see it since you teased it on FB!
Terry
August 5, 2011 at 11:07 amI have a door exactly like yours – no paint just primer and it's so scuzzy…I know I need to paint it but I hold back..Now that I've seen your's – I'm ready to tackle it. Thanks for showing off your new, wonderful door!
Julia
August 5, 2011 at 1:06 pmI absolutely love it, Kristi! Now I want a yellow door. Looks gorgeous!
A Creative Spirit
August 6, 2011 at 6:44 pmWOW is all I can say. I actually love the color… I was thinking a mustardy orange???? Or am I seeing it wrong in the pics???? LOVE IT and really really looks good with the new paint chip art and the rest of the area.
andy
August 9, 2011 at 1:36 amI like the new color of your house, this is more lively than before.
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Lori Orman
August 31, 2012 at 1:27 pmI
Lori Orman
August 31, 2012 at 1:29 pmI love the paint color! What I found myself looking at the most was the pet station thingy beside the door! Can u tell me about it??? Feed? Groom? Amazing!!! Did u make it? If so details?!?!?!
Screendoorgirl 3
May 18, 2013 at 9:18 amCute post! I love the way the color came out. Changes up the whole room. I’m now getting up the nerve to paint my front interior door black. I always get freaked out with where to stop and start with molding and all, but I think, like yours, I’ll just paint the door. Great job.. Thanks!
Rebecca
December 11, 2013 at 8:14 pmI love what you did with the front door. I would like to do something like that with mine, however it is in an entryway along with a door leading to a garage, an interior door leading to a laundry room, and bi-fold doors for an entry closet. So lots of doors in a square entry level of a split-level home. Do you think I could do a color on the inside of my front door and do black on the other doors? Too much going on?
Kristi Linauer
December 29, 2013 at 3:10 pmI definitely think you could paint a front door a different color from the other interior doors.
Lindsey
February 13, 2014 at 12:02 pmHi Kristi! I love your front door!
I was wondering what kind of finish your paint was…flat, semi-gloss?? And is it oil or water based? I have painted my front door black but it seem like I’m having to repaint it every year… Thanks, Lindsey