Outward Appearances

Hello everyone! Enjoying the cold weather we have been having? Burr! It is actually feeling like winter around here. I'm not a huge fan. However, this past weekend was rather mild. So mild in fact that we decided to tackle more of our front door. I met with an HOA representative on Saturday morning to talk about what options we had with our front door. The answer was pretty simple. We didn't. However, our door was not painted the color it was supposed to be. She wasn't sure how that had happened, but the door on the original architecture documents was not what our door was. And I thought the original documents were actually better in terms of the color, so we decided I could color match the color samples and paint the door the color it was intended. Armed with paint samples, I got the paints color matched by Benjamin Moore. I say colors in plural because the trim around the door needed to be repainted (as you will see in later pictures), and that color was indeed correct. For both colors, I chose the exterior ben paint in soft gloss. It has a self-primer built in and seemed to coat pretty evenly. I am not a fan of Home Depot's semi-glosses, but I would also trust Sherwin-Williams for a good semi-gloss (and it is less expensive that Benjamin Moore).

Here is what we started with. As you can see, the trim and the door are the same shade. And the outer trim is all sorts of gross. The previous owners clearly tried to patch certain areas but did a bad job on the color match. Unfortunately, it was just cold and windy enough to dissuade me from tackling the outer trim, so I focused my efforts on the door itself, which could actually be painted inside with the door open.

 I actually don't have any in progress photos. I used a foam roller for the surface. I did about 4 thin coats. I then used a small brush for the area around the door handle and the creases for the panels. I removed the door knocker so it wouldn't be in the way. I also managed to sand down and patch up a few areas that were looking a little nicked up (prior to painting).

Here are some after shots. As you can see, it is just a slightly darker shade of beige/cream than the trim. I think it makes the door pop a little and really shows off the newly ORBed hardware. I need the temperatures to stay consistently above 50 to do the outside trim, so that may have to wait a little, but I am happy with the progress.

In other changes of appearance, I recently got my hair cut and decided to try bangs. No, I don't have a picture, but I will post if I do have one at some point. And no, I had no idea Michelle Obama would also get a similar haircut when I got mine. lol.

That's all for now!