When one door opens...

For quite some time now, we’ve talked about installing a screen door on our front porch. We only have one operable north window in our house, so it would be nice to be able to open up the front door and let in a breeze every once in awhile. On the other hand, it would also provide more insulation, since our front door alone is a little drafty when cold winds blow during the winter.

And after taking notice lately of all the screen/storm doors in our neighborhood, I was really starting to get door envy. A couple weeks ago, we finally turned our talk into action. I had already done some research and decided that the Larson Lakeview storm door was the way to go. This particular model (Screen-Away) has a retractable screen that rolls up into the frame, so you can choose whether or not you want the screen open. Genius!

Menard’s happened to be having a sale on storm doors, so we got the 36" Lakeview for $268 ($30 off the regular price). We chose white with aged bronze hardware, to coordinate with our existing trim and hardware.

Having never done this before, we didn’t really know how long it would take to install the door, but figured at least a couple of hours. Even though it claimed to have “Easy-Hang Installation,” I wasn’t going to be too optimistic.

Although I have to admit, my heart sunk a little when we opened the packaging and saw all the pieces and parts that we had to put together first. I had foolishly hoped the door would be ready to hang right out of the box. But since it was made to be either right-hinge or left-hinge, we had to assemble the hinges and hardware ourselves.

It took awhile to drill all the holes for the screws we needed, but the instructions were pretty easy to follow (and in color, too!). And I have to say that the hinge rail did allow for easy hanging onto the door frame, once we reached that part.

Here is proof that I did more than just take pictures the whole time.

Following the instructions for the hardware was a little more tricky, but we figured it out. The scariest part (for me) was drilling the ½” and ¾” holes into the metal frame. All we had were paddle bits made only for wood, but Luke went ahead and used them and they still cut through the metal (even though it made some awful noises).

Once the hardware was installed, we had to put up the latch rail and mortise on the other side of the door frame, so the door could close and lock properly. And it did! Woo-hoo!

Not quite done yet... We still had to install the bottom of the door, which was adjustable based on how much space you need to the sill.

FINALLY, we had to add the top and bottom closers. With the turn of a screw, they allow you to adjust how slowly the door closes.

All in all, it took about 5 hours from opening up the box to finishing the installation. Okay, so a little longer than we had planned… good thing we started early in the morning. But we really didn’t come across any major setbacks during the process, which is pretty amazing. (Well, except for when Dudley almost swallowed a tiny O-ring that was crucial for the closer installation.)

I’m so glad we have a storm door now, and I think it looks pretty good. It’s been great being able to let more natural light in, and we were even able to open up the screen a few times last month. But when Old Man Winter gets here, the door has heavy-duty weatherstripping to help keep that cold air out. There's also a deadbolt, which is a nice added security feature.

Oh, and I'm not the only one who loves it:

Which means I’ll probably be cleaning the glass every day now to keep up with their snout smudges. Oh well, still worth it!

Undecided.

After weeks of agonizing over a new color for the front door, I finally bit the bullet this past weekend and painted it. I had gotten samples of every color from Spring Cactus to Blue Coal to Heirloom Red to Antique Copper. I even considered Deepest Aqua, but couldn't quite commit to it. Plus, that was the one color that Luke seemed truly opposed to. (I know, I shouldn't pay attention to him so much :)

Let's take a look at the Before door. It was actually the same color as the siding and the garage door, and calling it a "color" is pretty generous.

(Now you know we're K-staters! Thanks to my handy hubby for painting the limestone rock. :)

As you can see, it was very beige and boring. So I wanted to give it a bit more personality. I finally settled on Valspar's Chocolate Raspberry. (I must have been hungry at the time...) I guess I'd describe it as kind of a smoky purplish-brownish. I thought it would have a nice contrast against the white trim and pull out some of the colors of the brick.

And the verdict?

Ok, so it's not exactly earth-shattering.

It's definitely richer than the non-color that was there before, but it seems to be a little more on the purple side than what I was going for, at least from certain angles. (Although from the street, it's hard to tell what color it is at all.) The Chocolate Raspberry is growing on me, but I still don't know if I'm totally satisfied. While it does make all the white trim pop nicely, there's a nagging voice in the back of my head telling me I should have done something more adventurous. I mean, it's just paint, right? Then I started thinking that a gloss black would look really sharp, but in that case we'd probably want to switch out the dark doorknob, lock, and hardware. I don't think I want to deal with that just yet.

Can you tell I'm still all over the map? I had no idea this would be such a tough decision! Give me your honest opinions about the new color! Is it an improvement? What would YOU have chosen? Should I have gone with a lighter, brighter color instead?

(And yes, I know I still need to make our vast front porch more homey... adding a couple planters and a chairs would make a big difference!)

Front Door Facelift

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. After my sister painted her front door bright yellow, and after seeing a lot of other colorful front doors out there in blogland, I've got the itch! I hadn't really considered painting our door up until recently; I guess I've been so focused on the inside of the house.

But the more I look at our non-descript door, the more I realize that it needs a makeover! A fresh coat of paint would do wonders to make our big, empty porch look a little more welcoming (well, that and getting some patio furniture or big planters would help too.)

So the question is, of course, what hue to choose?? My first instinct is red, even though some may say that's overdone. It would definitely inject more personality than this yawn-inducing beige does. And even though we have reddish brick, I think red would still be a nice pop against the white trim of the doorway.

My pondering led me to to the all-knowing Google, where I searched "front door colors." I found a lot of articles on front door feng shui. According to this one and this one, our north-facing front door should be either black (no), white (no), or blue (maybe??). And red is apparently recommended for south-facing doors. Ok, so maybe I'll break those feng shui rules...

I also found this article at HouseBeautiful.com, and I think these colors have some potential:

Benjamin Moore Moroccan Red 1309

 

Benjamin Moore Evening Sky 833

Pratt & Lambert Beeswax 11-6

 

The more I think about it, the more I might be digging this deep plum... but would it just look black on our shaded porch?

C2 Paint Wicked 6446

Then I found these inspiration pics on Google images. Don't these doors all look very welcoming?

The meaning of blue doors

We probably won't get around to any painting until the weather warms up (which will hopefully be SOON), but that gives me time to think about it. So here's where you come in... considering the rest of the exterior, what color do you think would look best on our front door? Maybe it's not even one I've mentioned. I know you've all got good taste, so lemme hear it!

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