How to paint any door

Over several Hannah naps* on Monday, and a couple more on Tuesday, I was able to paint our front door a happy shade of yellow.

*Hannah's not actually much of a napper, but she does sleep or hang out (hanging out = awake, but not eating, crying or needing to be soothed) for maybe 10-20 minutes at a time, several times a day.

I ended up choosing Martha Stewart's Pencil Crayon, which I had tinted in Behr's Exterior Semi-Gloss Enamel. The dark green I used on the trim is a custom shade of Manor House Exterior paint (leftover from the shutters/foundation/garage door).

{now that the trim is painted, I'd like to replace the mailbox - and that light fixture is on my list too}

At first I left the trim around the window white, but I hated how it immediately drew in your eye (it actually looks better in pictures than it did in person). In an ideal world there wouldn't be a window, but since we're stuck with it, I decided to tape off a small area of of trim next to the glass (which stayed white to tie in with the window grid) and painted the rest of it yellow.

It doesn't read very well in photos, but in person that sliver of white is just enough to make sense of the white  window grid without taking all the attention away from my lovely yellow door (the photos above were taken at different times of day; you can see how the colour changes depending on the light).

{apparently I haven't cleaned my windows in awhile}

We also picked up a new doorknob. The old gold knob didn't look too bad from a distance, but up close it was ratty and worn and it rarely closed properly. The new knob looks - and works - much better.

I replaced my dying summer planters (oops) with a container of fall mums. I can't wait to see them bloom!

And in case you're thinking about painting your own door, here's the how-to. I'll be sure to check back in a few months to let you know how my paint job is holding up!

How to paint any door:

1. Remove the door knob and wash the door with a mixture of T.S.P. and water.
2. Tape off anything you don't want to get paint on. In my case, this included the window in the door, the brick around the trim and the sides of the door.
3. Once your door is completely dry, apply a thin coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer. It's a water-based, stain blocking, all surface, interior/exterior primer and it doesn't require sanding first (in short, it's awesome). I used a 1.5" brush for the trim and edging on the door, then rolled any areas I could with a small foam roller.
4. When your primer is dry (the can says to give it an hour), apply your paint using the same brush/roller combo. I ended up needing three thin coats of paint for both the door and trim, in addition to my coat of primer. Make sure you peel your tape off while your final coat of paint is still wet, or you'll risk peeling off some of your paint too.
5. Re-attach your door knob and you're done! I left the door open for a few hours to let my paint cure, but Adam has been opening and slamming it shut since and so far, so good.