There is only one good thing about having a crappy front door that we don’t like…….

(it’s aluminum – you can tell from the dents – and it has that weird little fake stained glass window)

…….Being able to paint it on a whim.

For Christmas we slapped some Martha Stewart “Barn” on her just to coordinate with all the holiday decor out there.

We loved it in December, and hated it since January.

Time to take her back to a sunnier color.

But, before we do. I have to properly cover over that red.

Red is the hardest color to paint…and the hardest color to paint over.

Many, many coats both ways.

That’s why I start with Kilz 2 Latex Primer. Latex means that it’s not Oil-based and it cleans-up with water. It also dries quickly.

I remove the door knob and deadbolt. ( Don’t kid yourselves, you can’t paint perfectly around them……just take them off. Same with switchplate covers, vents, and light fixtures.)

Then I use a small foam roller to apply the primer.

It was a beautiful warm day and 2 coats of primer dried pretty quickly.

Tons better already…Am I right?

Now to pick a “Happy” color…..

Like Behr “Mandarin”. The perfect shade of “crayon” orange.

There is no happier color on Earth.

Now to roll on my semi-gloss orange paint, also with a small roller….(use flat or eggshell paint for walls and gloss or semi-gloss for trim work. Don’t ever reverse that rule, no matter what the guys mixing your paint tell you)

The trick that I’ve found with painting, is to use way less paint than you think you need. Don’t over saturate the roller or brush. This will avoid drips…..

It’s much easier to add a second coat than to wipe away drips, so start slow.

Trust me, I’m an excellent painter, and this is sound advice.

It took me about 2 coats of orange to cover the front door, way fewer than if I had tried to just paint over the red.

Here she is…

Even the Doberman liked it ….(technically, she was watching people walk in front of the house)

And yes, the cow skull-slash-pinecone wreath combo is back. Some people think it is a Christmas decoration…but it’s not.

Mostly it’s there to hide the weird little fake stained glass window. (hate the window + love the skull/wreath = year round awesomeness)

So we have no problem painting our front door when ever we feel like it…….’till we find a modern, wooden replacement.

But then, that’s a whole other post.