Budget Exterior Design Changes – Front Door
Budget exterior design changes can make your home more attractive quickly and it all begins at the front door!
The front exterior of our home is pretty typical for this suburban south Florida neighborhood that was built along a series of canals in the early 1960’s. Block and stucco construction due to strict hurricane building codes, cement tile roofs, decorative coral rock and of course plenty of ubiquitous palm trees. Plain but pretty and newer homes tend to have a totally different and more modern look.
The original front doors on our home were solid wood and although I don’t have a photo of them I loved them. With the damage from Hurricane Andrew they needed to be replaced and we went with metal doors. There wasn’t much available locally after that storm and although I never liked these doors to begin with they’ve served us well. But look at the dings and dongs! We have filled them in several times but with the black paint they still looked awful up close. AWFUL!
I started thinking lighter would be better and was inspired to paint the doors a more Miami color inspired by the sand, seas and tropical climate. My initial vision board started to form from front doors that I’d been saving in Pinterest. Mint, minty, seafoam…not too blue but more on the aqua green side.
Budget Exterior Design For Curb Appeal
I worked with Lowes on this project, although this particular post is not sponsored. My color below comes from a brand that they don’t carry, and I took a screenshot of this swatch with my phone and had them match the color at Lowes. Did you know that you can get any color matched at most paint stores nowadays? You can even bring in a fabric swatch or magazine photo and they do a great job on color matching.
How To Completely Change Your Home Exterior Quickly – With Paint
PRIME
We used an untinted water based primer and applied one coat being very careful not to get paint on the hardware and handles. One of the good things about water based primers and paints is that you can wipe off any mistakes quickly with a damp rag. Allow to dry and don’t paint in direct sunlight.
PAINT
Plan on giving your door two coats of paint, which in this case…even though we have double front doors did not even use up a quart. There are different sheen options and we chose a semi-gloss which is best for doors. We did not use a roller because after hundreds of painting projects over the years we’ve learned that if you pick the best paint available, it will self level and not show brush marks.
That’s pretty much it for our budget exterior design makeover! Easy and not complicated at all and our home’s exterior truly looked completely different simply by freshening up the doors with paint! I love how the color looks different depending on the time of day and weather, where before it always looked black. The lighter color is much more forgiving and you don’t notice the dings and dongs, even up close.
One of the easiest ways to completely change your home exterior is paint, and it’s budget friendly when you want a quick fix. The good news is that you can always paint it another color if your chosen paint doesn’t meet your design expectations! Fresh appeal with easy budget exterior design!
Luv the color of the door !! Thank you for sharing vac pics.
?linda
This is such a great refresh Janet and so perfect for Florida!!
Oh it really makes a big difference! I love that color!
Thanks Amy! Happy weekend…xo
Hi Janet!! Love the color! I just did this to my front door and French doors!! Such an awesome way to change things up without spending a lot of money. Love it!! ????????
Lovely doors, do you recommend painting the doors to coordinate with the inside? ??
I love the color you chose, but we have a dark red entry with taupe living room walls
Thanks Victoria! No, not necessarily. I had the doors black before and there is really no black inside my home. I thought that the look was rather French inspired with the shutters, but am going a bit more to the coastal side now. Hope that helps!
Love, love the color Janet!!!…you brought back memories of Hurricane Andrew…such a beyond horrendous storm…I am sure that every time you drive up to the house, you must be smiling..as the doors look so beautiful! Have a great day Janet!
Love the color! What a transformation!
Thanks Maria! Happy Weekend!
I adore the different door colors. Niceeee!
Thanks Ivory! Happy Friday!
Great refresh Janet. Love the color! Very similar to the door color on my home!
Thanks Cindy. I was tired of the black that showed every imperfection and reality is that we do need new front doors!
Love the doors! I have used a similar color for several years on beadboard walls in my living room. It never fails to be complimented and I am still soothed by it . In fact I like it so much that when I build my new house I plan on using this color with a lot of white and and a kind of cocoa light tan in one way or another through several rooms . I am leaving my 150 year old house I dearly love to downsize as needed. The softer colors are so restful and I love your decorating.
Really gorgeous! I saw this color all over Provence— on shutters and doors, and I have loved it ever since! Classic and beautiful ❤️
Thank you! Easy and inexpensive way to update my home for the holidays!
I wonder which color goes well with November/December decor? I live in south Texas where we have very mild winters.
Hi Liza! I haven’t changed my door color recently, so they still have this minty colorway on them. My wreaths are up and they look so good with this shade! And I’m in a hot weather climate as well.