It was spring break last week for my university-employed husband. What does that mean for my family? A trip to Mexico? Ski trip? Hardly. It means getting down and dirty on a whole slew of projects around the house. At the top of the list? Painting the front door.

The door was dark green on the outside (the shutters still are, but are awaiting a fresh coat of light gray paint). And the interior was a white that blended in with the trim. We decided on painting the entire door slab the same color inside and out. Now it stands out on the interior in a way that demarcates it as the main door.

I am happy with the color, Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore Aura. We used an exterior satin finish. Aura paint goes on and stands up much like oil paint while being low-VOC and much easier to clean up. This was important, as the front door will see lots of traffic over the years.

We removed the old paint down to the primer by peeling it off (this was easier than it sounds because of the terrible condition of the old paint) and wet-sanding where needed. After removing all of the door hardware, I boiled it to remove the gooped-up paint that covered its edges. This revealed nicely patina-ed brass. We then brush-painted the Aura in two coats and re-installed the hardware four hours later.

Now, I just need to get around to painting the house number in the transom. I'll share more when that's complete.

Project Costs:
gallon of exterior Benjamin Moore Aura paint: $60
sand paper: $3
brushes: already owned

Images: Regina Yunghans

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