Behr Exterior House Paint: Color Me a New Front Door!
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I am so excited to have been chosen as a Behr DIY Expert. Sounds kinda fancy, doesn’t it?
But really, it’s my DIY hubby that helped me get the gig.
Even though he’s a painting contractor in his day job, his love of the Behr product also shows throughout our own home.
In a lot of rooms. Seriously, most of our home is painted with Behr paint.
If you follow my blog you may know my husband and I have been on a big DIY kick over the last couple of years. We’ve discovered that we make a pretty good team and our projects are unique to our style and strengths.
In the months to come I’ll share more details on our painting projects and colors. Since every.single.room is a different color. ~smile~
But first up is our new front door! I cannot even tell you how happy it makes me! Our door is 22 years old, and I have been asking to paint it red for a very long time.
Take it away, honey, and tell us all about my new door with Behr exterior house paint!
From Tim: This door REALLY has some age on it! A few years ago, in an effort to distract appease my wife, I took the door down and sanded the mess out of it in the driveway. I mean I went down to bare wood everywhere and then re-stained it and sealed it with spar urethane. Unfortunately over time the grain opened up a bit since the door takes a beating from full afternoon sun.
On the way to a new red door is a critical first step – gray oil-based primer. These are my weapons of choice. The primer has been tinted as dark as you can have it done and as close to battleship gray as possible. Do not omit this step! Using bright red anywhere mandates a gray primer underneath, and anyone selling you red paint should tell you that! I once painted a kitchen Chinese Red and it took 10 coats to cover because I didn’t prime gray first!
You just want a good even coat here, nothing fancy. I went ahead and overlapped onto the glass, since I knew many coats would follow. You can go back later and scrape it off with a razor blade.
The coat of primer is complete and we are well on the way to granting my bride’s desire for a painted front door. The clear choice was the Behr Premium Plus Ultra exterior paint. This is a primer/paint combo that provides great coverage, is easy to work and has awesome hide over any color.
Now, if you’ve read the blog about other projects, you’ll know that one of my favorite things to do is surprise my wife with blog-jects when she is out of town. I will confess that I can never keep a secret and I usually end up sending a picture over the phone.
This process sort of bit me this time and the front door ended up a less than desirable red the first time around…after three coats! That’s the color behind the can in the pic. I am just switching over to the final color here – Behr’s “Japanese Kimono.” Oh, don’t worry about those ugly drips by the two holes, they get covered by the knocker!
A little plug for Frog Tape! These handles are nasty but that’s for another day. Without taking the locks/handles off, tape is a great way to keep that paint off where you don’t want it. This must have been the very first coat of the wrong first color since there is so much trash on the surface. See it between the handles? This is not unusual when you go from stain to paint, since there may be a lot of “stuff” you don’t see, even after a good cleaning. No problem, though. A light sand between coats and those little boogers (yes, that is a technical term in the industry) will go away…just flick them right off with your pointer finger. You can even roll them between your fingers for better trajectory. OK – enough already.
So here we go with the beginning of the second color in the two right-hand curves. It is a very different choice, but we are surrounded by neighbors on all sides and across the street who have red front doors! We MUST be different.
You might notice that I did treat some of the bad spots on the door with wood filler – just filled and sanded a couple times to bring it back to smooth. Six coats of paint also helped!
That humming bird on the window? It’s two magnetic pieces that attach to each other through the glass to make it look like the bird is flying through the window! Unfortunately, it did not make it back after this renovation…
From Marty: And here we have the final product! Isn’t it amazing?
I am totally rockin’ this coral (Japanese Kimono) color both in the small bathroom remodel and now with the door.
After all these years I just wanted something different. I would never have tried this bright of a color in years past but I’m redefining my style and going for it!
Of course, since the All Things Home Fall Tour is coming to my house next week I had to make a new wreath for the door!
It cost me $2 at a yard sale for the wreath and the flowers (and I’ll tell you all about it next week!)
So what do you think? I love it (which my husband will tell you is all that matters)!
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I love the door color. And I LOVE the exterior paint color. What is the type of name of the exterior paint you used?
Hi, Jessi. All the info about the paint is in the post but it’s Behr Exterior paint which you can find at your local Home Depot. I still love the color myself!
I love it! I’m curious what you did with the edges and inside surface of the door. I’m painting all my interior trim and doors with Behr Ultra Pure White, but when I get to the front door, I want to do the exterior surface a pumpkin orange.
Hi, Louise! Here’s my husband’s response: The inside surface remained stained a medium oak color. The general rule for edges is determined by how the door swings; if it opens INTO the room only the hinge edge is painted the outside color. Reverse that if it opens the other way. The only time both edges are the same color is if both SIDES are the same color.
Your door looks fabulous and attractive. You are done a great job. Your color selection is also very eye catching and it show your creative mind strategy. Thanks for sharing your work.
Your entrance looks great! I colored my own red this few days, and I too cannot believe I patiently waited so long! It creates such a contented and fun change!
I think Behr gives an attractive look to the gates .Its excellent .I like the red colored entrance .
I think Behr gives an attarctive look to the doors .Its great .I like the red painted door .
Marty, wow, your door looks amazing! And congrats on being one of the Behr DIY Experts! The Japanese Kimono color looks SO good with the gray brick. Great choice. I’d love to feature this on my paint color blog, Involving Color. You wouldn’t have to do a thing, just let me know if you’re interested!
Love your door, I was drawn to the paint chip for this particular shade as I was looking for a vibrant orange-red. But on your door it looks more in the coral category…. I was thinking of painting a large tray ceiling in this color but it is so bold I am quite hesitant!
Hi Robin. I’m so glad you love our front door! No one thought it was pretty at first but me, but the color has really grown on us! I’m not sure I would be brave with a tray ceiling either, but the good thing is you can always repaint it!
Your front door looks great! I painted mine red this weekend, and I too can’t believe I waited so long! It makes such a cheerful and fun change!
Love it Marty ! It make the door look cheerful, smile. I’ve been thinking about painting mine Aqua for some reason this has become my new pop color. I’m a little hesitant, but you only live once.
Hi, Diana. You know I love aqua, too, and I think that’s so pretty for a front door! Seriously, I wish we hadn’t waited 22 years! Have a great Monday!
Marty–my husband is also a HUGE fan of Behr…we have been using it for years. We are currently using it on the exterior of our house (never had to paint a house before! They’ve always been brick.) and it looks great. Love the coral!
Hey, Kirby. We love the coral, too! (Well, it wasn’t we for a while, it was just me, but now he likes it!) Hope your exterior goes well. After painting ours for 20 years we finally got siding and Tim loves it!