When you look at the front of your house it can be really frustrating if it doesnt quite reflect how nice you keep the inside. Living with a house exterior that looks a bit tired can make you feel like you need to spend thousands getting all new windows and a brand new front door fitted just to make it look decent. But when it comes to the door especially, renovating the one you already have is actually a really great weekend job that makes a massive difference to your kerb appeal. It completely changes how your house looks from the street and gives you a bit of pride when you get home, here are some things to consider if you want to tackle it yourself.
Painting your door
You might have always assumed that if you have a standard white uPVC door then you’re just stuck with it looking like that forever. And when they start looking yellowish and a bit gross that’s disappointing to say the least. But you can actually paint uPVC doors perfectly fine these days! You just need to make sure you’re using the right stuff for the job. Give the door a really good clean down with sugar soap and a very light sand first so your paint has something to actually stick to (you dont want it peeling off after a few weeks). You definitely need to get a specialist uPVC primer and then a good exterior paint that is meant to deal with the weather. If you’ve got a wooden door the prep is pretty much the same, just fill in any cracks and sand it all smooth before you start. Always check the weather forecast before you begin, if it rains on wet paint it will completely ruin all your hard work.
Picking out your colours
When it comes to picking a colour it can be a bit much when you go to the shop and see all the different paints you can actually buy. Take the time to plan it out instead of just grabbing what you think looks good on the paint swatch. You really have to think about the front of your house and what bricks or render you have, like if you have traditional red bricks then something like a dark blue or a sage green can look really great and contrast without it clashing. If you live in a newer house that has white or grey render then you can get away with something a bit more bright and colourful. There’s other things to consider too, when you’re looking at older terrace houses a bright modern door might look a bit silly and out of place so darker colours and soft pastels are always a good shout to keep things looking traditional.
Sorting the hardware out
Painting the door makes the biggest difference but sorting out the hardware is what brings it all together. If you’ve just spent all weekend painting and making it look nice, putting an old rusty letterbox back on it isnt going to do you any favours and will just drag it all down. Getting new things like door handles and house numbers is a surprisingly cheap thing to do and makes a huge difference. You can pick up matching sets online from sites like Impeccable Hardware really easily (which saves you going around the shops trying to match things up!) Brass is always a good choice if you’re painting the door a dark navy or black, and brushed chrome is perfect if you want a modern look. Just make sure you measure the hole in the door where your current letterbox goes before you buy a new one, the last thing you want is having to drill new holes and ruining the paint you just spent all that time doing!
Image – https://www.pexels.com/photo/facade-of-a-house-with-yellow-door-16726604/
