PROJECT COMPLETED!
It’s been awhile since I posted about painting the broom closet door. This project took longer than expected for mundane reasons but it is finally finished! After painting and staining, I left door where it would reside for a few days so the family could see it in the differing light throughout the day. It was unanimously decided that while the door itself was gorgeous, it’s underlying red tone made the burnt umber color of the kitchen and dining room much too orange so I was back to square one.
This time, I did what I should have done to begin with and painted a small board with the umber color used in those two rooms (I still have over half a gallon left) on one side and a brown on the other. I then divided the colors in two by applying two different stains over them providing us with a few choices for redoing the door.
Here is the brown side. It’s difficult to see the two colors but one side is lighter than the other:
And here’s the burnt umber paint:
The brown side was immediately discarded as it made the wood too dark and so burnt umber covered with a dark walnut stain was selected and the process was begun…again. I learned something this time around, stain will actually dry on semi-gloss paint (it hasn’t in the past which creates another problem).,.when you’re working in 80 degree weather. I also confirmed I really, really need to let small imperfections slide because instead of taking 30 or so minutes to apply the stain, it took me over 90 minutes and I still had to drag myself away. Not only was I getting quite tired by the end but also very frustrated. Needless to say, I applied the temperature lesson to the inside of the door and it turned out beautifully. The outside of the door still looks fabulous, but it’s a bit darker than I wanted and the stain pattern is not as delicate as the inside of the door turned out.
The outside of the door:
Interior side of the door:
The final piece for the door was its jewelry. We have been ever so slowly, and randomly, been replacing the door handles throughout the house from the gold knob style in place when the house was purchased to a bronze flipper style which suits our tastes better. I relocated one of bronze handles instead of the gold knob style on the finished door and it just makes me happy.
Before and After
I am so thrilled with how this project has turned out, I can’t wait to apply the same finishes to the other three upstairs doors!
Original Post
First I feel I must say that I am continuing to work on my corset, this is a guilt driven statement and I know it. My poor corset has been relegated to my evening projects. You know, the ones you work on while sitting on the couch watching tv. Still, progress is being made and hope remains I’ll have it finished next week.
Now that I almost feel better…
As I sit at a desk all day for my job, I like to stand up and move around after work when it comes to my projects. Admittedly, I’m a little all over the place at times so bear with me. For the past several days these projects have included among others, the door to my broom closet.
The Broom Closet Door
I love color. Rich, dark colors, warm inviting colors, beautiful dark woods, colors that make me feel cozy. I want the colors in my house to hug me. I believe an underappreciated part of most houses are the doors because they are so utilitarian. We paint the walls and the trim around them, but unless it’s a front door, most seem to be…left alone. I know I have been guilty of this. In our house, the doors are the inexpensive, white, faux wood doors or the inexpensive faux solid laminate styles with gold door knobs and dark hinges, not exactly exciting or pretty. Last week I decided to fix this, for the upstairs interior ones at least with one of my favorite finishing techniques, stain over paint. What’s great about doing this is you can use any paint color and any stain to create beautiful finishes with more depth than paint alone.
This is another time consuming project in that while each step only takes about 30 minutes to complete, the drying time before you can move onto the next step is often a day, especially during the work week when I can’t manage more than one step in a day.
At this point, I’ve stained one side of the door and applied one coat of a spray sealant to it, I’ll apply two additional coats of polyurethane after the long weekend. I am thrilled with how the coloring has turned out but it creates a visual impact so I currently have the door propped up next to where it will go with occasional moves to the other nearby doors as they will all eventually match. This step is probably the most important to ensure not only Dave and I both love the color, but that it coordinates with the surrounding area before I reach the point of no return.
It’s going to be fabulous!
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