Sometimes DIY projects take longer than you think, sometimes you have to go back for an extra pot of paint or spare paint brush, the right drill bit, but it feels so good when you get a job done. Bank holidays provide a great opportunity to get stuck in and make a few small changes, so I’m excited to finally be able to reveal the results of my ‘Make an entrance’ door makeover with B&Q!
With a smart new door, fresh lick of paint, sparkling door furniture and a couple of plants, we’ve transformed it I think literally from drab to fab. Previously tired and run-down, our entrance is now smart and refreshed. There’s still a few little finishing touches to complete, such as removing the old porch door and installing a new piece of glass above the front door with a number on it, but it’s looking oh so much better already. And finally in that shade of colour I love so much – grey!
Do you remember the before? It was a pretty uninspiring entrance, unloved and in need of a bit of TLC. We had an ugly, flimsy PVC porch door leading to the old front door, which didn’t really fit properly and featured horrible floral Seventies glass panels. It wasn’t really a nice place to return to at the end of the day, it didn’t feel particularly safe and it certainly didn’t make us feel house proud. We wanted to put our own stamp on our new house and make it our own. All it needed was a few little updates to smarten the entrance up.
After finding that our door wasn’t a standard size we had to wait a couple of week’s to receive a bespoke one. Our builder helped fit it for us and do the hard work then I couldn’t wait to pick up the roller and get painting. For our front door, I used: one coat wood primer (Ronseal One Coat Primer & Undercoat), two coats of dark grey undercoat (Dulux Weathershield Exterior Dark Grey Undercoat) and two coats of top coat (Dulux Weathershield Exterior Gallant Grey Satin Paint).
The weathershield paint is perfect for a front door – it’s really long lasting, with a mould resistant paint film, it’s resistant to cracking, and washable, which is great for wiping any day-to-day scruffs and marks. If you’re fitting the door, I’d recommend painting the first few layers when the door is flat, otherwise use a small foam roller to get a nice, clean finish without any brush marks. You can also give the undercoat a quick sand to get rid of any bumps too.
I found it was a bit of a labour of love with five coats, but I’m so pleased with the results – the Dulux paint is satin not gloss so has a lovely rich, matte appearance. The colour’s a really nice deep grey as well, giving the door a weighty presence on the street.
(If the image above looks darker, that’s because the undercoat I bought was a darker shade, it didn’t really matter because they were both grey, and I even mixed in a bit of the grey with the white primer to ensure the finish was uniform).
We then added new shiny door furniture, such as this House Nameplate letter box in chrome effect, to give a contemporary feel and bring the house bang up to date. I was going to add a knob but found that the central band of wood was too thin for a lot of the fittings so I’m still searching. I wanted to keep the door quite clean and modern, so the number will eventually be fitted in the glass panel above the door.
Safety and security were really important for us, so we got a new lock and a deadlock at the bottom for extra security. Inside, we also have a new door chain that helps if we have visitors or people knocking and are not expecting anyone. The door now feels much more secure and I can close the door at night putting my mind to rest that no one will find it easy to get through it.
Plants are a really easy, affordable way to spruce up an entrance and give a bit of kerb appeal. I was really impressed with B&Q’s plant range in the bigger stores, they had some ace succulents (2 for £3) and lots of your basics like lavender and hydrangeas.
I love the soft sweet smell of the fragrant lavender as I walk through the front door. I also bought a wisteria plant – looking a bit small and forlorn now – that will eventually spread its way across the entrance. I’ve always loved the dangling purple flowers wisteria produces (at least I’m hoping mine will at some point!) and the sprawling branches that often frame the prettiest of front doors. I bought a big planter to give it a little boost for now.
There’s still lots of work to be done on the exterior of our new house, we’re getting new windows and will be tidying up and painting the front wall, and will keep you updated here. With the renovations I’m slowly learning that things take much longer than you think they will take, but hopefully we’ll finally have the builders in at the end of September.
For now, while we wait for the interior to be nice and ready, we have made the first step in making this house our own – starting with the front door. It’s now a lovely entrance to come home to in the evenings – smart, clean and fresh. It gives us a sense of pride that this is our new home. And it really doesn’t take much to give that bit of kerb appeal – a tidy up of your doorstep, a new door mat, a big tub of fresh plants. A few little changes can make a big difference.
This post was written in collaboration with B&Q, all thoughts and opinions are my own
