I love our new house. It is the perfect fit for our family. Honey gets a man porch, our three rowdy little greenwoods each get their own room, and I get a craft room PLUS a real laundry room.
But the outside of the house needed a little love. The country blue shutters were faded. And the front door could use a little jazzing up.
Even though I was *sure* I had taken a before picture of the house. I can’t find it anywhere. Here’s the house de-shuttered.
Many cans of black spray paint and one quart of seriously bright red paint did the trick! 
The shutters were easy. Honey just had to climb a VERY tall ladder and onto the roof to take them off. Thank you, Honey.
Krylon Fusion for Plastics is great for this job. Classic black shutters. Perfect!
Onto the drab front door. I prepped the door by giving it a light sanding but all the paint on the window peeled off. Since it was obviously plastic, I got the bright idea to spray paint it with the Krylon paint. Notice only the window panes are taped off. **Bad idea**
Smart people would have taped off the entire area because the black spray paint was very difficult to cover with the red paint. It took many coats of Haute Red (Pantone paint purchased at Lowe’s) to block it out.
Once the first coat was on the door I got scared. Really. scared. It looked like hot pink lipstick. And the black paint was not covering easily. My painting partner agreed.
Thank the good Lord I had enough paint because it took almost the whole can to get the deep red look I was hoping for.
Here’s my happy house face lift! Thanks Honey for risking life and limb climbing onto the roof for the shutters and for not passing out when you realized the door was red. (it only took him four days before he noticed)
I’m partying with these fabulous ladies…
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life: Inspire Me Tuesday, So Much Better with Age, Our Home Away from Home Tuesdays at Our Home, AttaGirlSays Homework Wednesdays , Crystal and Co. with The Mommy Club: Share Your Resources and Solutions , Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
When I painted our door a dark burgundy they also sold me gray primer. They said without the primer my door would look pink. I only had to use two coats to get the true burgundy color. The primer really worked!
That would have been a smart thing for me to do! I think the paint had primer in it. But I never did think I would cover the black spray paint. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Take care,
Ashley
I have been thinking of painting my black door red. You have convinced me, now to find a red I like.
Red is my most favorite color but I have to admit I was really worried after that first coat. In a perfect world I’d have a leaded glass front door to flood out dark foyer with light. But until then the red makes me happy!
What a beautiful house! Love that porch! The color change on the door and shutters was a great choice! Have a great day, Lori
Thank so much Lori for hopping over!I love the geranium window boxes you featured. The flower boxes on our front porch have red geraniums (my fave) and are about to be taken over with Creeping Jenny. I need to do a post about how easy that stuff is to grow!
Take care,
Ashley
Haha! Your dog is awesome. Nothing better than a talking dog with a conscience! haha
Anyway, the shutters look FANTASTIC now!! And I love the red door. It looks so much more welcoming now. I’m try to get up the courage to paint my front door too (when my husband isn’t looking and being my conscience)…atleast I don’t have a dog to tattle on me! hehe.
Our dog cracked me up that day! I was stressing about my hot pink door and she was nodding her head with me.
Love your blog! I’ve got to make those gooey cinnamon buns for my children. Our Big Boys loves cinnamon rolls!
Thanks for stopping by!
Ashley
You have a beautiful home, and your paint job looks great!
Thanks so much for stopping by. This is our fourth home in 11 years and I’m praying we are here for a good long while. I love the handwriting lampshade you posted about on your blog! I’m always looking for fun ways to jazz up a lampshade.
Take care, Ashley
What a transformation! Love your shutters and the red door looks amazing! I have a new weekly link party which is live now and I would love if you stop by and link up this wonderful post! Hope to see you there! http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/ Hugs, Maria
So glad you like my Happy House. That red door makes me smile everyday!
Thank so much for inviting me to your Tuesdays at Our Home Party! I’ve linked up two of my favorite posts.
Take care, Ashley
Looks fantastic! It looks like a real family home. Love the colors you chose.
Thank you so much! I see you’ve got lots of red in our home. Red makes me happy too!
Ashley, I’m very glad you joined Maria’s party this week…that’s where I found you! I’ve been considering changing my shutters to black and leaving the front door red. I’ve looked for a way to follow you, but have not found a link yet. Congratulations on your new home…it’s lovely.
Helen of Helen’s Decor
Thanks so much for finding me! I am a newbie blogger so I would love for you to follow me. Near the top of my home page there is an option to follow by email. Just type in your email address and join in my fun. (Blogging is fun isn’t it? I love being creative and posting about it!)
Please let me know if you are still having trouble.
Take care, Ashley
Hi Ashley! Popping over from Maria’s at Our Home Away From Home! Great job on sprucing up the outside! Love your door!!! Have a great weekend!!~~Angela
Thanks so much for stopping by! Glad you liked the red front door. That color scared me to death half way through but looks fantastic now. Thank goodness!
Everything looks perfect! Blessings, Martha
My goodness!! I love your red front door!! Thanks for sharing this at our Summer Spruce-Up link party! Following on Bloglovin!
Thanks so much for hosting! And for following!
Ashley,
Found your site on Diana Rambles party! I’m so glad I found this post about painting your shutters and doors. It’s funny how many women in the comments have said, “I’ve been wanting to paint my door”, and “I need to do it when my husband is gone”…hilarious! Mainly b/c I was thinking the same 2 thoughts! I taped my door to paint about a year ago and then lost my nerve! I never thought of spray painting it! I’m going to seriously consider this, but it WILL have to be something I do when my husband is at work. He always doubts my ideas, but then loves them in the end! 🙂
Gina @ Gina’s craft Corner (I’d love for you to visit me!
Just do it, Girlie! My newly painted shutters and red front door make me smile each time I come home.
Thanks for finding me. I’m your newest bloglovin follower!
Ashley @3littlegreenwoods
I love the red door and black shutters! Four days to notice the red door! Now that is funny! 😀 A real laundry room…I am a little jealous! Hehe
I am in love with my “real” laundry room! But I’m trying hard to to talk Honey into replacing that red door with a stained glass door to let more light into our dungeon of a foyer. Crossing my fingers it works!