Uncategorized

What can I say, I’m a sucker for RED.

June 23, 2011

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

Portfolio

Projects

Design

We're Chris + Julia

read more

What we're                   right now

Loving

browse the shop

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here. 

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen. 

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.

browse all

browse all

browse all

02

01

03

Popular Posts

1.

2.

3.

Top Categories

Saturday morning, I woke up and decided to paint the front door.  I kinda envisioned getting it painted that day, but deciding on a color took an entire day.  I have been pinning yellow doors like crazy lately because I think they look so cheerful, but once I got the swatches up, I just wasn’t feeling it.  And then I told Chris, “I know that I want green.”  The top one on the right is called Lemongrass by Behr and I thought it looked great with the gray brick, but I started worrying that it would be lost with all of our green shrubs.  So, I declared once more that I definitely wanted a red door.  Specifically the red right under Lemongrass, Bijou Red.  Red is classic.  Red definitely doesn’t blend in, and if you didn’t know it–I am a total sucker for red.
Earlier this week, you learned that we bought a new door and Monday night I got to work.  I thought I would be done by the time the Bachelorette was over–wrong. 

After two coats, it looked like this, and I settled in for the long haul.  The long haul being 11 coats of high gloss paint in Bijou Red.  And although I got frustrated and shed a few tears along the way, I honestly couldn’t be happier with the results.  Let’s check out some befores and afters:


 What a difference, right?  Gah!  We love it.  And an added bonus that we didn’t even think about was the extra light we gained indoors:

So my advice to anyone with a white/boring/dull front door–why not paint it?  If you are going to use high gloss paint, leave 90 minutes in between coats at least.  If you are itching for a red front door (how could you not?) plan on lots of coats–but also count on a big pay off.

Speaking of pay, this whole project definitely cost more than we anticipated because we bought a new front door, but here’s the rundown just in case you are planning on tackling your own door soon:

Front door: $197
1 quart of high gloss exterior Behr paint in Bijou Red: $12
4 new house numbers: $5.99 each
(these first three items I had a 10% off coupon for–score!)
New doormat: $6.97

Grand total: $200.47 (plus tax)

…and worth every penny in my opinion.  What do YOU think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What do you think?

  1. Cathe G. says:

    I love it….but 11 coats…wow. I am actually thinking of a plum for my front door.
    Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

  2. Leslie Duran says:

    Your new door would have looked great in any color – but the red is stunning! I linked to your post on my own red door story here: http://cherrybubbins.blogspot.com/2011/09/red-door-adventures.html
    :o)

  3. I just used straight brush. So glad I did it!!

  4. Stacy Saathoff says:

    I LOVE it! Did you use a combination brush/roller? Also, someone told me I have to prime my door…Um, NO! I will not be doing that. WAAAAAAY to much work! The pop of color looks fabulous. Aren’t you glad you did it?!

  5. Thanks and welcome aboard! So glad you found us!

  6. MamaMauzi says:

    You have a new fan from germany….
    I love the red door ,it feels like a bit of alice to wonderland,

    big greetings

  7. Nina says:

    Just stumbled over from YHL and have to say I love the red door. It really pops in the overall exterior shot!

  8. Thanks so much, Brenda! You are so sweet. I just used a regular 2 inch Purdy brush, but in retrospect, I would recommend a small roller for extra smooth finish and then go over it with a brush. I think that would be a little easier than all that brushing! Hope it helps. I would love to see pictures when you get ‘er done.

  9. Brenda Perez says:

    I just loved your door and im planning on buying and painting the same one! same color! what kind of brush did you use?

  10. Waseem200846 says:

    Beautiful house…Nice place…All are fantastic.
    Roman shades concord, ca

  11. Nina says:

    Just stumbled over from YHL and have to say I love the red door. It really pops in the overall exterior shot!

  12. Thanks Pamela! We are pretty smitten with the piano, too. All of those details you can right here: http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2011/06/baby-number-2.html

  13. Pamela says:

    I just found your post from YHL & love your red door! As a side note…the white piano is to die for! Details please. :) Love!!

  14. Love the door you chose with the windows up top. The colors is great, too.

    Just popping over from Remodelaholic.

  15. YAY!!! I said this on the Remodelaholic site and now I can say it here!!!

    SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! This is fantastic! It makes your home look bright and wonderful! you did a GREAT job! :)

  16. The red door turned out to be amazing. Such a lovely detail to the whole house. Great job.
    Fallen for your blog so I am def following and maybe youll visit me one day too. =)

    thebookness.blogspot.com

  17. One Little Mustard Seed-

    Home Depot! If you click on “Front Door” in the budget break down, it will take you directly to our door. We were floored at the price as well!

    Diapers and Divas (Lani)-

    Thanks for the tip. A tinted primer would have been a life saver. Surprisingly, I only used about 2/3 of a quart–but still. 11 coats is enough to make anyone shed tears, right?

    -Jules

  18. WOW this looks so great!!! Red is a Bleep to paint….but a tip when going from white to any darker color is to first use a tinted primer. You can even ask the paint dudes to tint it pinkish so the red goes on in fewer coats. I did a buffet in a peacock blue and I also shed those tears when I realized I had to do yet ANOTHER coat. :) I’m DYING to paint my front door…but my HOA won’t let me…wah! I’ll just live vicariously through yours!!Great job!!

    -Lani

  19. Hi, love your door!! Where did you buy such a beautiful door so cheaply??

  20. D-L says:

    Love it! The funny part is that I saw your post on the Behr site and recognized the door right away!

  21. The front door (and numbers and mat) look great! I love the color you chose. It really changes the way your house looks!

  22. Dre says:

    Sooo beautiful! Totally worth the money!

  23. That makes such a great difference!

    Cute blog, girl! Love it.

  24. cheryl says:

    love it!
    great choice of colour and new door!
    cheryl xox.

  25. Julia says:

    Megan,

    You joke!!! That’s craziness. Door Bffs for life.

    -Jules

  26. Oh, and just for fun, I considered Lemongrass for the front door but went with Bijou Red. It’s like we are front-door-paint-pickin’- BFF’s!

  27. Julia says:

    Ginger (aka my mom),

    Well, mom. Chris is MEGA cool. Hahaha. Thanks! I don’t even want to know what the dingy white door made us look like.

    -Jules

  28. I can tell from the red door that someone cool lives here

  29. It’s super cute!! It’s totally worth it. I, luckily, already had a navy blue door so it only took two coats of the paint+primer. I love your new door!! I would love to replace my door with a door like yours. Time to save my little pennies! Thanks for sharing with me!

  30. I love the red! The style of the door is reallllly cute too! You did a great job!

  31. Julia says:

    Usgrahams,

    I can see how white would be refreshing coming from a dark forest green. Paint is such an easy refresher, it’s hard to get stuck on just one color for too long.

    -Jules

  32. usgrahams says:

    That looks great!! We recently went from Forest Green to White and though I’m doubting it’ll be permanent it’s nice having a nice clean (hopefully for a while) door!

    I envy you and your red door!

  33. DoublClik says:

    Yes, it really says: Designer that knows a thing or two lives here.

all the latest

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

HI! We're Chris + Julia

read more

Load More

Reader Faves

SHop all

What We're                     Right Now

What We're                 Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop. 

Loving

looking for inspiration? 

A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

Follow Along on Instagram

Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations

@chrislovesjulia