We've spent five days painting our white metal garage door to look like wood--a long process, but I'm thrilled to say we saved $1000 doing it ourselves, and I think it's completely transformed our home.
STEP 1: We started with a base coat that gave the neighbors a good scare. Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Primer in "Dark Mustard," though I think it ought to be dubbed "Diaper Blow-Out."
STEP 2: We taped around all the areas that we wanted to look like wood with vertical grain. We used vertical strokes to paint on Sherwin Williams "Kaffee," then went back over the same area with a glaze mixture (1 part SW "Kaffee," 1 part SW "Tricorn Black," 2-3 parts Minwax water-based Varathane Spar Urethane). After that dried, we taped off what we wanted to be the opposite (horizontal) grain, and repeated these steps.
I got a bit lazy and did the diagonal and vertical brush strokes at the same time toward the end, then the horizontal separately.
We took several breaks and enjoyed the gorgeous spring weather. Great Grammy spent the weekend with us and loved watching the kids play outside. Mr. Tubbins hopped around in the front yard.
We planted some purple petunias around the Who-Ville tree while we watched paint dry.
STEP 4: 2 clear coats of Water-basked Minwax Varathane Spar Urethane.
And here's the finished product after Mark added the hardware!
And here's the finished product after Mark added the hardware!
What a difference a beautiful carriage door makes! I feel so blessed to live in this home and to make it cozy for our family. It's filled (bursting!) with love!
HOlY COW Wendy- I didn't understand half of those words that you used! How on earth did you learn how to do that? I can't believe how much work you guys put into your home- WOW- you've really transformed it!!! It's looking more Hogwartish than ever now!! :) And that's a good thing- it looks Fantastic!! You guys were always hard to keep up- always something BIG going on over at your house! :)
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