Painting Our French Doors Black!

While our contractor wraps up the exterior trim and paint project along with the newly-framed wraparound deck on the exterior of our Tree House, we’ve been chipping away at the inside. The pair of French doors that lead to our fire pit (off of the living room) were painted bright white on the exterior by our contractor, and it was just the kick in the pants we needed to finally paint the interior. This is how things looked when we started:

Much like their interior counterparts, the doors were mysteriously two-tone with beige paint on the left and aging white paint on the right. The old handleset was maddeningly loose and barely kept the doors shut. There was also a questionable ‘security’ chain and a rusted slide lock that attempted to keep the doors closed tightly through the cold winter months. (It struggled.) We knew the finished product would be a drastic change, but it turned out even better than we could have anticipated!

Prepping the Door for Paint

For starters, Kim got to work with a fresh razor blade and scraped the excess sloppy white and beige paint off each of the window panes. This task can take as long or as little as you’d like, but the perfectionist in Kim is what turned scraping paint into an entire day’s task! Worth it. Once the glass surfaces were clean, everything got taped off with Frog Tape, because when clean lines matter, we use Frog Tape. Period. We also filled in many of the old screw holes and door dings with rock hard water putty, which is our favorite method for interior wood repair.

However, we also needed to repair a missing pane’s worth of trim to make sure the glass was held in place and properly sealed from the elements. To mimic the existing trim, we purchased 3/4″ off-the-shelf pine stop, cut it down on the miter saw and simply caulked it into place. Tape and clamps held things where they needed to stay until everything was cured and dry. Kim then taped off the final pane of glass and hit the doors with two coats of paint using our tried-and-true methods.

Our French Doors Today!

Much like all of the other black painted surfaces at Tree House, the color is Sherwin Williams Black Magic in a satin finish. For door hardware, we craved contrast, and we knew that the Putnam exterior set in unlacquered brass would be the ticket! This hunky setup included solid brass interior and exterior hardware as well with the new mortise. The set weighs exactly 742 pounds (you know, approximately), and it gives the door an incredible amount of satisfying heft. While we were at it, we also swapped out the original paint-covered hinges for four of these stunning specimens. Never underestimate the power of swapping out the hinges with the hardware!

To keep dirt and moisture at bay, we also added a new waterhog interior doormat at the rear entrance. The color blends away into the floor fairly well and these mats capture an amazing amount of debris and sandy Michigan soil. We have several of the same mats in our Chicago home and have found them to be worth every penny.

Black and White

We went back and forth on the final color of these doors numerous times, but as we looked around the house, we realized that we’d developed a pattern. All interior doors (with the exception of our secret pocket door) have been painted white. The insides of all windows and exterior doors are black. We love the way this ‘grounds’ the rooms and allows for a not-so-subtle visual definition of the spaces. A black exterior door is such a handsome statement. If you’ve been on the fence about painting a door black – do it. You won’t regret it!

Why We Chose Unlacquered Brass Hardware

Unlacquered brass is always a favorite finish of ours. As the brass is touched and exposed to the elements, it will develop a beautiful patina over time. Eventually, the bright finish will mellow and look right at home with the salvaged original hardware in our vintage modern home.

To keep the newly weighted door from slamming into the drywall, we had one more trick up our sleeve. This insanely adorable doorstop was installed directly into the wood floor, and it even included multiple rubber stoppers to customize the look! Our hope is that once the new rear steps are complete, we’ll be much more likely to use this entrance to get out to the backyard. The only hitch? Prior to using the hook to keep the door propped open, we’ll need to address the current lack of a screen door. (We’re struggling to find an option that will work with these doors, so if anyone has any ideas, we’re all ears!)

With this project complete, we’ve officially replaced the trim and painted every single door and window at Tree House – with just one exception. The doors and windows inside the bathroom have yet to be touched. Why, you ask? Because in about a month, we’ll be kicking off the Tree House bathroom renovation! We absolutely cannot wait to show you what we have in store.

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