Here's our sad little front entry when we bought the house:
We've been those neighbors that move into a neighborhood and have JUNK out all the time because our house has been undergoing so many renovations: demo stuff from the basement, carpet remnants, yard debris, and just trash... I've had paint samples along the side of the house for a few months and I've been feeling so embarrassed!! I always joke that I need to put a big sign in my yard : "MUST SEE INSIDE!" hahaha Anyway, we're finally getting somewhere with the outside & I thought I'd share. Dave painted it a warm deep gray (pulled from some of the stones) and we went with a warm white trim. (It used to be this yucky beigey-nude color.) We added in a ton of shrubs & plants but it's still not enough (There were only 2 dying bushes in front of my house when we moved in.) so we have plans to add more in as soon as we can afford it. Anyway, here is again before:
And here is is now:
I thought the crazy orange door would be temporary for the Fall (yes, we have our cheesey Halloween stuff out now!! :) but I'm kind of loving it. I pulled the orange from some of the stones that are orange. (Same ones from the family room, remember?) and as crazy as it is, I think it actually works and it may stay for a little longer. (Will have to say what Maria of
Colour Me Happy thinks!!) Coming home to it makes me happy. Here's a close-up of my vintage Halloween sign:
And my really cheesey "stone" crow I found at Michael's. hee hee I'm giving him a coat of black paint to, hopefully to look more like iron...
Also let me clarify in case you're wondering what's gotten into me: I love tasteful Fall decorations but for the 2 weeks before Halloween I think (especially having kids & a Halloween party) that more is more!! I like to try to stay a little vintage but I can't help falling for real-looking skeletons & ghosts. I COVET this ghost ring from Grandinroad (below) HOW COOL IS THAT?!!! SO SPOOKY!!! i'm going to try to make my own for our Hallween Party... IN the clearing in the woods in our back yard....
OK, sorry, now back to the entry. Anyway, we hung the caged outdoor hanging lantern (around $200) that echoes the one in the interior entry and found the welcome mat with a similar pattern at Ikea. My Boston Fern is now outside because I couldn't handle him inside. (He was way too messy and it's so sad that even watering and misting wouldn't keep him happy!!) I repainted the house numbers in black (all crossed out for safety purposes) and have plans to add the metal lion door knocker that I've had for years.
Will show more pics of the front of the house soon! Have a great weekend & happy almost Halloween!!! Mu-hu-hahahahahah ;) ;)
xoxo,
lauren
Door color: Behr's 'Maple Leaf' (#250D-6)
Siding Color: Ralph Lauren 'Master Room" done in Behr exterior flat paint
Trim Color: Behr's 'Cotton Whisper' (#W-F-300)
As a decorator & a textile designer, this is my place to muse... perfection doesn't interest me; Reality and charm do. Fresh floppy flowers from the garden over long-stemmed roses any day, I love it when things are slightly off and tell a story. 
50 comments:
The new house color looks great! It looks so rich and compliments the stonework beautifully. Love the orange door too - and the Halloween decorations! xoTrina
Beautiful! Would you mind sharing where you got your outdoor pendant lamp? I love it!
It really does look incredible next to the stone. What an eye you have! I would never think an orange door could look so classy either...I'd keep it that way! Don't you love coming home to something that makes you happy?! Have a great weekend!
Your entry is beautiful! I love the light hanging over the porch. I hope you will come by, and share your porch for the Posh Porch Party.
It looks great - love, love the orange! The picture with Christian looks like it could be in a magazine.
It looks great, the paint makes such a difference...and you know I love your lantern!
Have a great one...Janell
I love the lantern and the orange door and the little cutie at the door !
What a suprprising color you chose for the front door! I never would have thought of orange, but you know what? It's super successful!! :D :D
Have a great weekend!
xoxo
dagny
I love the dark gray and orange together. I am a big fan of colorful front doors! Just this week, I posted about re-paining ours. What a difference it makes! Looks amazing, Lauren!
I love it, it looks so spiffy. I'm pleased that the 'thing' on the wall turns out to be your disguised house number too, I was a bit curious what that was!
The greenery makes a huge difference, I must look into that for my place.
ummmmm that looks fantastic! the warm gray was such a good call!
* "S*U*P*E*R D*U*P*E*R", kiddo!!! Those color choices were "RIGHT ON", and your wee one is TOOO CUTE for WORDS!!!
Warmest,
Linda in AZ *
Hearing you say that about your outside makes me feel so good. We bought a fixer-upper and have completely renovated the inside but have done next to nothing outside. (We did get new gutters--does that count?) Since we live at the end of our road we don't have too many neighbors but I wish they could all see the hard work we've put into the inside of the house.
Love the new entry and love your blog!
Love the orange -you have to keep it! I can't think of another color that would look so great with the gray!
Wow! The colors are beautiful! I love how unexpected the orange door is, but how well it fits right in.
Love, love, love your orange door and the beautiful grey of your house! Perfect! Don't paint over the orange unless you go for sunny yellow (love that combination as well...).
Beautiful transformation! Love the gray!
the orange door looks awesome!!! what's next???? i saw a kelly green door on a gray house that looked soooo good.
Wow! It looks great! I actually really like the orange.
Kristin
www.DiscoverInteriorDesign.com
It looks like a whole new house! I know I said that with the family room and basement makeover but seriously your entry is SO welcoming now!!! Its like a little preview of the awesomeness you are about to see as you step into the house- I am in LOVE and I think that orange door should stay forever, its perfect with the gray.
Have a great weekend!!
Love the gray and orange together! I say keep the orange door permanently!
Love the orange, its a keeper!
What a transformation! it looks amazing and I love the orange door!
I love the orange door!!!!
Love the grey!!! Love it! And your orange door is great!
Have a great weekend!
Michelle
Lauren,
As always you have done a beautiful job! You are talented!!
You have it in your bones!
Greet
Thought I'd help you out on the ghost ring. I have those from Ballard and they are just balls on a stick with fabric over them and then tied around the neck. Each ghost is then tied to the next at the tips. Then another piece of fabric is put over it and the extended- tied arms make them look ghosty. Love the house..
Love the new look! The light fixture is beautiful, too. Nice job! :-)
what a wonderful change! i love that gray! so much better!
I'm in LOVE with that orange door. It looks fabulous with the paint color. Very gorgeous Lauren!
Thanks for sharing Lauren. Your entry is VERY inviting. I think painting the crow would be fantastic, especially in a dark black. If you wipe the paint off a little in some areas as you do it or use a dry brush, it will look a little more weathered. The black "distressed" technique makes it really look like wrought iron and adds a touch of "vintage" to it. I'm curiors to see what Maria from "Colour Me Happy" thinks of the door too. I love the orange!!!
that's amazing, what a great transformation
I love that orange! Stunning!! Thanks for the mention, sweet friend :)
What is the colour btw? It's just great!
It looks FABULOUS!!!
Please do not change that door color. It is perfectly perfect!
Love how the new colour makes the stone pop. Nice job!
I love, love, love the gray..what's it's name, and brand?
Keep the orange...its different, and that's all the better in my book!!
Yep the orange is perfect. Hope you will keep it.
we have a ghost ring from Grandinroad that we ordered last year. The ghosts came in so badly damaged and tattered that I ended up calling customer service and they gave us our money back and let us keep the ghosts for free. I was able to fix them with new steel rods and a hot glue gun.
I've seen people make them here with broomsticks and bedsheet and they seem much more durable.
GL!
LOVE that door color and the welcome mat!!!
OOHHHH I love it soo much!!!!
Lauren- I just love it. Great work!
Love the orange door! So stylish!
thanks so much for all the nice comments & to those who gave me ideas on how to make my own "ghost ring" -- i really appreciate it!!!
I posted the paint colors at the end of the post but the gray used is Ralph Lauren's "Master Room" done in Behr exterior paint. (It's rated much higher than RL for performance and costs less so I often have RL colors done in Behr.)
I am crazy for your orange door especially against that beautiful gray. You must leave it as is, it looks simply fabulous! I'd paint my front door orange in a heartbeat if it wasn't for my neighborhood covenants. I've had to settle for orange inside. I have a sliding barn door in my basement that we gave the orange treatment and I love it.Take a look:
http://completelytotallymadly.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-do-you-spell-relief.html
Your home looks beautiful and so festive!
I concur with everyone else, who would have known? The orange rocks! :). Great exterior colors which compliment each other just perfectly. Good luck with the ghosts. xo
it looks great!
Oh wow, I LOVE this. I would never have imagined that 'before' could look like the 'after'!
Security of the home should be considered more important, so its best to buy the storm doors and installed in your home. You can feel the pleasure of watching outside movements, at the same time well protected from insects and moisture. It also reduces the effect of air leaks from the primary door.
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