Another touch of black

What is it with me and spur-of-the-moment door painting? It's really quite strange. I usually really think about a project before I jump into it. I'm not one of those people who will tear down a wall on a Friday night without thinking through what happens next.

But for some reason, I get a little crazy when it comes to painting doors. You may recall that last year, just days after I painted the front door a slightly deeper blue (Benjamin Moore Down Pour Blue), I got Coastal Living magazine in the mail with a gorgeous picture of a turquoise door and damn near ran to the store to buy paint and repaint it right then and there. Fortunately a few readers talked me off the ledge, which was totally the right call, and the door stayed Down Pour Blue.

I'm not even sure what got me going last Friday. All of a sudden, in the middle of the afternoon, I got a bug about painting the inside of the back door black. I posted on the Facebook page and got several positive responses and one pointing out what was my main concern: with the black from the vintage botanical prints in the eating area, would adding more black to that part of the kitchen be overkill? It's a good point and I think it would be if our back door wasn't mostly window.

Within hours I was standing in the hardware store picking a black paint (if you thought picking a white was hard, try picking a black) and buying a quart to take home and an hour after that I was sanding the door with a glass of wine in one hand.

I knew I had some dark gray tinted primer at home from a project a couple years ago so my plan was the prime the door first, just to limit the amount of paint coats I would need and to hopefully provide better adhesion. Unfortunately I couldn't find that can of primer anywhere so I just started in with the paint straightaway.

I did one very thin coat of satin (Benjamin Moore Advance, which I think I like better than Aura for trim, but I'm not positive) and was not impressed. I gave it a second coat of satin, which would have been passable had it not been for the fact that I thought it was looking a little dull and chalkboardlike. I like a satin finish on woodwork in almost every case, but I think the intense darkness of the black dulled it down more than usual. So I ended up putting another coat of the same color in semi-gloss on for a little more sheen.

And here's what it looked like when it was all done. Boy that black really shows the difference where I've painted the trim (the door) and where I haven't (the window next to it). I'm actually in the process of doing that now, which is why the roman shades are off the window right now.

I've never really liked the door hardware much, but I think it looks much better on black.

And here's a before. I know it's not really a fair comparison because I didn't show you the whole area in the after, but I really didn't feel like cleaning off the table and straightening pillows. 

Mr. Much More Patient, who has been out of town and came home Sunday in time to see the newly painted door, which he knew nothing about, has decided he thinks "it's probably good."

I think so too.

So fess up, are you a spur-of-the-moment home improver or do you approach everything with a plan?

I have a favor to ask. Apartment Therapy is doing their annual blog awards, which is by popular vote. I don't have a chance in hell of getting to the finals, but I do find the awards to be a good way to find other blogs. If you enjoy reading The Impatient Gardener, I'd be so grateful if you would take a moment to vote for it in the Best Home Project & DIY category. Go here to find it. You'll need to sign in to vote (but that's a relatively painful process) and then scroll down (way down ....) or do a find for The Impatient Gardener and then check that little box by it to vote. Thanks so much! P.S. you can vote for multiple blogs.