Thursday, July 24, 2014

Doors Of Opportunity (Garden Shed Exterior Makeover)

Our perfectly lovely garden shed before the door decided to deteriorate

Living in a 94 year old house, I am often reminded that nothing lasts forever.  Of course we try to retain and restore as much as we can around here but when something inevitably falls apart, I have learned to see it as an opportunity to improve it or replace it with something better.

That's what happened when our garden shed door started to deteriorate.  I never had any complaints about it before the paint started to peel and the wood started to rot but then I realized this gave me the chance to add two of my favorite things: light and color.

For the light I wanted to add a window to the door.  I searched all of my favorite antique malls and secondhand shops but couldn't find a window that would work for my budget.  Finally I came across a pair of mirrors that I liked (on clearance for $13 each!) and realized I could make a window from those by replacing the mirror with a screen.


Before: A Mirror - After: A Window

Then it was time to get to work on the door.  First I had Hippie remove the damaged parts and replace them with some pressure treated plywood.  He also cut a hole and helped me install the "windows".


Garden shed door under construction.

Then I finally got to add some color.  I decided on a warm purple shade of paint called Bunchberry by Behr.  I think it adds some much needed drama, as does the new cast iron door handle I added.


My new purple door.

Purple would not have coordinated with the interior of my garden shed, so I painted that side of the door white.


Interior of the new garden shed door.

To complete the makeover I added a little medallion above the door (also painted purple).  And now it's almost like I have a whole new garden shed.


Our even more lovely garden shed after it's purple door makeover

In fact, I was so happy with how this project turned out, I decided to paint our front door purple as well.


Another purple door

It definitely cheers up our front porch which is something else that is falling apart, but that's a project for another time.  The opportunities for improvement never end around here!






2 comments:

  1. Oh, what fun!
    I love what you did to restore and renew that lovely shed door!
    And your front door, too!

    ReplyDelete