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Some nights I have all the patience in the world.
Total lie. I never do. But some days are better than others. Last night was not one of those nights. And the fun thing about having a dog is that she can pick up on all of my moods. Charlie sensed my frustration and immediately demanded extra cuddle time. Poorly painted door be damned.
When it comes to painting a glossy surface like a door, thin and even coats are the name of the game. But I went out to dinner with a friend last night and only had time for one coat on the door. Which means my door looks like keeeeyyyraaaap. And it will take several more nights to finish up.
The good great news is that even though the door will be taking many thin coats before I reach its glossy glory, the paint is sticking well and I’m certain I’m going to like the new look. Funny how long ago it was I contemplated this project and am just now getting around to it. But that’s the way non-priority projects go. You just fit them in when you can. Or in my case, when you’re avoiding skim coats on the dining room walls.
To give you a picture that doesn’t look like crud for the second day in a row, here’s sort of what I’m thinking about doing with the entryway eventually:
Black interior door, black (glossy) stair treads, and black hand rail. Keeping the rest white. The entire white staircase isn’t working for me right now, and I can’t stain the treads since they were in lousy shape after removing all of the carpet staples. Plus, if our homes are a reflection of our personality, there’s something about a stark contrast right when you enter the home that says “someone BOLD and BADASS lives here.” And I think I could use a little of that when I walk through the door.
You make me smile. Like, all the time.
As someone who tried black glossy handrails and stair treads (as well as black doors) I would caution you against painting your stair treads in high gloss paint. Even with polyurethane protection, it only looks good for about 6 months. I've repainted my stairs three times already and we've only lived here three years. This third time, I painted the stairs with flat paint, poly coated them and prayed to the god of staircases that this be the last time . . . so far, so good.
I know we all like to make our own mistakes for ourselves, but please take this comment to heart. If you don't want to be repainting your stairs every six months, don't go high gloss.
On a brighter note, I will say that the flat stair treads, in combination with our high gloss banisters and trim is actually really nice looking. It adds some extra dimension. I wish I'd done it the first time around.
Thank you for that tip. I'll definitely look into it. Though maybe I'll have to experiment and go low sheen, but maybe not totally flat?
Love the future look! Are you afraid about the treads being slippery with the glossy black paint? We had to add carpet treads to ours because our dog and our socks kept slipping!
I'm still thinking carpet treads, too. Because of Charlie especially. I would just like the sides to look more upscale, and I think the black glossy paint would do that.
Perhaps try a carpet runner down the middle of the stairs?
I might just screw the subtlety and hang two signs that say “BOLD” and “BADASS” in my entryway. lol.
Actually, I LOVE the black handrail/stairs combo. I'm half-dreading my own stair re-do, so given our similar DIY cycles I expect we'll be starting on those around the same time.
This made me laugh, because I've been painting the interior of our front door for…a really long time. I get distracted!
Can't wait to see the finished product.
I've been contemplating the back of our front door for a while now (not black, maybe navy) but I don't know if I'd have the patience for that many thin and even coats! It's looking good though, can't wait to see the final product :)
I have very similar plans for my entryway, except it is no majestic entry. It is a split level, so you enter on a little landing and either go up or down. But the whole black rail, black door is gonna happen
We've had a black door since we moved in….I probably would not have painted it black, but it wasn't high on my list to change and now I love it. I later painted my handrails dark to bring in that color, but went more like a brown/black since I have a lot of wood and wanted to blend the two.
I agree with the Kate's comments above..it is a huge upkeep to go with a high gloss black on the handrails. They chip all the time and that bright white shows through constantly. However, I still love mine and just make touch ups part of my routine and I use a sharpie to dot occasional touch ups when I don't have time to whip out the paint can. Its not a perfect color match by any means but it creates a band aid until I get around to the real thing.
Can't wait to see the end result!