Front Porch Reveal + New Door Color

A couple weeks ago, I posed the question, “Which color I should paint my front door?” and you definitely gave your input. The top response was blue, with black and yellow being close contenders. Basically it was a mixed bag, which meant I probably couldn’t go wrong with any of my considerations. To refresh your memory, this is what our front door and porch looked like before.

As I always do when selecting paint colors, I held my fan deck up in the location and began flagging colors that stood out to me. I then taped the larger swatches from my Benjamin Moore color kit to the door and stood back. It didn’t take long for certain colors to jump out, and I quickly had it narrowed down to (you guessed it) blue, yellow and black!

Yellow was the next color I eliminated as an option. Our house faces southwest and yellow was far too bright with the sun shining on it. I could also tell by my husband’s and son’s reactions that it wasn’t their favorite color (although they usually defer to me when it comes to decorating decisions). Blue and black, however, were capturing my attention equally, and I decided to sleep on it (all this over a door color!).

The next day, I considered our landscaping colors and it made my decision much easier. Not only do we have a large tree with plum foliage on it throughout the summer, but most of the perennials in our front yard have purple or yellow blooms. I felt that adding blue would just be too much color. In addition, I’ve always loved the sophisticated and classic look of a black door. After looking at several blacks, I decided on Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron. It has a blue undertone, which seems to complement our siding and trim.

Wrought Iron looks more charcoal or navy in the direct sun, especially with the semi-gloss finish, but I love the richness it brings to our front porch. I typically like to change the decorating seasonally, and this new door color serves as a nice backdrop to my fall planter.

This year I went with something a little different. After visiting a local garden center, I was immediately smitten with this ornamental kale for its vibrant color and texture. For height and added color, I also picked up this green mountain boxwood. The small thyme plant was transplanted from my kitchen container potager I created in the spring.

To freshen the rest of the porch, I re-stained everything similar to the existing color and applied a clear coat to the deck surface to keep it low maintenance. I’d like to add an outdoor rug if I can find one in the right size, as well as a chair on the left hand side to make the space more inviting. Perhaps that will have to wait until the spring.

To soften the rock (and replace our evergreens that were not-s0-evergreen), I planted two ornamental grasses (prairie dropseed and moor flame) and an atomic lilac. They look small right now, but they will fill in eventually (fingers crossed they survive the winter).

I’m relieved that we’ve had such a beautiful fall and I’ve been able to get all of this completed before the snow flies. To me our house feels so much more welcoming and I find myself using the front door a little more than necessary!

 And the winner is…

Wanting to know who won the “Refresh My Nest” prize pack? I announced it here. Thanks again to all of you who entered and congratulations to the winners of the 5 days of giveaways!

Enjoy your weekend!

Linking to: Southern Hospitality, aka Design, At the Picket Fence, Serenity Now, Shabby Creek Cottage, French Country Cottage, It’s So Very Cheri, It’s Overflowing, Thrifty Decor Chick, Our Fifth House