A New Door Off the Master and Fresh Paint - One Room Challenge Week 5 + A VIDEO!
/OMG it's week five of the One Room Challenge! I don't think I'm ready for this space to be finished by next Wednesday, but my-oh-my there was lots of progress made this past week! The moment we've all been waiting for - the new exterior door was installed, and boy is it a beaut. We also built a deck this week (so I didn't fall to my death out the new door) and painted the room in the prettiest hues.
If you found me through ORC, welcome! I'm Ashley and for the past three years, I've been restoring a craftsman bungalow in San Diego, CA. Learn a touch more about me here, preview the before-and-after room transformations here, and see my previous ORC rooms here and here.
This week was one of the most exhausting yet. Take a look at the progress I made in video format below (or here)!
This Week's Video:
P.S. You can follow me on YouTube here - because I have many more videos up my sleeve!
I've talked since week one about the new door that I had planned. The idea is to start making changes for the master bedroom to eventually accommodate the new layout for the back of the house. So, in week two, I removed a doorway to the kitchen, and in week five Pella installed a beautiful new door for us!
Deciding to install a new door in an old house was not something I took lightly. Because the house is over 100 years old, nothing is made of vinyl, aluminum, or any kinds of plastics. So, I steer clear of those kinds of materials in finished products (I'm cool with these materials in modern-day plumbing and hidden technologies). So, when I set out to find a door, the only option I'd consider was a wooden door. I looked at several different manufacturers, but Pella was one of the only few that made an entirely wood door. Many others had vinyl components or aluminum clad exteriors. The wooden door is not only appropriate for my old house, but wood can be painted in any color if I change the pallette down the road, it has a really heavy and substantial feel, and has a lovely texture. I'm clearly team wooden doors!
Pella has a variety of door options but the Architect Series is the one that is solid wood, so that's the line we got, but it was completely customized for us. I modeled the design off of existing architecture in our home - just like I did for the board and batten. I measured our 100-year-old 5-panel doors to determine the dimensions of panel in the bottom of the new door. Then, I did some math to calculate the appropriate ratios for the four lites and muntins in the top portion. I'm so pleased with how it turned out because it definitely feels like it fits in with the rest of the windows on the back of the house. (Don't get me started on that other door with plexiglass windows, though.)
Pella delivered the door a few days before installation so I could get acquainted with my new love, but mostly so I could paint it. I color matched the existing exterior red and green hues so it would blend with the rest. The exterior was pre-primed, so I slathered on the red paint, then on the interior, I primed and painted the unfinished surface. I used Farrow and Ball's dark tones primer and coated the door in their Off-Black paint in Modern Emulsion. This is the same color I used for the black sashes in our home office, so I carried my love for dark hues to the new door, too.
I still have some touch ups to do this weekend, but I love how the new addition fits the window and door family so nicely. Maybe one day I'll change the color palette on the exterior of the house, but we'll save that for another day!
A crew of amazingly meticulous guys came the following day to cut a hole in the side of my house. The door install went so smoothly, and they also paid really close attention to my existing trim, so both the inside and outside match the rest of the woodwork.
Hot tip: Whenever you remove siding from your house, save it! You'll never know when you'll need it for a patch - especially if you're in an old house and the siding is hard to come by.
Once the door was installed, a locksmith came to drill for the new Emtek hardware. I had my heart set on the pretty round knob of the Mormont Mortise Set since last year and I love it just as much as I imagines. There was really nothing that would change my mind about that round knob and classic hardware - nothing! I'm really into tone on tone lately, so the matte black hardware on my black door makes my heart skip a beat. Plus, I got the hardware with a mortise lock (as opposed to a tubular lock), which is the same style as the rest of the house. Win Win.
The locksmith drilled for the lock on site and I was mesmerized by the process. It really takes watching tradespeople for hours on end to truly appreciate their craft. Now that the hardware is on the door, I open and close it just for the fun of it. I mean it.
Once the door was installed, I turned my attention to the death trap I created for myself. Because the new door was in an entirely new location, there was no decking to walk out onto, only a 1.5 foot drop onto concrete steps. Thus, we needed a safe solution. It was tough to put the time and money into building a new deck knowing that we'll remove it when we relandscape the backyard in a matter of months, but it was a necessary step. Safety first!
I called up a friend of mine who's a handyman and he helped me put the deck together. And when I say "he helped me" I really mean is, "he worked while I got in his way trying to help." Since the deck was only temporary, we didn't do the fanciest construction. I'd give it a solid B+ for a deck, which is pretty good for asking for the cheapest and fastest yet safe option.
I can't decide if I want to stain the deck a natural cedar, or black. What do you think?
Once the decking was finished, I set my eyes on the paint. Wowza, I'm so pleased with how it turned out!
I painted the board and batten in Farrow & Ball's Mole's Breath. It's a charming name and the prettiest of colors. It's a warm grey that changes in the light. It's neither brown, nor pink, nor cold, nor stark. It's the perfect richness that allows the shadow of the board and batten to pop, without it being too high contrast. Basically, its the Goldilocks of paint colors.
The top of the wall is painted in Ammonite, the same hue that I painted on the walls of the office. And the sashes are Off-Black. The walls are painted in Estate Emulsion which has a 2% sheen, and the sashes and door are Modern Emulsion which has a 7% sheen. I lean towards the matte finishes, so I realize many people would up the sheen for their homes, but I love the chalky/velvety finish of Farrow & Ball's Estate Emulsion oh so so much.
I'm so grateful for the friends and family that helped me out this week! Three friends helped me caulk all of the batten seams and my mom put in a day's worth of painting for me. Not to mention, the deck help was superb. Hooray for generous helpers! I had been doing the rest of the ORC solo, so I'm definitely getting tuckered out and appreciate the support. I love being a strong independent DIY gal, but there's definitely no shame in asking for help!
P.S. Isn't my mom's silver hair the prettiest? I can't wait for a full head of grey hair. I think I'll have to wait four decades. Oy.
I still have lots more to do this weekend before the reveal next week. Tomorrow I'm going to roll out my pretty rug that I haven't fully opened since it arrived from eSaleRugs. Then I'm going to plop my new Article bed on top of it and be faced with the decision of which room to sleep in while I continue to finish the master. The electrician is coming to finish up some remaining projects and install my push-button switches, my sconces, and the exterior light. Once the bed is set up, I'll start installing the rest of the room and accessorizing! I can't forget about the backyard, though. My Stori Modern Graphic love seats are anxiously awaiting their new outdoor rug, plants, and accessories. My remaining big project is to install the exterior lighting from Kichler. I'm going to add low-voltage LED ambient lighting along with a few path lights. So far, the this portable lantern that I plan on using as decor has come in handy as a great late-night work light!
Stay tuned the full reveal next week! Be sure to follow along on Instagram Stories where I share live updates and ask for your advice when I can't make choices. ORC products are still arriving, so I'm also giving away sneak peaks in my Stories! Even if you watch the videos on the blog, please subscribe to my YouTube channel to support future videos. If you aren't already subscribed to the blog, you can do that here.
I'd like to give a big thanks to this week's featured sponsors, Pella, Emtek, and Farrow & Ball. They so generously provided product to make this project possible. While many of the products in this makeover were generously provided by brands, all opinions and product selections are my own.
Psst! To jump into the future and see how this room turned out, click here!
Then, check out progress from my fellow featured designers below, and don't miss out on the guest participants!
Apartment 34 | Beginning in the Middle | Coco & Jack | The English Room | The Gold Hive
Gray Malin | Jenna Sue Design | Jojotastic | Kelly Rogers Int. | Linda Holt | Marcus Design
Michelle Gage | Natasha Habermann | The Painted House | Rambling Renovators
Sacramento Street | Shannon Claire | Sketch 42 | Stephanie Kraus | Bisou Style
Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by ORC
This Week's Sources
