Home accessories: Renovation Diary: Painting Doors

I did it.

I painted the garage doors.

At first, I loved them, but now something feels..."off."

No, it's not my dented middle door.

A rubber mallet can knock out some of the damage.

The inspiration photo on Houzz has a shiny black door; mine are less glossy. Hmmm. This is easily fixed, right?

The inspiration photo also has a dormer window--and the trim on that window is the same color of the painted brick.

Source: Traditional Garage And Shed design by Atlanta General Contractor ESD Homes

Uh-oh. I forgot the rules.

Forgot a fundamental matching rule.

Be consistent.

Damn, I always forget something.

Why didn't the designer of this house forget? :-)

Traditional Exterior design by Other Metro Design-build Ronald Sauve

This trim on this house is consistent, too.

Traditional Exterior design by Philadelphia Design-build Lasley Brahaney Architecture + Construction

Let's take another "before" look.
White dormers. White doors.
Classic look.

And the "after."

Some people love it, some don't.

My husband pretty much loves the doors. A few family members made no comment. One offered a strained, beat-too-late, "Yeah! Looks good!" :-)

As for me? Truthfully?

I'm not loving the dormer. It sticks out like a temporary dental cap--a blinding expanse of whiteness in a dingy mouth.

So now the "rules" are running together.

Do I paint my no-paint siding?

Start looking at grayish shingles?

Options:

1. Paint the siding.

2. And use a glossier finish on the doors.

3. Put shingles on the dormer.

4. Leave it alone and wait for a bigger dormer.

If I choose option 1 or 3,
do I apply it to the garage dormer only?
Won't that look weird? What about design consistency?

I will not paint the dormers on the front of the house!

True, I have a dark gray front door, but the creamy trim works with the dormers (well, it does now...but I don't have an updated photo).

Is my little garage dormer a big faux pas problem?
Is it big?
If I don't give a flip about a dented garage door, why fret over a dormer? Why worry about an inconsistent exterior color scheme?

Well, I care because I'm design obsessed.
I would not be "me" if I didn't care a little. But just a little.
I mean, it's not a stomach virus or broken power lines. It's paint.

Sure, mistakes happen; when you start painting, one thing always leads to another. Blah, blah, blah.

The only problem is, these mistakes/changes usually empty the coffers.

But I am thinking ahead.
I'm thinking about the room inside that dormer window. If you peeked in, you'd see a bonus space, a small window, and another dormer. Off to the side is a 1/2 bath.

The roof's pitch makes it difficult to use the area if you're taller than 5'2". So my plan is to blow out the dormer and add more windows. My contractor, Mike, will figure out the roof line and structural stuff.

I am envisioning a bigger dormer.

Traditional Exterior design by Milwaukee General Contractor Roger Moraga

The small, unusable bonus space

could turn into something like this:

Source: Marvin Windows

Of course, we won't be blowing out dormers soon. I've got to get those visions of sugarplums out of my head, because we're still working on the kitchen (and that project has moved along effortlessly, thanks to Mike and his team).