Front door spruce-up for Fall

Here is a project I've been putting off for a while...mostly because I knew I would make a big mess and it would take me all day.  I'm slothful like that...

 Our front door is showing wear and tear and needed a facelift!  Inside...

 ...and out.  I know it's hard to tell here, but the hardware is looking shabby and there are scratches on the door jamb.  And I want to just re-plant those firebushes in the yard - they don't like those pots apparently.

 This happened three years ago when we got the new fridge.  And I just never touched it up.  I have no excuse.  The trim paint has been in the garage, willing and able...

 I started this little facelift by removing all the door hardware, kickplate included.  See where my keys hanging in the lock have scraped the door over the years?  I'm going to have to find a new way to keep up with them.

  I layed all of it out in the garage.  Here is my method for painting screws...poke them upright into cardboard.

 I used spray paint and primer by Rustoleum in oil rubbed bronze.  Seems to take longer to dry, but then, it's very humid here lately.

 I wanted the door on the inside to match the frame, so I went with a  basic white in latex enamel.  I had to sand a bit first, then I painted in the grooves with a brush.

 I used a foam roller to go over the flat surfaces.  It took a few coats, hence the all-afternoon nature of this project.  Plus, I gave the hardware a couple of coats, too.

 When it was all dry I reassembled.  Hubby came home to pick up something for work, and to his credit, didn't panic when he saw me struggling to reassemble the door hardware.

 I like the dark hardware against the white.  Looks very neat and clean!  And it actually brightens the space in here.

 The finished inside of the door.  Time to tackle the outside!

I've been itching to decorate for Fall.  But I didn't want to spend a cent.  So I dragged out my old twig wreath and used some faux floral sprays and burlap ribbon.

 

 What a difference a little touch up on the door jamb makes.  And the red bricks got scrubbed a little, as well as the door mat.

 Hi, pretty wreath!  I love you!

Welcome!

Now all that's left to do is sit and sip my wine.  Enough sprucing for one day.

******UPDATE******

Well, that was just a fail, no doubt about it.  The paint never did become un-sticky and the scraping of the keys against the knob made it look terrible.  So I got out my handy dandy sanding block and sanded the rest of the paint off the knob.  Now I wish I had just cleaned it like that to begin with...it's pretty and shiny.  Oh. Well.  Live and learn, I say.

Maybe some day I will get around to replacing the weatherstripping...