Dress Up Your Doorstep
Here are a few ways to bring style to your doorstep without a big budget.
I chose to update all the exterior doors in my home. Schlage door knobs and hardware come in many different styles from classic to modern and in a wide variety of metals – black, bronze, nickel and more. I had a hard time choosing, but since my house is a center hall colonial I chose to stay classic and went with polished brass.
When we decorate our homes, we tend to overlook the doorknobs in the process. We paint, hang new curtains, and add new furniture – but a good percentage of the time – the doorknobs remain. I have redecorated all the rooms in my house at least 3 times each in the past twenty years, but have never changed a doorknob…until now.
They were looking pretty BAD as you can see from my front door. After 20 + years it still works perfectly, but needs a style update.
I first repainted the door, but that process is a whole other post – it was pretty BAD!!! Once the new black paint was dry, I started to dress up my front door with a new door handle, deadbolt, knocker, and kick plate.
Easy to install since the holes were already in place from the old doorknob and kick plate. A little shine makes the door look like the day we moved into the house.
To install the door knocker, I could not use the holes from the existing one since it was front mounted. The new knocker is attached back mounted and luckily it covered the old holes. Filling holes in a metal door is not as easy as a wood door.
Everything I needed to install it was right in the package, even a handy-dandy template to make the placement for drilling the holes a no-brainer.
Knock Knock… Who’s there?
After getting the front door all spiffed up it was time to tackle the other doors.The doorknobs all worked, but were in need of new updated shiny replacements.
I know – gross, right? Even using these doorknobs daily at least 20 times a day…I just didn’t see just how bad they were.
Now they look BEAUTIFUL – all shiny and new. When I grab one now to open a door – they feel so smooth and sleek in my hand as I turn them.
They also look and feel bigger, which I like.
I chose to use the backplates for the deadbolts, too.
When changing all the exterior doorknobs in your home, have them re-keyed so you can use the same key to open all of the doors. Less confusion having to deal with only one key. Home improvement stores sell re-keying kits to do-it-yourself. I took mine to my local hardware store to have it done.
I feel the new door hardware is like adding shiny new jewelry to an old outfit that just needed updated accents. If we end up moving – new door hardware is a must for re-sale so I will have that checked off my list.
When I first moved into my house, the front entrance and foyer did not reflect what Ed and I were about. The area was in need of a clean-up and the doors were in need of paint or replacement.
I couldn’t wait to get it set right, even though everyone that comes to my home knows that I am a DIYer and there are always “in process home improvement or decor projects” going on so I shouldn’t worry as that is who I am and part of a first impression.
Even knowing this I still wanted the first spaces visitor see would reflect us, not the previous owners.
I was happy when we finally created an entry we liked by painting the doors to look like wood grain, adding a slat wall, and most recently added a wire and wood railing to the porch.
