Message from Maggie:  I love living on Capitol Hill where every house is unique.  All of the houses on our block have different doors and entry ways, but the combination of ours is my favorite because it lets a lot of light in.

However, the previous owners of 1412 had dogs that scratched up the front door.  Following along the pattern to do a little project each weekend to improve our home and make it a little more modern, I took on refinishing and painting our front door this weekend. This was bigger than a little project but has given our entry way a fresher, more modern feeling.

What you need:

• Work bench
• ScotchBlue painters tape
• Primer
• Sander
• Sandpaper
• 3m Sanding sponges
• Paint (we used Semigloss)
• Optional: New shade

Instructions:

1. Remove door from hinges.  Note: Given our door was mostly glass it is heavy so this is a two person job!
2. Place outside on work bench.
3. Tape along any glass areas making sure not to leave any gaps.
4. Paint primer on front of door and let it dry.
5. Once front of door is dry, flip door over and prime back of door.
6. After back of door dries, you can begin sanding.
7. Sand back of door with sander and then use sandpaper sponges to get tough to reach areas.
8. Clean sand off with wet rag.$1
9. Flip to front of door and sand with sander before using sandpaper sponges to get tough to reach areas.
10. Clean sand off with wet rag and let it dry.
11. Paint front of door and let it dry.
12. Flip to back of door and paint.
13. Once is dry, put door back on hinges.  Again this required two people in our case!
14. Then remove tape pulling it towards you.
15. If you miss spots go around with a small brush and fill in.
16. If paint gets on glass use a bade to carefully scrape it off.

Cost:

While this job was relatively free for us given we had the materials on hand it comes to about $50 total if you needed to buy all the supplies.

• ScotchBlue Painters tape: $3
• Primer: We had left over from previous paint jobs but you can get this at any hardware or paint store for about $7 for a small can.
• Sander: We borrowed a sander from our next door neighbor but these cost about $25 at a hardware store.
• Sandpaper: Sandpaper runs you about $1.50 for a 5-10 pack which is what I used to complete this door.
• 3M sanding sponges: $2.
• Semigloss: We had left over from previous paint jobs but you can get this at any hardware or paint store for around $15.
• Optional:  We added a new shade which was about $30 at Home Depot.

Instructions:

1. Remove door from hinges. Note: Given our door was mostly glass it is heavy so this is a two person job!
2. Place outside on work bench.
3. Tape along any glass areas making sure not to leave any gaps.
4. Paint primer on front of door and let it dry.
5. Once front of door is dry, flip door over and prime back of door.
6. After back of door dries, you can begin sanding.
7. Sand back of door with sander and then use sandpaper sponges to get tough to reach areas.
8. Clean sand off with wet rag.
9. Flip to front of door and sand with sander before using sandpaper sponges to get tough to reach areas.
10. Clean sand off with wet rag and let it dry.
11. Paint front of door and let it dry.
12. Flip to back of door and paint.
13. Once is dry, put door back on hinges. Again this required two people in our case!
14. Then remove tape pulling it towards you.
15. If you miss spots go around with a small brush and fill in.
16. If paint gets on glass use a bade to carefully scrape it off.
17. Add a new shade.

Photographs: