Okay, so I know that’s a totally ridiculous statement as it’s not like we’ve been living without one for the last 9 months but it has gone through such a transformation that it feels like it’s all shiny and new as it now looks like this!
As we aren’t allowed to paint the outside of the front of the door we figured we’d at least have some fun on the inside.
The biggest change we made to our door, however, isn’t the colour, it’s the panelling – which is also the reason that it’s taken us almost 9 months to make a decision on what to do with the door.
I know this sounds like we overthink every decision we make (and we probably do!) but this one was particularly difficult as the door had been boarded up.
You’re probably thinking “Why don’t they just remove the board?”. Well, we did in our last home and we almost did here, too but the reason the board is there isn’t a decorative one, it’s for security.
The original panels of the front door are, in parts at least, very thin so the board (it’s made of steel) covering the door serves as a strengthening barrier and will stop anyone kicking the door down.
Although I think that it’s really unlikely that it would ever happen, it would probably be mad to remove any kind of security feature which is why we ultimately decided to keep it – although I’ll admit that I changed my mind about 20 times!
As you can see, we didn’t leave the door completely flat and bland though as we added panelling on top of the steel board!
It may not be quite the same as having lovely original features but it definitely makes the door look more in keeping with the style of the rest of the apartment.
The front door already looked much better after attaching the outer panels which are moulded timber strips that I cut to size with our mitre saw (you could use a fine saw and mitre box) but we wanted the door to match the style of our other doors which is why we also added flat rectangular panels (made out of 3mm HDF board) in the centre of each panel, too.
Given that we had to attach the timber moulding to the steel sheet, we obviously couldn’t nail them in place so just glued them to the door with some super strong adhesive.
A bit of filler and caulk later, you really wouldn’t know that the panels hadn’t always been there.
As always, choosing a colour turned out to be the most difficult part of the project and if you follow us over on Instagram (you totally should be!) you’ll already know that I had more than just a slight wobble when it came to our colour choice! I was just so indecisive and there are just way too many amazing colours to choose from!
But choosing a colour in our hallway is really difficult as there’s almost no natural light. We wanted something colourful and vibrant enough to cope with the low light conditions which definitely turned out to be more difficult than expected.
We originally started to paint it a lovely pale blue (you can read about the colour scheme plans for our whole apartment here) but decided that it just wasn’t vibrant enough to cope with the low light conditions – even if it was called Pale Berlin!
In the end, we opted for Babouche by Farrow & Ball. It’s a really lovely vibrant shade of yellow which still has a lovely warm feel. It’s super colourful and works really well in our otherwise bland hallway.
The colourful front door already goes a long way towards making our hallway more inviting, even if it is still a really bland space (you’ll have to excuse the new worktops balancing against the wall – they were just too heavy for me to move on my own before taking the picture).
Our sanded and oiled floor, as well as the new molecular light fitting, are already a huge improvement but my favourite feature in here – apart from our newly painted front door, of course – is the curved wall (just behind our new worktops) which we’d somehow like to enhance but I have no idea just how yet.
I totally admit that I’m not sure if we’ll keep the colour forever. I do like it now that it’s done but we might change it when we get round to sorting the rest of the hallway.
What colour is your front door? Do you think we were right to keep the steel plate and fake the panelling? Do you have any suggestions on what to do with our curved wall?
Nico says
Schöne Tür! Habt ihr die mdf-panele in fase gesägt oder einfach so?
Und mal eine ganz plumpe frage: mit was für berufen könnt ihr euch das eigentlich leisten so schöne Wohnungen etc zu kaufen? Grüße
Christine says
Danke, Nico! Die Panele sind nur 3mm dick, daher haben wir sie einfach gerade geschnitten. Die Panele in den original Türen in unserer Wohnung haben auch gerade Kanten und somit passt alles zusammen.
Cx
Deedublin says
Lovely! Can’t wait to see your updated kitchen too!!
Christine says
Thank you! We’re still busy working on the kitchen but we’re sooo close to finishing now. We finally ordered a new oven and hob yesterday (after a load of complicated back and forth) and I spent almost all week stripping and sanding the old fridge under the window to get it ready for repainting. It’s amazing how much DIY you can get done when your internet (and TV) are down for 4 days!!
Cx
Diane says
The paneling is a huge improvement and looks as if it’s always been there! Not sure the yellow would be my first choice (the brass hardware doesn’t stand out against it), but hey, it’s bright and cheery and it’s easy enough to paint over it later if you decide to. Now you can wait and see how the space evolves. Definitely so much better than before!
Christine says
Thank you, Diane! I’m really pleased with the panelling, too. I like the yellow now that it’s done but I’m not sure that it’ll be our forever choice. The brass hardware is actually due to be replaced in the next couple of weeks so I completely ignored it when choosing a colour.
All in all, I think we’re going to live with it for a while and, like you say, it’s only a door so not too much work to repaint in the future.
Cx
Flo says
I love that yellow pop of colour, it brings sunshine in your hallway!
Christine says
Thanks, Flo! We could definitely do with more sunshine with the grey winter weather at the moment – I guess our door will have to do for now!
Cx
Sarah Belcher says
That looks so good! I love the molding and that you added the flat panels in the middle!
Christine says
Aww, thanks! I’m really pleased with how the moulding turned out. If you compare it to our other doors you really wouldn’t know that it’s not original.
Cx
Lucy says
I love it! Love love love it. So bright and a fantastic pop of colour against the white walls and ceiling! X
Christine says
Thank you so much, Lucy! I have to admit that I’m still not 100% convinced but it’s growing on me. It’s definitely a statement! ;)
Cx