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    My Front Door: Before and After

    By Stacy 48 Comments

    My front door is my favorite thing about my house. I LOVE that it is the original door to my 1938 home and I LOVE that it is rounded. I love that it is solid wood. Thick and strong. But I did NOT love the orange color of the wood. I held off on doing anything at first because I didn't want to take it down and have to sand it clear down to the bare wood. And then after awhile I just got so use to looking at it that I forgot it was orange. Well, Better Homes and Gardens coming to my house changed things! I suddenly saw my house with new eyes and I realized the orange had to go.

     

    Somewhere along the time when we bought our house and now, I found out about Gel Stain. You don't have to sand it completely down to the bare wood. In fact, you don't have to sand at all! I am planning on writing a whole post devoted to staining but until then you can see my clip from Good Things Utah HERE.

    (affiliate link)

    And here you go!!! No more orange :) I love the dark rich walnut. They have 10 different colors in Gel stain. You certainly don't have to use a color this dark. I sealed the inside using polyurethane and the outside of the door using Helmsman.

    Do you know what else I LOVE about my front door??? I have the original key! And it works!!! I framed it and put it on my side table in my front room.

     

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    Filed Under: DIY & Tutorials, Staining Tagged With: before and after, dark stain, front door, gel stain, key framed, minwax, original key 48 Comments

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shawna

      April 05, 2011 at 5:50 am

      I can't wait for your post on staining. I need to strip and stain my front door. I LOVE that dark color!!

      Reply
    2. DeniseAngela

      April 05, 2011 at 6:01 am

      Thanks for the inspiration....I too have a similar door but with original inlaid carvings of hearts & flowers! Yours looks great!

      Reply
    3. Vivienne @ the V Spot

      April 05, 2011 at 6:29 am

      What!? No sanding?! It looks fantabulous!

      Reply
    4. Dee in N.H.

      April 05, 2011 at 10:04 am

      Your door is beautiful! and no sanding? How cool is that!?

      Reply
    5. Nicolette @ Momnivore's Dilemma

      April 05, 2011 at 11:35 am

      What a luscious-looking front door! That dark stain really makes it POP.

      Mi casa was built back in 1938 too. We don't have a rounded front door {but I do have rounded door ways and an arch in my master bath}...

      Reply
    6. Terry

      April 05, 2011 at 11:37 am

      Wow,...what a transformation. I love the new colour. It goes so well with your other wood tones and the brick. Gorgeous!!

      Reply
    7. Randi

      April 05, 2011 at 11:59 am

      Amazing door ... I love that it's round. The new paint job looks fantastic. Love what you did with the window and I LOVE that you have the original key!

      Reply
    8. Rachel

      April 05, 2011 at 12:44 pm

      I love the new door! I love that dark color! :)

      Reply
    9. GaMtnScrap

      April 05, 2011 at 1:19 pm

      I love the door! I wish I had a cool amazing wood front door, but it's the standard run-of-the-mill metal door. Would gel stain stick to metal?

      I'm patiently waiting on the tutorial about gel stain. I'm thinking about redoing my kitchen cabinets (which are, oddly enough, the same orangey color as your front door was), but wowzer, there's soooo many of them! I've put it off simply because of the amount of sanding I'd have to do. You're giving me hope that maybe it don't have to be that bad??? (Oh, gosh, please please tell me it won't be!) ;)

      Reply
    10. GaMtnScrap

      April 05, 2011 at 1:20 pm

      Okay, I just went and looked again at the gel stain can and it says right on there, "for metal". Doh....my bad! But, that's good news!

      Reply
    11. Mandy @ Sugar Bee Crafts

      April 05, 2011 at 1:22 pm

      I want to do my cabinets - this gel stain could be a dream come true- really, no sanding?? Do you wipe the stain off after you apply it?? I see this in my future!

      Reply
    12. The Miller Five

      April 05, 2011 at 1:27 pm

      LOVE it! Your new door looks gorgeous! I dig the rounded look...too cool.

      Reply
    13. Jester

      April 05, 2011 at 1:28 pm

      Definately the right color if you ask me!!! I love dark wood, & that door looks gorgeous!

      Reply
    14. Brandi

      April 05, 2011 at 1:29 pm

      Your front door is Beautiful! Thanks for Gel stain tip!

      Reply
    15. Ritkiss

      April 05, 2011 at 1:34 pm

      Amazing, I love the key framed, we have an old key and we want to do something like that with it.

      Reply
    16. Brandy J.

      April 05, 2011 at 2:14 pm

      AMAZING transformation and I love the framed key -- such a nice touch!

      Reply
    17. Kelli @ RTSM

      April 05, 2011 at 2:30 pm

      Great makeover! I love the darker color and fun that you have the original key:)

      Reply
    18. laxsupermom

      April 05, 2011 at 2:31 pm

      Wow! Love the new color! And I love that you didn't have to sand it down to get it there. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    19. Mary @ Redo101.blogspot.com

      April 05, 2011 at 2:35 pm

      Wow, what a beautiful "new" door! Love the stain color you chose, and really love the framed key! thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    20. Krista

      April 05, 2011 at 2:35 pm

      What a difference! I love the darker color. Where did you find the key? That's very cool.

      Reply
    21. Carmie of the Single Nester

      April 05, 2011 at 5:36 pm

      You did a great job on your front door. May only nice people enter!

      Reply
    22. ButterYum

      April 05, 2011 at 5:43 pm

      What a fantastic change... it's amazing what a little stain can do to transform an object. Love that you framed the key too - great touch!

      :)
      ButterYum

      Reply
    23. Jenni

      April 05, 2011 at 5:56 pm

      it is beautitful and i love that you have the key and it still works!

      Reply
    24. LP aka A Crafty Southern Chick

      April 05, 2011 at 6:39 pm

      Amazing!

      Reply
    25. Tanya

      April 05, 2011 at 11:17 pm

      Looks amazing. That's exactly the color I was thinking about using for my kitchen table...now I'm sure about it. Turned out great =)

      Reply
    26. Jessica @ My World - Made By Hand

      April 06, 2011 at 12:10 am

      Simply beautiful...

      Reply
    27. Jaime

      April 06, 2011 at 5:17 am

      Great job!! And that framed key is just adorable!! I'd love for you to link up to Wow Me Wednesday!!

      http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/

      Reply
    28. Mandy @ Sugar Bee Crafts

      April 06, 2011 at 5:32 pm

      Thanks for linking to Take A Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts - I featured you today! - Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com

      Reply
    29. nykki and erik

      April 06, 2011 at 5:36 pm

      I want to do my kitchen table... would this stain work and whats the best way to do the chairs?

      Reply
    30. Lei

      April 06, 2011 at 5:41 pm

      I love your door... I have always wanted a rounded front door!

      Reply
    31. Amanda Leonard

      April 06, 2011 at 5:44 pm

      Awesome! Looks brilliant.

      Reply
    32. Jayna Rae

      April 07, 2011 at 6:20 am

      I really love front doors. I think that they can be so beautiful. I love the shape of yours, and your new added touches are great!!! Thanks for sharing with the world.

      Reply
    33. Comeca Jones

      April 07, 2011 at 6:44 pm

      Looks wonderful major difference! I love it!

      Reply
    34. phasejumper

      April 08, 2011 at 12:52 pm

      That's awesome! I want our front door to be black, but the thought of sanding all those nooks and crannies (shudder)....

      Reply
    35. heather {WhipperBerry}

      April 15, 2011 at 5:42 pm

      Oh my stars... I want a front door that looks like that. Seriously, I would buy the house just for that!!

      kisses
      heather

      Reply
    36. Chris

      April 16, 2011 at 2:54 am

      AWESOME. I have always had a secret wish for a rounded front door. The stain was just what it needed.

      Reply
    37. shabbylisaw

      April 16, 2011 at 9:36 am

      Much better! I love the shape of the door.

      Reply
    38. Kelly

      April 16, 2011 at 4:18 pm

      wow, looks great! and I love that you framed the key!

      Reply
    39. Terry

      April 16, 2011 at 7:25 pm

      Your door looks so good now. And the bonus? That key!

      Reply
    40. linda @ craftaholics anonymous

      April 21, 2011 at 8:19 pm

      Looks great! love the color you picked!

      gave it a thumbs up! sorry I missed this one earlier. with links in 5 different emails, I lost track of what ones i had and had not Stumbled yet. hopefully this next week we'll be a little more organized!

      happy crafting!
      Linda

      Reply
    41. Just Jaime

      May 02, 2011 at 7:30 pm

      Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    42. Lesley

      May 03, 2011 at 6:08 pm

      What a beautiful change, I would love to hear more about that project, I have several wood things I am thinking of changing up but staining has always seemed a little scary to me!

      Reply
    43. Ange B

      June 22, 2011 at 9:12 am

      I have a question I hope you have time to help me with. I have been thinking about restaining our sun bleached front door and your website has inspired me to go ahead with this (that clicking noise is me chewing my nails off at the thought of this). Here is my question, I've decided to use the gel stain. If I choose not to sand my door 1st should I still use a pre-conditioner?
      Thanks so much!
      Ange

      Reply
      • Stacy

        June 22, 2011 at 9:40 am

        Wood conditioner is usually for raw wood (Wood that hasn't been stained or painted yet). If your front door has cracks from the sun damage, you will need to fill those with stainable wood putty. Elmers and minwax both have some. If the door is rough, it would be a good idea to sand it a little with a fine grit sand paper (150 or 220 grit). You wouldn't need to sand clear down to the bare wood, just so it is smoother. Then you can stain it with the gel stain. I always recommend practicing on scrap wood first to get the feel of the gel stain. It is thick and a little harder to work with than regular stain. And use a foam brush. Good luck!!! I would love to see the before and after pictures :)

        Reply
    44. Cheryl

      August 10, 2012 at 8:19 am

      I want an easy way to sand my white kitchen cabinets down and stain them a dark stain. Any suggestions? It took me an hour to sand one door. At that rate I'll never get it done.

      Reply
    45. Michelle Blanchard

      July 12, 2014 at 10:57 pm

      Hey:) You are amazing! I am doing my front door with the same product and wondering why u had to use a different protective layer on the outside?

      Reply
    46. kathy kitchen

      September 02, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      what a difference.

      Reply
    47. Kylie Mawdsley

      November 11, 2020 at 1:54 pm

      HI! I just wanted to let you know that I found your site via Pinterest, but when I clicked on it, it took me to a 'confirm you're not a robot' thing that felt spammy and then a PDF download. Instead, I just googled your website independently and got in. I'm not sure if you have that in place for security (btw, it scared me) or if you even know it's there!
      You've put so much work in your website, I don't want others being put off visiting it if this wasn't your set-up :).
      ~Kylie

      Reply

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    stacyHey! I'm Stacy and am a DIY addict. I love to get my hands dirty, whether it's sawdust, paint, or dirt. My goal is to help YOU learn to fix up your home and yard. No matter the style or size, I think everyone should love their home. And it doesn't takes a big budget to get there. Let's DIY together!

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