Stacy Risenmay

Do-it-yourself projects and Home Decor

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My Front Door: Before and After

By Stacy 47 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 47 Comments

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  1. Shawna says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:29 am

    What!? No sanding?! It looks fantabulous!

    Reply
  4. Dee in N.H. says

    April 5, 2011 at 10:04 am

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

    Reply
  5. Nicolette @ Momnivore's Dilemma says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 2011 at 12:44 pm

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

    Reply
  9. GaMtnScrap says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 2011 at 1:27 pm

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

    Reply
  13. Jester says

    April 5, 2011 at 1:28 pm

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

    Reply
  14. Brandi says

    April 5, 2011 at 1:29 pm

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

    Reply
  15. Ritkiss says

    April 5, 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. says

    April 5, 2011 at 2:14 pm

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

    Reply
  17. Kelli @ RTSM says

    April 5, 2011 at 2:30 pm

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

    Reply
  18. laxsupermom says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 2011 at 5:36 pm

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

    Reply
  22. ButterYum says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm

    Amazing!

    Reply
  25. Tanya says

    April 5, 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 says

    April 6, 2011 at 12:10 am

    Simply beautiful…

    Reply
  27. Jaime says

    April 6, 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 says

    April 6, 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 says

    April 6, 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 says

    April 6, 2011 at 5:41 pm

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

    Reply
  31. Amanda Leonard says

    April 6, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    Awesome! Looks brilliant.

    Reply
  32. Jayna Rae says

    April 7, 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 says

    April 7, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    Looks wonderful major difference! I love it!

    Reply
  34. phasejumper says

    April 8, 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} says

    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 says

    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 says

    April 16, 2011 at 9:36 am

    Much better! I love the shape of the door.

    Reply
  38. Kelly says

    April 16, 2011 at 4:18 pm

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

    Reply
  39. Terry says

    April 16, 2011 at 7:25 pm

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

    Reply
  40. linda @ craftaholics anonymous says

    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 says

    May 2, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  42. Lesley says

    May 3, 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 says

    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 says

      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 says

    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 says

    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 says

    September 2, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    what a difference.

    Reply
stacyWelcome to my blog where I share my adventures of fixing up our tiny 1938 cottage. Whether it is big or small, I think everyone should love their home and I don't think it takes a lot of money to make a space your own.
 

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