Home makeover: How we helped homeowners add color to their entryway

If you fear selecting the ‘wrong’ color, we’ve got a few tips to get you started in this home makeover.

I love color.

Just like with music there’s intention and skill involved in its execution, any shade can be beautiful. Some colors perform best in small doses, and some need to a wide berth to really sing.

And honestly, the colors that make you smile are always the best colors for you.

That’s exactly what I shared with homeowners Marne and George.

They have been updating their house, inside-and-out, since they moved in a few years ago. And it looks fantastic. The only thing is that they are afraid of color. Most everything inside and out was black, white, and greige.

For a couple as lively and personable as they, the exterior of the home fell short of expressing the personality of the homeowners.

We wanted to not only help them with a home makeover their entryway to make it more thermally efficient and attractive with a door from our friends at Therma-Tru doors, but we also wanted to show them how to select color.

I always say that the answer to ‘What should I paint my house,’ is always with you. It’s like Dorothy’s ruby red slippers in the Wizard of Oz. You just have to know where to look for the answer. And just like Dorothy, I looked at Marne’s shoes, her nail polish, little details in her home. And the color story was obvious to me. They loved this shade of green-blue. It was in wall art, her hand bag, a bowl on their kitchen island. It was a color that appeared in almost every room I stepped in. So I thought why not carry that color to the front door.

Marne and George were definitely interested in trying out color for this mini home makeover , but were nervous. So nervous that when the door finally arrived they were still worried that they might not like it. But after we installed the new door, with the more formal Fypon trimwork, they were ecstatic. The new decorative Blacktone glass has added so much light to the entryway that George thought his door was open when he work up the next morning.

I also spent about $100 adding a few more modern-looking planters, an outdoor rug, and few pops of color from Fypon rosettes that are weather-resisitant.

Even though all we changed was the door and the entryway accessories and didn’t do an entire home makeover, when Marne shared a photo with a friend, her friend had thought they had bought a new home.

I think that tells a lot about what just making a few changes can do to the overall impact of a home’s curb appeal.

Theresa

A handy designer and writer, she shares DIY projects, tool how-to, and home makeovers as a book author, home show speaker, DIY workshop coach, and radio host. Plus, she has a degree in journalism with a minor in architecture, and is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPs) and certified color consultant. She's created fast-paced makeovers for TV shows, and shares home trends and DIY tips as a freelance writer and guest on news shows and satellite media tours for TV and radio.

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