blue note: before & after

im feeling pretty lucky to finally a landlord that is open to paint colors and other home projects! this weekend i tackled the door out to the patio - it is also the entrance we will use when entertaining and its viewable from both the patio and the living room when we have just the screen door open -

it was in pretty bad condition and probably hadnt been painted in a few years (like 8) also, no one had bothered to paint around the door hardware so it was also covered in layers of grimy off whiteish paint. 

first order of business was to get to the screws which were under said layers - a few goes of citristrip (*this stuff is miraculous and you can find it at lowes) and i could just about get to the screws to get the hardware off. after that was done i put the door knob and plate in a bath of stripper and just let it do its thing.

next i washed and lightly sanded the door to prep it for new paint & taped off the windows. its a bit of work but its worth it in the end. a few coats of benjamen moores exterior low luster finish in "blue note" & voila - new door! 

 oh! and i was thrilled to find nice old brass under all that paint, doesnt the doorknob look great - i sometimes feel badly about polishing old metal, like silver and copper, because the patina is so wonderful after so long but i never feel that way with brass - the older it is the more gorgeous and muted the color and texture - so a bit of brasso and a serious arm work out and the hardware was glistening. 

what do you think? now im wondering if i should paint the screen door too? and im thinking those steps need a new coat of white