To welcome the start of my home series on this blog, I thought I would share with you all how I gave my front door a budget makeover in just 2 days! If you’re after a ‘wow’ uPVC door transformation that costs less than £100, then you’re in the right place, my friends.
Before 
After
From the moment we moved into our 1950’s dream house (just 3 weeks ago may I add), I knew straight away that my first DIY project would be the front door. The plain jane, outdated white uPVC door.
Although technically there was nothing wrong with our front door, it lacked personality and it certainly wasn’t to both of our tastes. In fact, if we had the budget, we would have just brought a brand new one, but with it being one of the last jobs on the list, it certainly wasn’t a priority.
So that’s where my (lack of) DIY skills came in!
Originally, I wanted to paint the front door black, but Doug disagreed saying it would make the porch area look dark and unwelcoming. So we took a poll to Instagram (follow me here) and Doug’s suggested colour, sage, won fair and square. And actually, after a walk around the block to eye-up our fellow neighbours front doors, I quickly came around to the idea of a sage door.
DIY: Front Door Makeover On A Budget
The first job was to pick a paint colour we both agreed on. Again, Doug and I couldn’t decide on the right tone of sage, so we took another poll to Instagram to help us choose between Lick Green 09 Exterior or Lick Green 02 Exterior paint. I got my creative flair on and actually coloured in our front door on my iPad using Procreate. This meant I was able to colour pick the correct colour from each paint just by saving the photo from Lick’s website, inserting it into ProCreate and using the colour picker tool. I then painted it onto a picture of our front door. I highly recommend doing the same if you have an iPad or a similar app on your laptop, it really helps you visualise your finished front door!
Anyway, we ended up choosing Lick Green 09 Exterior paint (my pick) because the darker tones complimented the existing white window panes and brickwork.
Steps to transform your uPVC front door:
- Begin by giving your uPVC front door a good clean with soapy warm water. Some articles and websites will tell you to buy a certain product to prep your front door with, but I didn’t bother as our front door was fairly clean after a recent window cleaner visit.
- Remove the door handle and letterbox (I had to leave my letterbox on as it was glued to the door and Doug wasn’t around to help remove it)
- Using a fine sand paper, carefully sand the entire door. Well, the bits you’re going to paint anyway.
- Tape around the window pane and anything else that you don’t want paint getting onto.
- Stir the paint! Don’t make the beginner’s mistake that I did and realise on coat 3 that you need to stir the paint *face palm*.
- Pour your chosen paint into a tray.
- Start painting! Because I painted on a cool October day, I painted each coat quite lightly so it would dry quicker. Although this meant more coats, it did mean I could do a coat per hour and finish up before it got dark!
- Using Lick Green 02 Exterior paint, I ended up doing 4 coats (but I’m pretty sure that’s also because I forgot to stir the paint at the start). Typically though, you might only need to apply 2-3 coats.
- Once dry, re-insert door handles and letterbox.
But Hannah, what about a primer?! This is a question I research a lot before I painted my uPVC front door. But after asking Lick for their advice, they simply told me that a primer isn’t needed with their exterior paint, even on uPVC doors. The only prep they advised was to clean the front door and sand it down. Other than that, I was good to go. Which was pretty great actually as it meant we ended up saving £20 on a boring primer!
Lick Green 02 Exterior Paint Review
As for the paint, and minus my hiccup at the start, I actually really enjoyed painting with Lick Green 02* [pr product]. It was lovely to paint with, gave great coverage, and Doug and I are over the moon with the finished result. It looks exactly like I thought it would and our finished uPVC door looks a lot less plastic now too, which is a lovely added bonus! It’s almost like the finished paint gives the door a wood-like look.
I also love the fact that Lick’s paint is eco-friendly and chemical-free, even down to their packaging too. When it comes to painting the house inside (once the big renovation begins), I think we’ll definitely be using Lick. Not just because of their eco-friendly approach, but because of the fact that their paints are free from harmful chemicals, which is a must for me right now when it comes to taking care of my hormones. I also like to think I’m not breathing in chemicals while sitting in front of the TV too?!
uPVC Front Door Makeover
Overall, the transformation of our tired and outdated uPVC front door took a day and a half. If it wasn’t for the time of the year and the coolness of the weather (oh and the fact I forgot to stir the bloody paint), I totally would have finished it in a day. But, oh well! An extra coat the morning after didn’t provide too much of a hassle and by midday the next day the handles were back on and the door was done!
What we brought to transform our uPVC front door:
- Lick Green 02 Exterior Paint – £38
- Chrome finished door handle from ScrewFix – £21.99
- Chrome letterbox from Wickes – £25.40
- Total cost of front door makeover transformation: £85.39
Bearing in mind this is the final cost because we already had our paintbrushes, sandpaper and a paint tray to use, so if you’ve got the everyday renovation essentials, then the above price should be a rough estimate of how much it will cost you to renovate your uPVC front door in the UK. Not bad huh considering a brand new front door can cost anything from £800 – £2,000?! Or even higher if you’ve got expensive taste like me, ekk!
To finish the transformation, Doug surprised me on Saturday afternoon (while I was actually in hospital having surgery) with a gorgeous Autumn wreath from Smell The Roses and my-much talked about olive trees! I mean, he even chose the right kind of pots too. I’m telling you guys, this one is a keeper – but I knew that anyway! Of course, it goes without saying that these finishing touches really help elevate the transformation, but again it just goes to show how a few simple changes can completely transform your front door/porch area without spending a fortune.
I’d love to know what you think?! Has this convinced you to paint your front door? Let me know in the comments below!
*PS, this blog post contains a pr product but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Pstt, you might like this post too: How To Furnish An Empty Room
1 comment
Love this. Did you leave the inside white ?