After the renovation this summer, we were down to the small jobs and I had my contractor make me a new board for the house numbers. I couldn’t move the location of the board because it was imbedded in the vinyl siding.
Changing the heinous light fixture made a big difference. And of course painting my front door green. Here is what it looks like inside my house.
Before
After I had a new, white painted board for my house numbers I started shopping for oil-rubbed bronze numbers.
They were no-where to be found. Not in the size I needed anyway.
When I casually mentioned this to my designer friend Jan Romanuk she said ‘Maria just spray paint the brass ones the colour you want’.
Duh.
How many times have I suggested this to clients? How to enhance the curb appeal of your house is always a big piece of every exterior colour consultation I do.
It’s so funny that it did not occur to me to do the same.
After
So here are my freshly painted house numbers. I am especially attached to the little terra cotta gnome in the corner. I like cute and quirky objects.
And I know you are going to give me a hard time for keeping the storm door and trust me, if my house was higher end looking I would remove it but I have decided I like having the front door open and suddenly having an extra window.
Here’s where brass numbers work perfectly:
But if you need to give your house some life, just like I did, paint them brown or black. I just used some espresso exterior trim paint I already had so they didn’t even need to be spray painted.
What colour are your house numbers?
Are you following me on Facebook? We are on Day 24 of my 37 Days of Learning Undertones Series.
Related posts:
Maria’s Kelly Green Front Door
Ten Best Front Door Colours for your House
The Most Overlooked Colour for Exteriors
Download my eBook, How to Choose Paint Colours: It’s All in the Undertones to learn what you did not get in Colour Theory.
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Just have to love a quick no-cost fix! They look great–may have to reconsider and paint my black house numbers bronze!
love the green door, the oil bronzes numbers,
the storm not so much just not on par
with everything else you do that said
there is not a money tree growing in my yard
either Maria.
looks beautiful, as always! I painted our white front door flamingo pink a few years ago, I think it brought the whole house to life. Seeing this, I’m now thinking about painting the bronze house numbers white…hmmm…
I must admit when I saw the storm door I was surprised you left it. But there is something wonderful about the extra light they bring to the front of a house. I don’t have one, but my house would look silly with it (it’s a classic Tudor)
Love the numbers – it sure makes a difference against the lighter vinyl.
We have the hated storm doors too…but with a full length glass panel. The light is nice but with the first day above 40 we switch out the glass for a screen. The breeze blows thru the house and is just the BEST thing ever! When you can switch the door to a full panel, best thing ever.
I have a friend who moved to her new home that had horrible front doors. She bought a fairly expensive Anderson storm door that was a rich green. Then she bought a pretty wood door and had it professionally painted the same green as the storm door. The two doors now read as “one.” I think it really works.
I think this is a GREAT idea! Paint the storm door the same color as your door! It will make a huge difference. That white storm door ruins the look of your beautiful GREEN DOOR. <3
Love the numbers. The door would have looked fabulous painted expresso as well! Can’t say I like the green.
Quite a few of my clients have had storm doors and want to keep them. I just suggest they switch the old fashioned ones out to full view so it’s just a frame and glass rather than (often) solid at the bottom and a window at the top. Really like the unexpected green door.
Hi Maria-
I got bronze years ago from restoration hardware and they were lovely and come in a variety of fonts.
But for my house now, I special ordered from ravenstone tiles and I love love love my brick red tile house number.
We moved into a different house this year. I liked the black house numbers and black entryway light (against the pale green vinyl siding) but absolutely hated the red door the former owners had! As soon as it was painted a green I custom mixed from two SW colors, the house came to life!
Like you Maria, I would love to remove the screen door too but we like the door open on nice days.You can see the transformation here. But remember, this was done in early springtime here in ND so the flower bed is still bare 🙂
http://cndesigns.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/what-color-can-do-to-an-exterior-room/
Maria, hate the storm doors too just like I hated the screened security doors everyone put up on their homes in Sun City West for the same reason (light and, in our case, breeze). I think just about all of us, whether we’re conscious of it or not, crave light and most traditional homes all over the country have limited light coming in from the front (probably some designer-conceived privacy thing). Our solutions are the best for us wherever we are. Just too bad that companies like Anderson and others haven’t thought forward enolugh to create great solutions that don’t require “a money tree growing in the backyard”. Absolutely love your green door – probably barely would have noticed the storm door if you hadn’t mentioned it. Thanks again for sharing with us,
I love — love, love, LOVE — the green door!! It looks great!!!! xoxoxo!
Oh, and I want to paint my front door, too. But I can’t decide what to do. Hmmmmm ….. Must get to thinking!
Maria, I used to live in a house with a storm door. Almost every home in Richmond had them and they were rarely left “as is.” Just paint it the same green as the main door and from the street it will “disappear.” I think you’d be happier with it.
Funny, in the before picture I didn’t even notice the storm door. The green calls attention to it. I preferred the white.
The house numbers are greatly improved.
Maria – I like the glass storm but I can roll my glass down and it has built in screens. Does you’re have that option?
… sorry – make that “yours”
Yes mine has a built in screen as well but because the average temperature here is 12 degrees Celsius we rarely need to use it. Maria
Love the quick fix to your numbers. I would like a gorgeous 2 for the salon. Not just an ordinary 2, something arty and airy. Where does one buy gorgeous numbers?.
Our home has Spanish tiles for numbers. We also have a window in front of our front door. We had it installed because the when it rained, and let me tell you it pours in this part of Spain, it always seeped under the door. Now the entry is dry and we get to have extra light in the winter as our door faces west. I love having that glass door.
Thanks for the post Maria, I enjoy seeing your new home evolve.
I love the new numbers and door color! I would also suggest choosing a font style that goes with your style of house. I have an old craftsmen house that was virtually stripped of character over the years. When we renovated, little things like the style of letters and numbers when we changed to a craftsmen door and light fixture really made an impact and it was so inexpensive. We made a stencil on the computer from a font we found on the internet.
How would it look if you painted the storm door green, too?
It’s metal I don’t think it would work.
Maria, would you please do a post about mixing leather furniture with non-leather furniture? My new living room is bigger than my last and I don’t know how to add to my existing (leather) furniture collection.
I just recommended to a client to paint
the screen door the same as the front door if possible. We used Phillipsburg blue. I wonder if you could do the same?
So, what color is the inside of your front door?……
I kept it the trim colour, the entry hall is yellow so I feel like that’s enough colour.
I have heard that with some storm doors you can pull out the white bar in the middle. I think solid pane storms doors look fine. If it be too much to change out right now, wait till next spring and change it. After all it is your front door, it’s the first thing you see and your interior is so fab.
I hate to be a pill, but the white storm door kinda wrecks the whole scene. Paint it same green as door.
Also, when budget allows get a different handyman to crow bar out that numbers panel thing and attach a panel with clean lines. And BIG. Make it look ‘on purpose”…maybe full length ceiling to floor.
Last thing, (bossy designer here!) the font of your numbers reads too cutesy for your bold self. Again, when budget allows, buy strong font numbers, in the ORB, and be bold.
OK, that is ALL!!
PS – Loving the colors and the spirit!
I like the brass finish on the wood. It somehow fits nicely!