Black is the new brown

Over the weekend, I took full advantage of my open schedule and the BEAUTIFUL weather so I broke out a can of black exterior paint and continued to transform the house.

One of my favorite things about the house are these double french doors. The previous owners left a sliding screen door, so it was easy to open the door, close the screen, and have some fresh air coming through without all of the bugs. You'll notice, however, that I had to put up a baby gate, as animals aren't so good at seeing the screen door and we almost had a dog-shaped outline in it. 

So first things first, I got out the Lysol and paper towels and I scrubbed the door. There was mud, dog slobber, bugs, and cobwebs all over it so it was a very important step. I then laid out my 'drop cloth' (an old towel) underneath for any stray drops. I didn't bother taping off the door knobs since I still have one to paint and I'm careful enough to go around the other. 

I didn't tape off the glass either because 1-that's a lot of tape and 2-it is easy enough to go around with a razor blade and scrape the paint off the glass. The photo above was after my first coat. I did a pretty thin coat just to get some coverage and let it dry for about 30 minutes (exterior paint dries really fast).

As you can see, I didn't worry about covering all of the red with the first coat.

The second coat had the door looking glossy and very black. (If you're wondering, I used a semi-gloss finish)

See? Messy paint on all the glass. It took me about 30-45 minutes to go back and scrape all of the paint off. Then I wiped it down again to get any fingerprints and stray paint off of the door.

I stepped back, and here we go! I didn't paint the second door yet, but I'll post a photo as soon as I do! This photo was taken in mid-afternoon and I like the light.

I like the contrast with the cream trim and tan brick much better now.

I think Mark's response was "wow, that looks a lot better!". Mission accomplished! (this photo was almost at dusk)

You can see the old red door in this shot.

I had planned to start winding down at this point, as it was about 5:30 and the sun is setting around 7. I just couldn't sit still though, so I took my paint and brush (and Lysol) out to the front and painted the trim that surrounds the garage doors. 

The trim on the left is painted (first coat) and the trim on the right isn't. It's hard to tell but it was a drab brown color.

You can see a sliver of the old brown here. I'm really confused as to why they painted this brown, and the doors red, but I can't judge someone for their bad decisions...but really. I'm pretty sure they painted the doors and trim before they put the house on the market, because an old Zillow photo shows the trim unpainted. They must have been in a rush considering there was no correlation in their color choices. Maroon doors and brown trim. Odd!

Here is our beautiful house after a little face lift. All that is left to paint are the shutters off the master bedroom and that lingering red back door. Plus you get a sneak peek at our Fall decor! (the alarm sign is not part of the decor)

I like how the black also makes the lantern finish pop more. It ties it all together!

(ignore my bad but essential editing)

So, what do you think about the black updates? Is it too dark for you? Or do you think it works with the house? Would you do a different color or keep it neutral?