I have to say, I’m pretty proud of myself.  Just two weeks after my big post regarding all the projects I want to accomplish, I was able to check one of them off of the list, and start two more!

There are projects on the list that range from minor to major, and I had a bit of a tough time deciding which to tackle first. Ultimately, I chose to work on the doors for the girl’s future bedroom closet – a project that I felt pretty confident I couldn’t mess up, and that wouldn’t take too long.

These old five panel doors were found in a barn over 15 years ago, and stored in various garages and sheds ever since. They were looking pretty rough, grungy and with mismatched paint – but for the most part were still solid.

 

 

STEP 1: REMOVE PEELING PAINT

I had a hunch that the doors were covered with lead-based paint. To confirm, I purchased a 3M lead test kit from our home improvement center. Sure enough, the reddish color appeared, indicating that lead was present.

 

The presence of lead paint isn’t overly alarming. If the application is solid and it is left untouched, it can be harmless. However, lead poisoning can occur if flaking, peeling, or chipping paint is ingested, or through the inhalation of dust created during removal. Because of this, sanding with a power sander is not a safe removal technique.

 

Instead, I found an article by Family Handyman – which outlines the steps needed to properly remove lead paint. I’ll admit that it did feel a bit cumbersome, especially wearing a face mask on a 90 degree + humid afternoon, but it wasn’t overly difficult.

I started with wetting the surface down with water, and then used a scraping tool to remove the paint.

 

I made sure to wear my face mask and rubber gloves the entire time, and disposed of the paint chips properly. I then cleaned it all really well and let it dry. Because of the intensity of the job, I only removed the paint areas that were flaking or damaged. If I had been able to sand, I may have gone all the way down to bare wood for a completely fresh start.

 

 

 

STEP 2: FILL/REPAIR CRACKS

In some ways, because it was covered only partially in paint, the doors looked more rough after the first step was complete. There was a bit of repair that needed to be completed though, before the new paint could be applied.

A panel on one of the doors was broken. There wasn’t a hole, but more like a pushed-in crack. Craig and I tried to position the wood back into place, but it wasn’t possible – likely because the area had warped through the years. Instead, I attempted to fill the crack with a product called Plastic Wood.

 

 

 

I applied the filler to the cracked panel, allowing it to dry and sanding between applications. I also filled in the areas on the side of the doors that were cut out for the hinges. The hinges were removed earlier in the prep process, because the doors will be hung with barn hardware.

The product did an amazing job of covering up the blemishes. I was super impressed! After another round of cleaning the doors, It was finally time to paint!

 

 

STEP 3: PAINT THE DOORS

It’s no secret that I love the clean look of white paint. If you have seen the 3-D renderings I have done for the cottage, you know that we will be using quite a bit of it in our home decor. I have known all along that I want to have white trim, cabinets, and doors. I’m not sure if you’ve researched white paint at all – but, there are about a million shades to choose from. It’s a tad overwhelming!

 

I caught a lucky break though, when I received the kitchen cabinet samples from Cliq Studios. Their ‘Cloud White’ finish is, to me, the perfect shade of white! Not too creamy or glaring, no grey or yellow tint. Just right. And since it is looking pretty positive that we will use their company for our cabinetry, I figured it would be nice to have doors that coordinated.

Turns out, Dutch Boy ‘Ultra White’ is a nearly identical match! I bought the DuraClean paint + primer in a satin finish. It went on really smooth!

 

 

I chose to use a foam roller to apply the paint.  I like using small rollers because I can more easily get into the little corners, using the end of the roller. I also feels like I am able to cover more evenly with a roller. You can see from this side by side picture the difference that even one coat of paint makes. It’s pretty incredible.

 

After three coats on each side, the doors were officially finished! I am so happy with how they turned out! Once we move into the new house, we will have the doors installed on barn hardware and I will do any touch-ups that are required. I haven’t decided yet if we will keep the silver knobs or not. That’s something else that can wait a while.

 

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have already started the next two projects from the list. One is sanding down all the wood boards that will go on the ceiling in the master bedroom, the other is sanding down one of the wood chairs in preparation for painting it black. So yes, a whole lot of sanding – which is something I actually love! Sanding gives me a lot of time to think and let my mind wander, to daydream about our future home.

If you’d like to follow along with these projects in real-time, I record short clips on Instagram stories and have them saved as ‘Projects’ under my profile. I hope you can check it out!

 

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