TGIF, my friends—and that means it is time for a new Feng Shui Friday Challenge. This is a fun one I think.
To find out how you can join the Feng Shui Friday challenge, click here.
Today's Challenge—Paint your front door (or clean and tidy up your entry)
According to Feng Shui principles, your front door is the main source for energy flowing into your home, so it makes sense that you would want it to be neat and tidy, attractive, and functioning well. Improving the appeal of your front entry would be a high priority if you were selling your house. Why not make it just as attractive for yourself and your guests while you are living in it?
Feng Shui experts recommend red for your front door because red stands for vitality, energy, success, and prosperity. But if red doesn't go with your home, don't worry. Pick another color—or, at the very least, make sure it is crisp and clean.
Do any of you have a colorful front door? If not, are you up for a challenge?
Here is my rather sad front entry:
Beleive me, it has looked even worse. This summer I at least decluttered and planted some flowers in pots to flank the front door. Now the flowers are fading from the cold weather, and I've added some pumpkins that are awaiting the carving treatment. But let's talk about that front door. I'm not actually going to paint it. Yet.
First I am going to replace the door. I know, I know, some people would kill for an authentic mid-century door like this. Replacing it with a similar door would cost lots of cash. What you can't see here though is that there are holes in the door (I've actually seen bees flying in and out of the holes!) and it doesn't seal well. In fact, you can see daylight through the cracks on the inside, and dust and straw even blows in through them if the wind blows from the east. Also, the sidelight windows are sratched and foggy between the glass.
Eventually, we are going to be changing the trim color back to it's original brown (although a bit darker). The house will go from this:
to this (a quick Photoshop hack):
I think the contrast of the darker brown makes the light brick color look so much better and much more modern. (By the way, we are not only replacing the front door, but all the exterior doors on the house, including the garage door.)
Back to the front door. This is (another Photoshop hack on a poor quality photo, but it gives you an idea) what I am thinking for a front door style and color:
What do you think? It is a lot of glass, but out here on the farm privacy isn't as much of a concern. And the light coming through on the inside will be so nice. The paint-chipped steps need some serious attention also. At the very least a new paint job, but even better a faux concrete treatment or tile.
While I do love the idea of adding a few pops of red (via a couple of Adirondack chairs on the deck and a porch swing, perhaps), I'm not sure I am game for putting it on my front door. But this is what it would look like, just for kicks:
We are still in the middle of the door shopping process, so nothing is final about the style of this door. The width is wider than standard, so we may need to get creative. Just for fun, here are a few more front door looks I am attracted to: (The top image in this post and each of the following images are from Houzz.)
Which do you like? I'd love to hear about your own front door adventures. Happy Friday!