I Believe In Art By Victoria Lynn Hall: Doors Of Opportunity (Garden Shed Exterior Makeover)

Our perfectly lovely garden shed before the door decided to deteriorate

Living in a 94 year old house, I am often reminded that nothing lasts forever. Of course we try to retain and restore as much as we can around here but when something inevitably falls apart, I have learned to see it as an opportunity to improve it or replace it with something better.

That's what happened when our garden shed door started to deteriorate. I never had any complaints about it before the paint started to peel and the wood started to rot but then I realized this gave me the chance to add two of my favorite things: light and color.

For the light I wanted to add a window to the door. I searched all of my favorite antique malls and secondhand shops but couldn't find a window that would work for my budget. Finally I came across a pair of mirrors that I liked (on clearance for $13 each!) and realized I could make a window from those by replacing the mirror with a screen.

Before: A Mirror - After: A Window

Then it was time to get to work on the door. First I had Hippie remove the damaged parts and replace them with some pressure treated plywood. He also cut a hole and helped me install the "windows".

Garden shed door under construction.

Then I finally got to add some color. I decided on a warm purple shade of paint called Bunchberry by Behr. I think it adds some much needed drama, as does the new cast iron door handle I added.

My new purple door.

Purple would not have coordinated with the interior of my garden shed, so I painted that side of the door white.

Interior of the new garden shed door.

To complete the makeover I added a little medallion above the door (also painted purple). And now it's almost like I have a whole new garden shed.

Our even more lovely garden shed after it's purple door makeover

In fact, I was so happy with how this project turned out, I decided to paint our front door purple as well.

Another purple door

It definitely cheers up our front porch which is something else that is falling apart, but that's a project for another time. The opportunities for improvement never end around here!