As I mentioned here, Embrace My Space will sometimes serve as a little tribute to my first place.  The one that got away (cue Katy Perry).  For people who know me, like for real, not virtually, some of the content of these posts will be old news.  For those of you who are meeting me through Embrace My Space, I hope you enjoy learning some tid bits about my first place as I stroll down memory lane.  This post is dedicated to my favorite green greeter – my first front door.Here he is during his color evolution, where you can see the four shades that were final contenders. 

I’m a firm believer in the almighty paint sample.  A lot of people say to use the paint chip in lieu of the sample because the chip is free and it reads true to color, but I don’t think you can get the true flavor of a color from a 2X2 square.  I’m just not the kinda girl who’s willing to commit to a color without seeing some serious surface area covered.  I also like to think about the colors, a lot.  Probably to the brink of sheer madness.  I think I studied these colors for a month.  Actual paint, rather than the paint chip, stands up better to this type of obsessiveness.   The winner was:

Why, you ask, would we paint our door bright green?  Um, why the heck not?!?  But really, the genesis of my color madness was this tiny beauty: 

My husband and I spotted this Key West Conch House while strolling the streets of our favorite island back in January 2010.  This house is perfect.  I love the look of the beautifully rich red/brown mahogany door, the key lime green siding and the crisp white trim.  Not to mention the palm trees flanking the front porch adding just the right amount of Key West whimsy.  I love whimsy, especially of the Key West variety.

This house is seriously stylish, without being serious.  I decided that I wanted this look for my house.  Well, really I wanted the house itself, but I was told that was out of the question.  Hmph.  Short story long, this house made me want to paint our originally icky, white front door green!  Bright green!  So we did.  And I loved it and it reminded me of my dream conch house and it made me so happy!

Before (during) and After 

Call me crazy, but I think everyone would be a little bit happier if they painted their front door a color they love.  It’s the first thing that welcomes you home after a long day, so why not paint it a color that makes you smile?

Photo via:  Adrienne DeRosa

So green’s not your color?  Don’t worry, there are plenty more fun colors that work for a front door.  For more inspiration, check out this post at ThisOldHouse.com or my post with some more incredible Key West doors.

Did you paint your front door a color that makes your heart sing?  What color did you use and what was your inspiration?  I’d love to hear all about it!

xoxoSara