The Green Doors…

I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by painting my back garden doors green. It was odd; snow was still on the ground, but the temperatures were rising, and it was a small window of opportunity to jump-start Spring projects!

Only two years ago, I was agonizing (obviously too much time on my hands!) about what colour to paint my front and back doors. At the time, I decided to go with a lavender colour, and I’m still happy with that choice for the front. I’ve planted a variety of perennials with lavender flowers in the front garden that complement the lavender door. In the back, however, I missed the mark!

Last Spring, I had the grass removed and the walkways widened (in the back). Along the borders, I planted perennial gardens with only leafy green shrubs or those with white flowers. Also,  Le Bar was completed on the patio (just off the back doors). The frame of that structure is black iron, and the floor (cement pad) is painted in a black-and-white mosaic pattern. When I decorated the bar’s interior, I decided on a white, black and green colour scheme.

I planted some lavender salvia in front of the garage last summer, hoping that would marry the lavender-coloured doors to the garden, but it’s a stretch, and over the winter, I decided to repaint the doors again!  Not that I think everything has to be matchy-matchy, but there should be some relevance!

Now, what shade of green do I pick? So many choices!

I started going through my paint decks to narrow down my options. Last year, I ordered a sample pot of Fusion paint in the colour “Park Bench” (which looks brighter in this photo than it is) with the idea that I would repaint the Greenhouse door. With all the other projects I had on the go, the Greenhouse door did not get painted, but I was happy with the colour. I also love the green door in the “inspiration” photo above that I found on Pinterest.

What I liked about the greens in the Farrow and Ball deck was their saturation (depth). I dotted the “Park Bench” colour from Fusion on a few of the greens I particularly liked. Next, I was off to the Benjamin Moore dealer to see if they could match this for Aura exterior satin paint.

It took a few trips to Benjamin Moore to get the colour right (to my eye!).  First, I tried No. 34 Calke Green (top chip in photo) but thought it was too bright on the south-facing doors.  I also did not want the doors to be as dark as the bottom chip (in photo), No. 224 Minster Green, “an aged darkened version of Calke Green”.  The paint experts at the BM dealer that I frequent are very patient with me and always willing to try to tweak the paint colours.   (What they ended up doing was doubling the formula of Calke Green minus the white pigment.)

Farrow and Ball named “Calke Green” after the breakfast room at Calke Abbey in Calke, UK.

**Different light affects how all these colours appear through the camera lens and how they may look on your computer or phone screen.

The before and after photos are below.

Now that the doors are painted green, it’s interesting to see how, as the door opens, it picks up the green on the inside. Directly in front of the door is a rustic-painted cupboard with an antique greeny/blue finish. Also, a navy, green, and gold-patterned area rug is in this room.  I hadn’t considered this before when I painted the door lavender.  That colour did not reflect anything else in the interior colour scheme. This green also goes well with the decor in LeBar.

I’m happy with the change for now, but come next Spring, you never know where my mind may wander!

xox Judy❤️