What started out as a temporary solution fifteen years ago has lasted through the years. Our front door has sidelights and a transom. For privacy reason I used Gallery Glass to created faux stained glass. I did a leaf and floral which at this point felt really dated to me. I started pricing new front doors. For a new door with sidelights and a transom, I'm looking at $7,000-$8,000 installed. Plus I have detailed moulding around the front door which would have to be removed in order to install a new door, which would then require painters to come in and repaint the foyer. Yeah...I'm not giving that mouse a cookie just yet.
You can see in this photo that originally I did not use the Gallery Glass on the transom.
The best thing about Gallery Glass is that it last forever left untouched, but if you want to remove it, it scrapes right off.
Okay...it doesn't scrape right off. Three hours and two sliced fingers later, it all scraped off. In the meantime I had some left over Gallery Glass, but not enough to do a whole project. I wasn't even sure they made it anymore. I'm happy to say that I found it at AC Moore so for under $20 I was able to completely restyle my front door. I designed a pattern based on all of my favorite "new door" designs. I taped the pattern to the outside of the front door and then traced the pattern using the faux lead.
The ready-made lead comes only in black. I used a Sharpie pen to paint the leading gold.
I used mostly clear paint and the etching paint with just a little gold. It dries in a couple of hours and cures in a week or so. I tried several things with the clear and scraped it off a few times until I finally settled on using my fingers to make swirls to create the effect I wanted. By the way, it scrapes off super easily and in big pieces if you take it off within the first hour which allowed me time to figure out exactly the pattern I wanted on the clear.
Here is the finished door. I love how it came out. I originally designed a pattern for the transom that was horizontal, but it didn't look right with white moulding cutting it up. I had to go with what made sense and have the pattern live within the white moulding lines.
For less than $20, I completely changed the look of the front door. So much more updated and beautiful. So the way I see it I saved over $7,000. Awesome!
Can't wait to hear what you think.
Have a great day.
-Judy
3 comments:
Your DIY project looks like it was done by a pro! I love how you are not afraid to experiment with things, plus the new design felt more elegant and timeless. You are quite the resourceful person. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you’ll post more of your projects with us. Good day!
Lynne Hollaran @ Suburban Glass Service, Inc
I have a big window that runs vertically along my front door from floor to ceiling. My wife wanted to cover it with a curtain, but there was no place for a rod. I ended up applying a stained glass window film, but it keeps slipping off. I think this product might be the perfect solution to my problem.
Giovanni @ Coastal Contract Hardware
beautiful front door. I love it.
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