For the past several years, my husband and I have been admiring the front doors of houses that are natural wood; we like how the wood brings a nice warmth and character to the outside of a house. Our front door is probably original to our 1940s house; it is solid wood and the white paint had crackled so it was time to do something about it. My husband and I tackled this project together and in the fall, we seriously started to remove the paint from the door. Anyone who has removed paint knows this is a time consuming task and especially when there are about six layers of paint and the fifth layer is particularly ornery! However, scrape we did (for several months) and with a recent spell of good weather, we took it off the hinges and brought it outside to sand and stain. The pecan colored stain coaxed out the different grains in the wood and it reminds me of a topography map with contour lines widening and narrowing throughout the panels. A bit of the old white paint highlights the decorative inserts and gives it a wonderful character. We just returned it back to its hinges last evening and I think you might agree, it is a front door beauty.
mjnicole 