dwell: front door fun

When we first started house hunting over a year ago, I had this ideal picture in my head of buying the perfect little white colonial house with black shutters and a red front door.  I mean, you can't get more New England than that, right?  We looked at tons and tons of houses and there were a good number of them that had absolutely zero curb appeal-- even when your real estate agent is telling you that anything can be changed, it's hard to fall for a house when it just doesn't fit the picture you've been imagining.

Fast forward to September when I finally came across my dream home in the MLS listings-- two stories, white siding, AND the black shutters.  It was like it was meant to be, and luckily Brian loved it as much as I did.  As you know, we made the move in November and have absolutely loved our first little home... except for one major thing:

There was way, way too much white.  The house came with white fencing on the left side of the house, the house was white, the garage door was white, we had the rest of the backyard fenced so off to the right of the house is more white fencing, which meets up with the white shed.  THAT'S A LOT OF WHITE.  Obviously the house and garage door will remain white, but I knew that a quick and easy fix to add a fun pop of color would be to paint our front door.  

I've saved ideas for ages of fun colors for front doors but I couldn't help coming back to a good, classic red.  There's just something about a red front door that makes me so happy and looks so welcoming: 

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So, on Saturday afternoon we headed to Lowe's to buy my paint and supplies, and I got to work first thing Sunday morning.  After a few hours and four coats of thin and even paint (Valspar "Classic Red" for any inquiring minds), we are now the proud owners of a red front door!

And here's the gross before: 

Here is a view from the driveway (sorry for the gross pictures, but it's been pouring rain and cloudy the last two days, so I'll take better shots from the street later today or tomorrow and share!):

  

I am really happy with how it turned out, and it wasn't difficult at all.  The only thing working against me yesterday was the weather, but thankfully the rain brought MUCH cooler temps so while it was damp, there was a cool breeze blowing all afternoon/evening for it to dry. 

Now my next debate is whether or not to paint the shed door to match-- what do y'all think?

No judgment here either, friends-- the ramp obviously needs to be replaced and the beds need help, but Rome wasn't built in a day, folks.  This also faces the street alongside the fence, so it's definitely visible when you drive past.  My debate is to leave the door white but paint the hardware (the door handle and lock on the left, and the two hinges on the right) black, or to paint the door red to match the house front door, and paint the hardware black.  Any input would be fabulous!