There are three exterior doors on the house; front porch, basement, and back porch. The one that will get the most use day in and day out will be the back porch door.  It leads to the garden, chicken coop, shop, garage, and of course the backyard.

 

The existing door wasn’t in bad shape per se, but we wanted to update it in order to make this entrance feel a little more special.

 

After a couple of weeks of searching and unsuccessfully finding a door locally that fit our budget (and design), I took my search online. Home Depot had a nice looking one, but it was out of stock and temporarily discontinued.  I did a little more digging and stumbled upon Doors4Home.

Bingo!We found a standard sized, pre-hung, right hand inswing, solid wood, single panel, 4 beveled glass lights door that will allow the dogs to see outside fit our look and budget.

 

And to save a little more money, we specified that it come unfinished.

 

Dad with the delivery at the end of the driveway

On delivery day, the semi-truck couldn’t make it up the driveway. Too tight of turn into the driveway?  So thankfully my cousin came to the rescue with his muscles and pickup truck.

 

 

With the door moved into the shop, it was ready for finishing. My sister and mom are great at detail work. They drew the short straw to do the door finishing for us! 🙂Thank you mom & Nat if you’re reading!! 

The door is mahogany wood, which is sort of a purple-maroon color. However, we were going for more of a chocolate brown color with minimal red/purple tone.

Raw mahogany door

The stain we used helped us achieve the color we wanted.

Mom & sis getting to work on the stain Notice all the salvaged trim and work-work in the background – it’s going back in the house one day soon!

After 2 coats of carefully applied stain, the door was ready for sealer. They used 3 coats of a satin finish poly sealer.

Door lookin’ pretty after stain and sealer treatments

Door frame with same treatments as door

The door came with two holes pre-drilled for the handle and deadbolt. We decided we wanted an electronic door lock for easy access, so my search ensued for this hardware…

After a week or so of searching, Baldwin came through for us.

Source

They have an electronic deadbolt with distressed oil-rubbed bronze finish. But before ordering, I had to see it in person.  After work one evening, I ran by my local hardware store to see/feel it in person.

It was just what we had in mind – felt and looked like old wrought iron.  Along with the electronic deadbolt, we purchased a matching handle-set too.

New door installed, inside looking out

After!

I’d say the finished product makes for a warmer welcome to the “main” back porch entrance!