Another Garage Door Update with Minwax Gel Stain
April 19, 2020
Another Garage Door
I debated for a couple years over whether or not to stain our detached garage door to match our faux wood garage door
on our house. The dilemma was this--the door (and garage itself) is pretty new, works well and isn't really an eyesore, so the idea that I MIGHT mess it up weighed heavily on my mind.
Ultimately, my itch for a change won. Plus, I really wanted to figure out how to get rid of those decorative scallops.
Process
Since I wasn't staining the trim (I didn't want to get it on the siding--eek!), I taped it off so I could JUST stain the door. I started with a brand of grey gel stain I found at the craft store. You can see what it looked like. I was hoping to just add a little grey tone to the "wood" look, but I wouldn't recommend using this product for this purpose. Live and learn.
Minwax Gel Stain
Minwax Gel Stain to the rescue! I moved on to my trusty Minwax (Chestnut or Walnut is both great!) and got to work. I brushed on a coat with a straight 2" paint brush. You can see we're getting there, but not there yet. Don't stop here; the magic is about to happen. It's pretty much always going to take at least two full coats to get a result you're happy with.
Another Coat
This is the time I start to get excited, and relax a little. I can see the end result is in sight and feel pretty confident I haven't messed up our perfectly good garage door. Oh, and you can see my regulation safety ladder in this photo. Please disregard and do not use that for your ladder.
The Windows
Amazingly, and much to my surprise, the decorative window inserts easily popped out. It was just a plastic piece that held them in under a rubber edge. I popped them out in about five minutes with zero tools, so that was exciting.
Once they were out, I thought the windows needed a little something. They just looked so blank.
Faux Window Panes
I measured and marked the center of the top and bottom of each window. Then, I marked the right and left sides of each. I used blue painter's tape to mark off an area to make a vertical stripe on each window approximately 1/4" wide. I used white chalk paint to paint the area with two coats. I repeated the process once the paint was dry with the horizontal stripes to create faux window panes.
I thought about painting them on the inside of the garage door, but decided to paint the faux panes on the outside. They look just fine a year later.
Gel Stain
I've used Minwax Gel Stain successfully on so many projects. It's easy to control and works perfectly on a vertical surface, since it's a gel consistency and won't just run or drip down the surface. I even use it in place of traditional stain in many projects. I used it the first time on the garage door of our house and STILL get compliments years later. I'm always shocked people actually think we just replaced it with a wood door. It works well on metal and you can use it over a painted surface. It sets on top of the surface you're staining, instead of soaking in like a traditional oil-based stain.
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I did a little refresh in our daughter's room, and I decided we needed some large-scale art. I actually planned to order a print, but inspiration struck on a trip to HomeGoods when I saw two HUGE framed canvases on clearance for $25 and $9. I grabbed them up and headed home, with my head filled with ideas on what to do with them.
I love peel-and-stick wallpaper so much! It's an easy, DIY fix for any space that just needs a little refresh. Because it's easily removeable, I feel much more confident going ahead and choosing a pattern. I struggle to commit to traditional pasted wallpaper--I think it's because we removed so much of it when we bought our house. It is no easy task. Peel-and-stick is also very economical, so if you decide to change it up a few years down the line, it doesn't feel so bad. I've now put it in four areas of our house. Today, you'll see the kitchen and den. It's the same pattern in different colors. I love how much the simple pattern really just makes each space.
Just for fun, here's a freebie--a digital download for some fall wall art! This quote is from Anne of Green Gables. I still want to read the book, but I was a huge fan of the series Anne with an E on Netflix. Just click on the file, download it and print it at home or send it to a place like Office Depot. Happy October!
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