To Do: Choose Your Weekend Project

gknee I'm with you on the glossy black doors, I love them too.

ecrm justagirlblog.com has an easy way to paint doors/furniture black without a lot of prep. I think the secret was to use Ben Moore's low gloss wood/metal paint and a sponge roller... You should check it out - I planning on doing it her way when I paint my wooden buffet. Good luck!

saypoint Be sure to do a search on product complaints before switching to a hi efficiency washer and dryer. I bought a very expensive front loading electrolux set, and after about 6 months, my clothes and towels started to smell bad. I had two service calls, tried everything under the sun to get rid of the smell, and finally got a full refund from the mfr. for the price of the washer. I sold the set on CL, and bought a top loading hi eff. set, and I'm now having the same problem with those. The guy at the local store where I bought them blames it on phosphate free detergents, and recommends I use a powder detergent instead of liquid, also that hi-eff detergent is not necessary. I now shut the machine off in the middle of a cycle and start over to get more water in the machine, and soak my shirts in ammonia before washing in the machine. the front loaders look cool, but are notorious for smelling bad. p.s. I don't use fab. softener, so there is nothing to mask the smell.

Laurie dill-Kocher, Fine Art Textiles Leave the door open between washings and the smell will not happen. The machines are so perfectly sealed that it can cause a mold to grow because no air gets to the inside of the machine and you should be able to see this in the rubber gasket. Put it through a cleaning cycle a couple of times and leave the door open.

qfiffle I've been putting off swapping out light fixtures, because in Australia it's illegal to do it yourself and I resent paying more than the cost of the light fixtures to get the electrician in. Gah.

54kitchenhater True about the high eff front loaders. Bought one recently and it was the first thing mentioned to me by the delivery/set up person. Leave the door open after done washing if you are done doing laundry for the day. Also take a towel and quickly wipe around the gasket and the door. No smell

near north interiors Painted all my interior doors black a few years ago. It wasn't that difficult despite painting 6 of them in one weekend. I took them all down and removed hardware for a faster paint job. I couldn't be happier, it was the single biggest improvement to the look of my home and everyone comments on how great it looks and why didn't they think of it. I left the trim all white to add that contrast. Just commit, crank up the tunes and get to work!!

Regarding washing machines, I had also heard about front loaders, bought a hi-eff top loader and we leave the lid open between washings. It has helped.

franki7 Add me to the list to paint doors (and window frames) black...where is "my" handyman when I need him?? franki

1stchair FYI, that garage floor looks like interlocking tiles, not paint/epoxy. Looks nice either way though!

buywhatulove I have been thinking about painting my interior hollow core 6 panel doors for a long time but have yet to get around to it. I think partly because I don't know if I am supposed to paint every single door in the house (room doors and closet doors, bathroom doors, basement doors...) Any suggestions? Also, someone told me to use Tide powdered HE laundry detergent in my front loader. I have used it since I got my washer and have never had the musty smell. Something about the powder absorbs the extra liquid so it doesn't sit in the machine. And back to the doors- if anyone has any pictures, can you please post them? Thanks!!

Roseanna I love doors painted black. Both my front door and side door are painted black. A few years ago I also painted our french doors and kitchen window trims black. We love it!

Natalie Myers Thanks for your black door support guys. I will do it! I found the blog post you talked about: http://justagirlblog.com/2009/07/the-black-door.html and I guess its pretty easy if you don't take off the doors, but I would want to do all sides, not just the front. Here's another post from Manhattan Nest, but he got way more meticulous (aka: he did it right):
http://manhattan-nest.com/2011/11/03/black-doors/

hunnydu A small scoop of oxyclean takes out any moldy oders. I use it in nearly every wash and have not had a problem with my front loader.

patscats2 I keep my front loader smelling fresh with the TIDE washer cleaner. I don't know what's in it, but it sure does the trick. I always leave the door open too when the machine is not in use. I use it about every 6 weeks or so. Also, I wash all my things in very hot water with the exception of my our colored clothes. Also, we use TIDE HE powder most of the time and only use Woolite liquid on our clothes.

hopereinman I am not a fan of hollow core doors (who is?) and especially the closet sliders, I recently saw a photo of wallpapered sliders on a closet and I tried it at my house. I love it...such an improvement, I highly recommend it.

walshsevern Have you considered taking your doors to a panel-beater's spray-painter? It doesn't cost as much as you'd think, the job is done quickly and, best of all, you get a perfect, even finish.

furpants If you do paint your doors, it's worth the time to take off the hardware. Another trick I learned was to boil the hardware in water (use a pot from goodwill) to get old paint and dirt off the pieces. Lightly oil the hinges and moving parts after cleaning. It works much better than cleaning with harsh chemicals. Also, it pays to prime unless you enjoy touching up scratches.

portpiro Take one door off and paint it and you won't be able to stand looking at the rest unpainted. I tried buying spray paint in cans and it worked well and is super quick but the cans didn't go as far as I would have liked. Still if money is no object then that's the way to go. No cleaning up brushes or rollers either.

Becky Harris LOL, I thought I was the only one who called them "boob lights."

Christine Hey, for all of the responses from folks who painted their doors black, what colors are your walls? If you have darker colored walls and then the black doors does it look too dark or do you have black door with whiteish or white walls? Thanks!

dancingfish I seriously have never heard of this Black door fad!! Please do a piece on them!! I thought we were so progressive when we changed our hinges out for brushed nickel and 6 panel doors...

team1s Thanks to the people who have commented about the front loaders. I love my front loader but I do have the smell and a bit of mold on the rubber where the water pools. I thought it was just my machine, but clearly it's a front loader thing. Will try and keep the door open in between, but to be honest there's so much laundry to do in my household that my poor machine doesn't get too many "in between" load moments!!

PS. Loving on the black door idea!

sarvowinner I've owned a LG front loader for several years and have never had a problem with smell. I always leave the door open. I second qfiffle comments about the illegality of changing electrical fittings in Australia. One of the reasons it is illegal is that we are on 240 volts.

RAJ I also painted our white panel doors and top handrail black. I also refinished all hardware from polished brass to oil rubbed bronze using steel wool, automobile primer and then sprayed with oil rubbed bronze paint. Searching for a large medallion, artwork or considering adding moulding detail to large area above double doors and new foyer light fixture. Included some before pics too. In my option, doors are not too dark in our kitchen with a deep cayenne red color and slate floor. Depends on the volume of space, lighting and accents. ps. i did not remove any of the doors. 11 doors down, 22 more to go!

buywhatulove Thanks RAJ! That looks like my house and those are the pictures I was hoping for! Here's a picture that may help you. We have molding on the walls above the openings in the double height foyer.

Charlotte Holland I have an LG front loader, and use OXY in loads of towels, smelly clothes, whites. Always keep the door open when not in use, and run the clean tub cycle about once every 2 months. No smell or mold. Love my LG!

Laura Williams I love the black frames in the photo gallery project. Any tips on where I can find inexpensive frames in various sizes or in big lots? I have a lot of photos I would like to hang on a stairwell and don't want to "break the bank".