Project Blue Door
Door to the “room with a view”
Recreating “Greece” on my front porch
I was blessed to have the opportunity to spend 10 days in Greece in the Spring of 2023. I had been drawn to the beauty of the Greek Islands for years and had a picture on my vision board of a group of people doing yoga on a white rooftop overlooking a majestic turquoise ocean view. There was something about that photo of everyone in their brightly colored yoga clothes, the white roof, and the blue sea that spoke to me in a way that I can’t explain. When my friend announced that she was offering a yoga retreat to Greece and I learned it was taking place at that very place that was in the picture on my vision board, I knew that it was meant to be for me to go. Due to work commitments, I would be unable to attend that year, so I lived vicariously through the social media photos my friend posted and vowed that if she ever planned another trip to Greece, I would be on it. One year later that dream came true.
Not only was I able to go but my mother and 17-year-old daughter joined me. We called it our “Mamma Mia” trip. Greece was everything I expected it to be and more. We spent a week on the island of Amorgas, which was a quiet, peaceful island a 7-hour ferry ride from Athens. We swam in the Aegean Sea, hiked, shopped, toured monasteries, enjoyed yoga, and dined on the healthiest homemade Greek food I’ve ever tasted in my life. We stayed at a beautiful resort called Aegialis, which overlooked the Aegean Sea. And it is home to that famous white rooftop in the picture I’ve been dreaming of for years. And yes, I got to do yoga on that very rooftop.
The buildings in Greece are traditionally painted white and the doors and windows are varied shades of blue. I have found that this created a very clean, simple look and accentuates the surroundings of sea, mountains, vegetation, and flowers. I was curious about the story of the white buildings and blue doors. I learned that, following a cholera outbreak in 1938, the houses were “whitewashed” with limestone, as it had antibacterial properties. The islanders kept using the white limestone to paint their houses as it was also the cheapest paint at the time. And the blue? Traditionally the fishermen would paint their homes’ shutters in whatever color was left over after they had finished repainting their boat. And blue happened to be a popular color. I fell in love with Greece and everything about it and even joked about painting my front door blue when I returned home.
Upon returning home from our trip of a lifetime to Greece, I found myself struggling to reintegrate to day-to-day life. Read about my experience in my blog titled Post Trip Depression. The joke I had made in Greece about painting my door blue became a project that helped me bridge the gap between the trip and resuming normal life. I found a beautiful blue paint color online, ordered it, and two days later began creating Greece on my front porch!
My Blue Door!
I painted the front door. And then I painted the back door. And then I painted flowerpots. I saw a Pinterest article about spray painting your brown rattan furniture, and so off to the hardware store I went. I painted all my patio furniture. I shopped for new pillows, cushions, and outdoor rugs.
My daughter and I repainted old door mats that had faded to remind us of the flat rocks we picked up on the beach and to give them a fresh vibrant look. I painted until my daughter said “Mom, I don’t think there is anything left for you to paint!” My daughter used her artistic talents to hand paint beautiful flower pots to match ones we saw in Greece. She did an amazing job, as they look exactly like the photo of the ones we saw in Greece!
There was therapy in the painting. It was meditative. With each brush stroke I found joy in the memories of Greece and solidified my plan to bring Greece home with me. I enjoyed every single detail of creating my new space. My project spilled over onto my back deck with a few new additions and refreshed items there as well. The final detail was finished when I hung the “evil eye” that I found on Etsy, as we saw them everywhere in Greece. A token of protection from evil for everyone entering our home.
I love spending time in these outdoor spaces and it has brought the “feeling” of Greece into my home halfway around the world. The feeling you get from your environment is so important. Check out all my before and after pictures. I hope this brings you inspiration for ways that you can affordably adapt your environment to bring you inspiration and joy.
Here are some of the links for paint colors I used on the door and furniture. I ordered the blue paint on Amazon and found the spray primer and paint at the local hardware store.
Blue Door Paint: Modern Masters 1 qt 275270 Calm Front Door Paint Water-Based Exterior Enamel https://a.co/d/ebwJCnO
Furniture Primer: Rust-Oleum 285011 Stops Rust Universal Watercolor Bonding Primer, 12 oz, White https://a.co/d/gkQ17VH
Furniture Spray Paint: Rust-Oleum 279177 Camouflage 2X Ultra Cover Spray Paint, 12 oz, Khaki https://a.co/d/c4B2Oz1
