One look at the dour door and Cat Eidsness curled her lower lip and shook her head as if to say, “It’s gotta go.”
Sure, she would prefer a full-house makeover, but such things take considerable time and money. This project, however, can’t wait much longer.
A careful pull of the screen door will tell you why.
“We’ll start with the door … it’s not fun to come home to,” she said while examining the battle-scarred, 36-by-80-inch wooden front portal of her West Hill home on the Auburn-Federal Way border. “Maybe it will spur us on (to other remodeling).”
The kid-tested and tattered door might be an eyesore for now, but it’s the focal point and a popular item on the Internet. The door picked up enough votes across the country to become the best of five photo finalists in The Ugliest Door In America Contest.
The Auburn door submission survived the challenge from about 200 other entries, Eisdness estimated.
The online polls closed Aug. 1. Eidsness was named a winner in the photo category.
Cat and Scott Eidsness’ reviled and revered door won the popular vote. The contest’s Web page reports a 14-point margin of victory for the Auburn couple, according to the “ugly meter” – which tallied each door’s vote.
Eidsness, a preschool teacher and mother of three, is surprised by how far her dilapidated door has gone. She collected the grand prize – a complete $5,000 entryway makeover, courtesy of contest sponsor Therma-Tru doors.
Her campaign was strong and spirited, as suggested by some online commentary:
• “When you get a new door, consider selling the old one on eBay as a HURRICANE READY FRONT DOOR. SPRAY PAINT NOT INCLUDED.
• “Can I have the old door?”
• “Halloween may never be the same … “
• “That is a sad, sad door. Good luck!”
• “That door is not only ugly it’s dysfunctional!”
Eidsness came across the contest by accident. She was dabbling on the Internet one night and came across www.myuglydoor.com. So, on a whim, she entered at the last minute and beat the July 1 entry deadline.
As a contest requirement, she submitted a 100-word essay explaining her desire to knock on a new door. The now-legendary door photo was attached.
“My husband was not as excited as I am,” Eidsness said. “But what do you have to lose?”
The Eidsnesses have tried to repair their front door before. The door, which they believe was the original one when the house was built in 1963, exposed a crack that they filed and shaved to close.
A few years ago, the couple began to refinish the door when Scott was diagnosed with leukemia (he is now in remission), and the project was put off.
The entryway continued to withstand the wrath of heavy traffic. Windows surrounding the door were broken by flying car keys and shoes. The screen door dangled.
Now it is time for a transformation.
Eidsness will not be sorry to see the old door go.
“The kids have all left their marks and the neighborhood kids have had a role in the door,” she said. “But I am not sentimentally attached.”
Contact Mark Klaas: mklaas@reporternewspapers.com
