Paint It Black?

My front door is in desperate need of a facelift. It may not be red, nevertheless I'm thinking I might follow the sage advice of the Rolling Stones and just paint it black.

Here's my sad weather-beaten front door. Even my pets are unenthused with it.

And a wider view so you can soak in the full beauty of the pinkish-red brick next to the yellow stone and taupe-ish trim. Damn builder's special a la 1997 - believe me, this would not have been my choice. And yes, I know my planters/urns look sad and empty. I did have greenery in them for Christmas but was waiting for spring to come back around to spruce them up with new plants.

The inside of the door is not much better. It's got major scratches which I swear are from the previous owners' dogs (although our dogs are certainly not guilt-free in this area). I neglected to get a close-up of the scratches, but trust me, they're there.

My plan is to paint the interior of the door the same color as the exterior. Now, I've just got to find the right paint. I know I said black, but I'm actually thinking of a really dark gray that almost looks black. There's a Martha Stewart color at Home Depot called Wrought Iron that might fit the bill.

I realize this doesn't look that dark and almost looks blue in the photo, but in the store it looks almost black. Does anyone have any great dark grays-almost blacks that they could suggest? I'm assuming I'll go with a high gloss finish. Or maybe a semi-gloss? Any thoughts there? The painter is coming on Tuesday, so I need to get to finding a color asap. Any input would be much appreciated. Even if the input is that you think I'm nuts and should go a totally different direction.

And lastly, just had to share another shot of the door featuring my favorite model

wearing the cutest little jacket I found at Old Navy the other day. It totally looks like a Mini Boden jacket at a fraction of the price. Score. I just wish they had one in my size so I could embarrass her by wearing it at the same time. Isn't that what moms are for?