Asked on Aug 13, 2015
Front door
by
Nancy
+34
This is my front door. Pretty bad, right? I would like to paint the door and the storm door the same color. I need suggestions for the color and type of paint. Also I am unsure about the side light windows. Should I leave them white or paint them also?
16 answers
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I wouldn't call that pretty bad at all Nancy. I think it's quite nice looking. If you take a photo further back I'd be happy to do some virtual paintings for you.
Z
on Aug 13, 2015
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Thanks Becky that is so nice of you. Here are a few further back.
Nancy
on Aug 13, 2015
- See 16 previous
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Several ideas come to mind. Light yellow would pop and definitely make you smile. Lighter shade of green to compliment the yard. Finally, one of the shades in your roofing would be cohesive.
Patricia Chellew
on Aug 14, 2015
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It is not bad at all. But, you can change view of front door. Try below design.
La Habra Fence Company
on Aug 14, 2015
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I would not do just the door after seeing the whole frontage. It would be too much of a pop out from the rest of the facade. I would do all the windows and door frame in a light roof matching beige tone then pop the actual door with a nice milk paint blue. I also like the La Habra pic, but the house color is the contrast to the white, so you could go that direction by painting the house a nice color, let the white windows pop in their nice clean white and then the door a stunner color.
Johnchip
on Aug 14, 2015
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deep beet purpley-red would be a great choice
Me
on Aug 14, 2015
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Here we go @Nancy. I did a few different variations. Some I like much better than others, but I'll post them all for you to decide. It is hard to do colors over screens since they distort the color some, so the doors look a bit on the bright side, so please remember that when viewing.
Z
on Aug 14, 2015
- See 3 previous
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I would go with a reddish door maybe purple, try your favorite color and then I would put those plants on a chain and lower them around the door, would make for easier watering as well.
Kathy Bitzan
on Aug 14, 2015
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I wouldn't paint both doors the same color. I would do red for the wood door, cream for the outer door. Then perhaps a light to warm brown around the windows plus also around all the other windows of the houses trim so it looks pulled all together.
Linda Fraser
on Aug 14, 2015
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Okay, here is a little ore than you asked for! The part of your house that "juts" out, paint it a color...grey maybe...then leave the side-entry panel white and paint the door a deep blue-red. Check at a good retailer, NOT Lowe's or Home Depot, and get a six-lite wooden storm door. The "glass lites" are positioned the same as the panels in your sic-panel colonial. This can be painted the same as the front door. I do this for my clients and the look is fantastic. By painting the small portion of your house a color, it sets in apart and makes the entrance more important. Move the pot on the right to the left and add a couple of bricks under it to give it a little height. Then find a shorter pot to put in front of those two. Plant something red to pick up the red of the door. This is going to look GREAT!
Jim L
on Aug 14, 2015
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I also thought some kind of purple, taking from the flowers hanging there, but that maybe will change year to year? =) You've got a white house with a nearly black roof, so a lot is possible, especially in the primary (yellow blue red) or secondary (a mix of 2 primaries) colours. You want your door to be eye-catching/welcoming and not so dark it looks like a darkened hole. It doesn't have to be really bold if you don't like that, but do lean towards the brighter-and-lighter side, something that gives you good contrast with the white. Traditionally, the side window frames were painted the same colour as the door, which were all wooden. Whether you do this or not depends on the 'weight' of the colour against the entry-way wall - you want the colour to take up enough space to 'hold its own' against the white, but not 'crowd' out the rest of that wall. Darker colours have more weight on a light background than light colours do; brighter colours have more weight than pastels. Start by doing your doors, then step back and look to see if the wall wants more weight - coloured area - or if it is good kept the way it is. Whatever colour you choose, make it an accent colour and not a colour that blends with other significant areas. Not grass-green, not sky-blue, not nearly black, not house/snow white. I'm a fan of a red that is not too dark. Green is a classic, a mid broccoli green (florets, not the stems), with strong contrast with grass. A royal blue. I think yellows/oranges/golds are out. If it were me, I'd still be tempted by a range of fuschia to purple, but you want to be sure you are ready to make that kind of statement!
Duv310660
on Aug 14, 2015
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(Would move the hanging pots further out as infringing on the window panels.) First impression is that the home is very white. Have you considered painting the trim around windows so when you do the door there is a more pulled together look? Maybe a grey-blue? Then you could do your doors a contrasting colour.
Marion Nesbitt
on Aug 15, 2015
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@Duval, I agree with you about the depth of color having a lot to do with how Nancy's front entry would look, but I personally like taking color from a homes natural surroundings for accents. Maybe that's because blue and green is my favorite color combo, or perhaps it's my favorite color combo because of my love of nature shown in the photo below.
Z
on Aug 15, 2015
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Of course you are right - when I describe colour in words, I have to speak in more general terms. When someone asks "what colour should my door be", I give them the tools for how to find out - not my own opinion (which is worthless to anyone else!). Specifically speaking, your house does not appear to have a primary or even sky blue. It is more complex a shade than that, likely beyond a tertiary colour with grey tones in there. It is a blue different enough to pull away from the sky, but still 'reads' as blue. If it were the same colour as the sky, most of the day it would look like there are windows under your eves troughs - showing the sky behind the house, rather than giving shape to the entire structure. You can put any colour wherever you want it, BUT if it is a similar colour to what surrounds, it is not correct to call it 'an accent'. An accent is a mark of emphasis that draws the eye and increases or changes the appearance of the predominating shade(s). Think of an accent in music, or language, or... even MSG! (you remember when we all put 'accent' on our cheap beef to make it taste better? That's my colour joke for the day!) Anyway, yes, blue and green are most agreeable; when I was a child, that is how my mother decorated for christmas. The green was a shade darker & more avocado-ish than your grass, and blue was more of a shade pale of turquoise than your sky. She was quite the fashion-forward colourist in the 60's; a lot of architecture, she was good. Unfortunately we never got on well; differing opinions about everything, but she IS why I became a graphic designer and then went on into visual communication field (tho even then she didn't see the sense in what I did!) =)
Duv310660
on Aug 15, 2015
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Hello Nancy! You can brighten up your front and side door with a bright pop of color. You can paint the trim around the side windows a contrasting color. Check out these doors: http://goo.gl/Un7KSO Also, this post breaks down the types of exterior paint you can use: http://goo.gl/Xy3Hkh
HouseLogic.com
on Aug 21, 2015
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Don't overthink it. Go to a paint store and pick up an exterior color pamphlet. The colors are already coordinated for you so pick the set you like best or stand on the sidewalk in front of your house and hold the colors up to see what looks best for YOUR home. You could also find a neighborhood you admire and copy a house there you like. The "pop of color" idea only works if you used a subdued shade on your trim to make the eye move to see the whole picture. The goal is to make your WHOLE house look coordinated and pulled together, and not just "pop" the front door and trim. Also buy some chain and lower your baskets 2-3', bringing them out further from the house, closer to the top step. You will be amazed at how much more you'll enjoy them and prettier they will look with space around them. Good luck to you!
Cyndie S
on Aug 27, 2015
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