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How to Choose a Front Door Color for Instant Curb Appeal
Posted:
July 12, 2022
Categories:
Paint
One of the quickest ways to add curb appeal to your home is to update the front entryway. To make an instant impact, just paint your front door a new color! Fresh paint makes a great first impression, and a standout color adds personality to your home’s facade. To help you add instant curb appeal to your home, we’ve collected front door color ideas that range from traditional to eclectic. Read on for expert advice on choosing the best front door color to complement your home.
What’s the best front door color for your exterior palette?
On most homes, the front door is the main focal point. It’s usually seen from the street, and often surrounded by architectural details like a front porch, transom or sidelight windows, porch columns, or textured modern siding.
The best front door colors stand out, yet form part of an exterior color scheme with coordinating siding and trim colors. If you’re painting the entire home, you can choose the front door color along with some complementary colors for the rest of the home. Most paint manufacturers provide pre-selected exterior color palettes to choose from.
However, if you’re only planning to paint the front door (and perhaps some accents like shutters) you’ll need to coordinate your paint color choice with the existing colors of your home’s siding and trim. You can begin by trying to find out what colors your home is currently painted; or if that’s not possible, by comparing paint sample cards to your home’s exterior. Knowing what colors you’re working with makes it much easier to choose a front door color that works.
Find Your Home’s Paint Color Undertones
Paint color undertones are those nuances of color that are either warm, cool or neutral. Undertones appear in almost every shade of paint, although we may not immediately notice them. Even neutral whites and off-whites have undertones that range from warm, creamy yellow to cool gray. Paint shades that have similar undertones usually work well together. For example, a warm-toned color palette might contain earthy hues like brown, gold, and cream; a cool-toned color palette may have pale gray, cool white, and navy.
Once you’ve determined whether your home is painted warm or cool colors, choosing the best front door color is much easier. Bring home some paint sample cards with a range of colors that look similar to your siding and trim. Hold them up against the house to find the closest samples to your existing color. Shades of black and white also have undertones, so be sure to check them too. After you’ve narrowed it down, you can look at the surrounding colors on the sample strip to see if they are warm or cool. If a color’s undertones are warm, a dark color on the same strip will appear to have elements of gold, green, orange-red or brown. If the undertones are cool, the darker colors on the same strip will lean gray, aqua, blue, or burgundy-red.
This home’s cool color palette features Benjamin Moore’s Woodlawn Blue on the siding, cool white trim painted in Chantilly Lace, and Hale Navy on the front door.
This home’s warm color palette uses Romabio Limewash in Riposo Beige on the brick, complemented by Benjamin Moore’s Lenox Tan on the shutters, and deep brown French Press on the front door.
Plan the Complete Exterior Color Palette
Once you’ve determined whether you have warm or cool exterior paint colors, it’ll be easier to find the best front door paint color for your home. Paint manufacturers like Benjamin Moore simplify the process by creating color collections that work together. Certain types of architecture are better suited to certain paint collections, so the style of your home is a good place to start.
For example, Benjamin Moore’s Historical Collection consists of traditional colors often used on historic homes; these colors have hints of gray or brown tint mixed in to give them an aged appearance. (Interior designers call these “dirty colors” and they have a lot of character!) This collection is a popular choice for traditional Cape Cod, Colonial, Georgian and cottage-style homes. If your home is painted in historical house colors or neutrals, this collection is a great place to look for a front door color.
Benjamin Moore describes its Color Preview Collection as “a balanced collection that provides gradations of color mathematically arranged by hue and value, with vibrant shades and subtle hues.” This full spectrum of color trends includes crisp, pure hues that aren’t muted by gray or brown. (Designers call these “clean colors” and they may be either bright and bold or dark and rich.) If your home is crisp white, or a color with cool or neutral undertones, check out the clean hues of Color Preview.
Bold and bright colors are often used on modern architecture and beach or resort homes. However, they have become popular as an accent color for traditional architecture as well. So if your home is traditional, go for that pop of color on the entry door!
Find Your Perfect Front Door Color
Once you’ve narrowed down the possibilities, it’s time to choose a few shades to try at home before making your final decision. We’ve collected some of the most popular front door paint colors for inspiration:
Blue Front Doors
Almost any shade of blue from bright blue to dark navy looks great on a front door. Benjamin Moore’s Van Courtlandt Blue adds permanent summertime vibes:
Navy blue is one of the most popular front door colors of this decade. It’s classic and understated, but it definitely has personality. Navy blue is a versatile choice that complements both beige and gray siding colors.
Teal front doors aren’t just for beach houses. Soft, grayed-out teals like Benjamin Moore’s Aegean Teal are typical of Mediterranean homes and give off instant cottage vibes.
Always popular in sunny climates, turquoise front doors have started brightening up homes all over the country.
Red Front Door
Red is a timeless, traditional front door color that is popular on all-white houses; we think classic red creates a stylish makeover with this home’s blue-gray siding.
Yellow Front Door
Yellow is an unexpected front door color that creates a sunny, welcoming vibe. We’d love coming home to this Marigold yellow door every day!
Green Front Doors
Green reminds us of English country gardens; this cottage classic is perfect for traditional homes large and small.
White Front Door
White isn’t the best front door color for a classic white-painted home, but against a dark siding color like Benjamin Moore’s Old Navy, it’s a great choice.
Orange Front Door
A favorite with lovers of mid-century modern architecture, orange is the perfect complement to grays and browns. Benjamin Moore’s Terra Cotta Tile is a sophisticated shade of orange.
Pink Front Door
Pink is another unexpected front door color; here it adds a touch of romance to this home’s neutral Pale Oak siding and White Dove trim.
Purple Front Door
A purple front door may sound unusual, but it’s the perfect eclectic accent to this Spanish Revival home.
Black Front Doors
A glossy black front door always looks understated and sophisticated, letting this home’s traditional architecture stand out.
Black can also provide quiet contrast to a colorful facade.
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