One of the fastest ways to amp up curb appeal is by painting your front door a fun and bright color.
Fastest unless you have painter’s indecision…
Picking the best color for your front door can seem like a daunting task when there are so many options available. Over at the Bustling Nest, they have some good ideas for front door colors specifically for tan houses.
It can seem like a big risk to choose a bold color for the entrance to your home. You know you want a change, but are nervous for the outcome.
What color should I choose?
Will I like it?
Will we be that weird house on the street people talk about??
Take a deep breath and keep reading. Today I’ll be sharing the following with you…
1. A sidewalk tour of three homes in my neck of the woods that get it right with bright doors.
2. The best color families for your front door.
3. A researched round-up of 18 gorgeous paint colors for you to consider. (No more guesswork!)
Our neighborhood boasts some of the THE most beautiful historic homes with great big porches and brightly colored doors.
When you are thinking about your exterior, don’t overlook your deck and patio.
I might be slightly biased. Also Chalk Paint would be a fun option for a door.
The owners of this gorgeous home around the block decided on a bright yellow against steely gray paint. With the white trim and red brick, it was the perfect choice. I like how they personalized their porch by adding the yellow “S” above the rocking chairs.
You see letters used (and often overused) in interiors, but this was the first time I saw it on a front porch. It’s so unexpected, and I love it.
My friend Danielle chose this gorgeous poppy for her front door. If you look closely, you’ll se that it is actually a screen door. Her front door has been left in the natural wood finish. I love how she chose to paint her drop leaf table to match. It adds that second punch of color. (Aren’t you jealous of her front porch?)
Another friend of mine, Dana, chose this fun shade of green for her front door and shutters. She wanted to add some life to her ranch style home and decided to play with styles by adding a craftsman style door.
While she took a risk with an unconventional door style choice, I think it worked out beautifully. Because the green has yellow undertones that match the brick, it leads to a more monochromatic appearance.
6 COLOR FAMILIES FOR A BRIGHT & FUN FRONT DOOR
1. Blues
2. Aquas
3. Greens
4. Yellows
5. Oranges
6. Reds
I’ve picked these 6 color families based on what I feel works best on most people’s homes. (If you can pull off a purple door, more power to you. Most of us can’t.)
DO YOU NEED SOME COLOR IN YOUR HOME LIFE?
A pop of color leading into your home can do these three things:
1. Infuse your personality into the exterior of your house in a meaningful but contained way.
2. Serve as a reference point for guests to spot you. (“We’re the third house on the left with the bright yellow door!”)
3. Add much needed contrast and color to a predominantly muted color palette.
18 GORGEOUS COLORS TO PAINT YOUR FRONT DOOR
There are thousands of great options to choose from, but I’ve collected some of the best paint colors for your front door to make things simpler.
1. Americana (Benajamin Moore)
2. Indigo (Sherwin Williams)
3. Bold Blue (Benjamin Moore)
4. Wythe Blue (BM)
5. Blue Spa (BM)
6. Reflecting Pool (SW)
7. Parakeet (SW)
8. Great Green (SW)
9. Arugula Green (SW)
10. Fresh Butter (BM)
11. Decisive Yellow (SW)
12. Yellow Hibiscus (BM)
13. Yellow Marigold ( BM)
14. Navel (SW)
15. Rejuvenate (SW)
16. Fireworks (SW)
17. Red Tomato (Behr)
18. Stop (SW)
TIPS TO REMEMBER
-Don’t forget to ask for an exterior paint. Even if you are painting the inside of the door to match, you can still use it inside.
-Steer clear of a high gloss finish if you have an older door. A satin finish will hide imperfections much better than a glossy finish.
-Here are some really helpful tips on what supplies and method to use when painting an exterior door.
MY ORANGE FRONT DOOR
When I decided to paint our door orange, I did feel a bit nervous. Looking back it was the best thing I did for our home that spring.
Orange isn’t necessarily one of my favorite colors. In fact you won’t find it anywhere on the inside of the house. But for our existing finishes like the gray stone work, white trim, and chalky blue shutters it works well.
I chose to only paint the exterior orange and leave the interior side of the door white. This is kind of a hot-button topic because some say you should always have the two sides of the doors match.
Well, I chose to break that design rule…
And there are no front-door-paint police coming to get me.
MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE PAINT SUPPLIES
I’ve painted a lot of rooms in my day, and here are some of the supplies that make the job SO much easier…
1. The best angled brush I’ve ever used.
2. The only painter’s tape that REALLY peels away clean.
3. Convenient way to save time AND your back when trimming.
4. This little number will keep your paint brush fresh while working on a project.
5. A GENUIS invention to keep your paint can pour and store much cleaner.
Happy painting, friends!
I’m currently struggling with this exact issue! I spent about an hour on Sherwin Williams’ Color Visualizer tool using a picture of my house and settled on a general family of colors – I think. My house is a red-orange brick colonial revival and I’m thinking of a dark teal (close to your option 1 above). I brought home a swatch of what I think is the winner but I’m still undecided. Yes I’m afraid of paint. I need to just go for it.
I get it, Catherine…Paint is intimidating! It sounds like a dark teal would complement the red-orange brick nicely. Here’s a tip…Make sure that whatever color you choose has a been toned down with a tiny bit of grey. (You might notice most of the ones I rounded up have this.) Pure hues are too bright for outside and stand out in a bad way. A hint of grey in the mix tames it down just enough to work. Make sense? My advice is buy two colors and paint a section of the door. Live with it for a day or two. (Who cares what the neighbors say.) Then just go for it!
I have a pearl grey dash house with slate roof, black facet board and cream windows. Could anyone help me decide colour of front door??
Sounds like with such a neutral palette, you could take your pick! Maybe something in the green or orange/red family;)
What about a blue/gray/mauve colour front door with my pearl grey exterior and cream windows?
Lovely!
Which shade of green were you thinking? I try and steer clear of red as so many in my area have red doors!
Hi Cath, It’s so hard to say without actually seeing pictures of your house or the actual paint colors;/ I do offer paint plans sourcing for my clients if you’d like further help though. Let me know if you’d like to set something up!
I’d go with a coral on the orange side, not a pinky coral. Im planning that with my house. We will have a medium to dark grey siding, white trim, navy shutters and a coral orange door.
My roof has justly installed couple days ago, Meddle cry with a little light gray ascents on it.
I was planning to install Bluish roof, but my cheap Association does not provide enough colors to pick, couple ugly colors.
So I pick the gray from black, brown and greenish. So, I am planning paint my from door this yellow as her sample, and cover the front wall and the garage small walls with Faux stone Gray/light gray.
The house here roof is light gray, and the wall darkest, while my house is opposite, my roof is meddle dark gray with light gray small ascent. So I planning to use faux light gray blended with meddle dark ascent stone.
If someone has a better idea, please do not hesitated to advise me of other color.
I had justly bough this 40 years small house, painted in white walls and red roof and fascia. Colors to me are to deep for a small house.
Catherine, I would love to know what color you picked. It sounds like we are working with the same colors. I was thinking of a dark teal blue myself. It is hard to know sometimes from just a paint swatch. Would love to know if you found a nice color and where. Thanks!
Hi Katie! I went with SW St Bart’s. It reads very blue, so if you want something closer to teal you might look at SW Deep Sea Dive. I’m really happy with the color and get tons of compliments! Good luck!
Thanks so much for the quick reply. I am going out to SW today to pick up some swatches! Exciting!!!
I have a cedar sided house. I currently have a dark maroon door BORING…I am struggling to decide what color family would compliment Cedar/Rustic redish?
I love brightly painted front doors! I can’t wait to own our own home so that we can paint the front door. I love how much personality it can add!
Kristi
http://www.beloverly.com
Until then, you can have your fav colors already picked out:) Start a “dream home file” now. I had one for years before we bought our home!
Your house is so adorable and this post is so timely because I have been debating painting our front door but am totally stuck on a color! I think it’s Parakeet for the win.
Do it, Beth! I like a green door. Take the advice you give your own clients and pull the trigger:)
Our front door needs a new color so badly! But for some reason I can’t seem to settle on anything I like. I think my problem is I’m so set on a specific look from when we were going to build. I want the house to someday be white with a red door, and the blue exterior is throwing me off. Love your examples and color options!
That’s so hard when you had a picture in your mind and then have to adjust to the reality that plays out! At least you have your long term plan in place. Sounds like you need a temporary “fix”? that works with the blue door until you can repaint everything else.
I love that first gray house with yellow door. Do you happen to know their siding paint color? I’m getting close to choosing the color for my new build and this looks perfect. Thanks!
So sorry, Julie but I don’t have their siding color. I would suggest checking out Benjamin Moore’s historic color collection. I’ve had great luck with them for client’s exteriors.
I was hoping for the same answer it’s a lovely shade of grey and I’ve had the hardest time finding the right one
Love your front door! Goes so great with the stone. All the homes in your hood’ are gorgeous!
Your colors choices are solid! I’m a big fan of the aqua group 🙂
Thanks, Melissa! Evening walks are always nice…but also hilarious to see all the repair trucks that practically live in this neighborhood of old homes. Lol.
You are a champion at life. I love this set of colors (my front door is already wythe blue) and I’m using it at the palette for my whole house. Thanks!
Hah! That’s awesome, Amber. I love the fact that you are using a whole house color palette. It makes decisions so much easier, huh?
Now I just need your picks for purple and pink (I have a three year old) and I’m set. 🙂
What wonderful colors! We just moved into a two story brick (red brown) house w black shutters and way too many windows (6 symmetrical on the bottom but on 2nd floor there are 8, 2 of the same on each side then 4 smaller ones in the middle). W a small entrance, I feel the orange-red door gets lost. I have always had a bright colored door but I’m struggling w choosing a color. There is white around the orange-red door now. Any thoughts? I’m leaning towards a shade of white.
Hi Jill! If you have orange/red brick, choosing a complementary color in the blue or green family would probably work best for a pop of color. White is always a good choice though:)Hope that helps!
darling post! I love the graphic design of the post almost as much as the amazing tips you shared!
Timely post for me as we plan an exterior paint job on our two story brick/cedar colonial. It’s currently pink/red brick (which I like) with Orange cedar stain on the second story and red craftsman shutters. We have settled on a muddy gray for the cedar but I’m still lost of shutter and door color. My problem is most inspiration photos all have white trim and windows and ours are charcoal gray. I was leaning towards muted Aqua shutters and a stained front door side windows and all. Can’t get a fun door color out of my mind but didn’t know if would be too busy and what color should the sidelight windows be. Any thought?
Hi Kelli! Hmm, sounds like a tricky call for sure…Hard to help without seeing pics. Let me know if you’d like to set up a quick paint consult. (I recently added that as a way for clients to get feedback on just that one issue.) Have you checked out Houzz.com? There are so many inspiration pics there for exteriors. You might come across something there to help!
I’ve just hanged my front door…sprucing up prior to selling……and that door was fuschia pink. I want to go with an orange shade for the new door, I want to go with an orange shade and love the colour of your front door….could you tell me what it’s called please. My house is a mix of Deep Ocean …a deep blue…and Paperbark…not quite a cream. These are Australian Colourbond paints so you may not know them. I notice in the pics you show that most of the doors have a white trim around…..mine is the deep ocean which matches the rest of the trims and the roof. Should it be white, although I have no other white on the house? Thanks….
Hello Nanette! It’s hard to say without really knowing the colors or seeing pics of your house. The color on my door was a custom match but it’s closest to Sherwin William’s “Autumnal”. I’ll email you a link to the source.
I was instructed to not use exterior paint inside as it does still off gas fumes at the SW store?
here’s my color question.. my home is a pale blue siding with black shutters with white windows.. I used the color consulting appointment and she picked a deep greige color (can’t think of it right now at work) but I’d love a punch of color instead. What would you recommend?? Red? is that too much with black shutters?
I’m sure that’s probably right, Jenn. (The guys at SW take their job pretty seriously!) For such a small area like a door, I’ve done it before though. Obviously painting a whole room would not be a good call. To play it safe, you could always have the same color mixed for interior as well as exterior.
Did you hire a designer for the paint consult or someone through SW? Hard to give you specific advice without seeing pics. I’ll shoot you an email about a “Quick Question” service to see if I can help you out.
Thanks Heather! I did hire the design consult service, and just need to touch base with her again about my thoughts! Just stumbled on your blog, added to my reader! Thanks for getting back to me!
Thanks for sharing this advice on choosing the best color for your front door. I had no idea that bright colors were so popular for front doors now– I might have to look into having my own door repainted. The orange door looks really wonderful, in my opinion– it works really well with the stone!
You are so welcome, Delores! And thanks for the sweet words. I appreciate you taking the time to say “hello” and hope you’ll be back!
We have a smaller ranch style single story home, but it has 9 (yes 9!) doors to the outside. I have been wanting to paint our front door for ages, but couldn’t figure out if all the outside doors should then be painted the same color. If o choose a bright color it seems like it would be too overwhelming to have 9 yellow doors. What do you think? How might I handle this dilemma?
Wow, that’s a lot of doors, Julie!! We have three doors and I chose to keep two neutral and dark while the front door was my bright pop of color. I think keep the front door your only bright color and the other eight the same neutral if possible. If you painted them all, the front door loses it’s prominence and the focus might be confused. Make sense?
Stumbled upon your post – and remember struggling with door colours! I give myself credit with being pretty darn good with colours – but I never start with what I like. I begin with the colour of the house, the soffits, the roof, and the lighting. I have light terracotta brick, and pale grey soffits. I went with a deeper version of #9 and there’s no ‘ghosts of Christmas’ in my colour scheme (luckily). It ties the warmer light neutrals I picked for the rest of the painting (windows, garage doors) and still doesn’t clash with my much-detested grey soffits. Colour is everything… we just have to dare! Loving your posted options
I loved hearing your process, Natasha! Thanks so much for sharing. It sounds just lovely. Cheers and I hope to chat again soon!
Great tips. Exterior paint is very useful. It protects the door from dirt. My door is light yellow. It was crucial to use exterior paint. You can imagine how dirty it could be. Best regards!
Good point. Thanks for stopping by and weighing in!
So helpful! I would love to have dark grey siding and do a burnt orange door. What would you suggest for a very plain Jane boring home with no personality?
,http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3607-Sarah-Dr-Zion-IL-60099/83391178_zpid/
I was thinking teal but there are several homes in the neighborhood with that color. There are also a lot of black, charcoal, red and various shades of blue. I’m leaning towards a burnt orange. Would it look weird if I painted around the window on the side of the door as well for extra pop?
Hi Michelle! It’s a bit hard to say without actually digging into your home and specific colors more, but I think grey and orange do look nice together. I would still do the frame white, not in orange. It will help the orange stand out more. (If you need more specific help picking paint colors, I offer this service to my clients. Feel free to email me:)
We recently purchased our first home and I love every inch of it! Except the exterior paint, which is awful. It’s almost an exact match for Cellini gold by behr, white trim, ranch, lots of shuttered windows, ruddy brown roof tiles…I’d love to give the house a pop of color but it seems like such an odd(read-terrible) color that I’m having difficulty pairing anything with, that I wonder if I’d be better off waiting until we paint the house(years off).opinion? Is there no helping the orangey-pink house with a happy gem of a door?
Hard to give you precise advice without seeing the house! Maybe try a grayish blue to tone things down but still add contrast. The color families should complement each other. Good luck!
Hello, so I’m stuck on trying to find the right color for my front door. My house siding is like a grayish color with like a light bluish color trim. Please help! Do you have to also match the inside of your door to the exterior color of the door?
Can you tell me what the color is on the base of the house with the yellow door. It looks gray with a tinge of green.
I just painted my garage a leafy romaine color with white trim. The fence next to it is a chocolate brown. I’m looking to paint the side exterior door a new color. I’m not too sure if I should go with a blue, orange or a brown. I’m not too afraid of color. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Hi Lisa! It’s hard to say without actually seeing the house. If you’d like to schedule a paint color consultation, just let me know and we chat more about this:)
I am STRUGGLING with a front door color. We just bought a new craftsman style door with sidelights and haven’t installed it yet. I can’t decide on a color and have painted the old door about 4 different colors, trying to find one I like. Every time, I find the color to be off…too grey, too bright, too bland. I have been leaning toward aqua shades. My last color on the old door was “Strawberry Margarita”, which was pretty bold. I want something softer/prettier this round. Your number 6 looks like something I would like, but every time I find one I like, it looks different in person than it does online. Our house is light taupe, white trim on the windows and doors and have darker taupe (bronze is the color name) shutters on the windows on our porch. The front door tends to be in shade most of the day because of the porch overhang. Help???!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated!
What color is your orange front door?
What color are your shutters?
Hi, Ann. My door was a custom match, but it’s close to “Folksy Gold” by Sherwin Williams. The shutters are close to “Distance” by Sherwin Williams. Hope that helps!
Need help! Have Sherwin williams Chatroom house base, cocoon trim and need a door to match. The Ben Moore chartreuse we chose looks terrible!
Any suggestion on coordinating shutter color without matching them to the front door? I have taupe siding & am drawn to the blues/aquas for the door. I’m not sure if the shutters should be the same color as the door or if I should go with a complimentary color. We are southern facing & things seem to fade to other colors–right now we have red that looks more orange.
Hi , I need some help trying to paint my front door, but don’t know what color my house in Austin brick more gold with some cream do you know color would looked good please .
What color family do you think would go best with red bricks, the Aquas or the Greens? I’m torn….thanks
Hi! What are the colours on the home with the yellow door, grey house [#805] with the yellow S. I love them!
Can you tell me what you think about painting my door orange with light blue siding?
This post was very interesting. I have a 1940 home in the historic district of Savannah GA. I just had it repainted and although my interior is mostly in the coastal blues category I stuck with the original exterior colors of white siding and trim with Charleston green shutters and canopies. My screen door is black and front door a boring white. What color should I paint my front door and should I paint the screen door the same color? Thank you.
I really need help!
Our new home has siding that is a pinkish white!
I have no idea what Color would go with it for our door! 🙁
Hi! Does the house with the green door in the pics you showed have the same color shutters or are they a shade or two darker? I have green paint already for door and love the look in that pic!
Also, if I have beige (vinyl one color brick a shade darker) house, green door and then do green shutters…..where do I look for fence color? Pull in something to match trim work (white), look to browns and bring in a new color, match to brick color? Thanks!
I believe they are a tad darker. I always love a white fence, but that’s just my opinion! It’s crisp and bright and really pops. Best of luck with your painting project.
I have a beige color ranch style house with brown shutters and brown door. Do u have any suggestions for a new color for front door that would liked work with shutters ! Thanks!! Rhonda
How would sherwin williams Juneberry look on our door ? house is brown ceder
Hello Donna, it’s hard for me to advise you without seeing pictures or knowing more information. If you’d like to set up a paint consultation, just let me know!
Would you share the name of the orange you used on your door?
Bright colors on the doors look extraordinary Heather, a great point of view. On a gray background, or anything from the taupe family in fact, the contrast brought forward is exemplary ! Thanks for sharing these; I might go for gray and green mint 😀 !
Thanks for the kind words, Jennifer:)
I love the colors you have listed as possibilities for front doors. I really want to paint my front door, but I am struggling with it because we have a mahogany stained door. It currently needs to be sanded and stained and, yes, because if faces the west, it gets a lot of sun and needs lots of regular maintenance. My question is do you think it is okay to paint just the exterior part of the door and leave the stained, interior side as is?
I never though the color painted on the front door of a house could make such a dramatic difference. The home with the yellow door is beautiful. I usually stay away from bright colors but it seems like if your house is painted with the right colors then it won’t be overwhelming.
Normally I’m not drawn to yellow, but I actually really love the color of your neighbor’s door. It’s so pretty and it pops so well against that dark gray. Now I might have to consider painting our door yellow! Thanks for sharing!
Forgive me if this question has already been asked, but what color is the brick on the house with the green door? It’s a beautiful color.
I have a pale yellow house and dark forest green shutter and cannot decide on a front door color. the house has some red brick on the bottom. any suggestions
Hi Heather,
We have a plain flat metal white entrance door with no panels except a nice half-moon glass panel on above portion of door. I wan paint it Bold Blue or any recommendations? Shroud I add panels/moldings? Leave the frame. There’s red brick around the door-frame.
Many Thanks.
Fay
Hi,
When you painted the exterior of your door orange and left the inside white, which color did you have on the sides, top and bottom? I’d like to do a burgundy exterior and white interior, but can’t decide on the edges. The woodwork in the foyer is white.
I’m still deciding if I want to put in a storm door and which color to use.
Thanks for any advice!
Great question, Phyllis! I actually left the sides and top the same white as the interior.
Hi Heather,
Is the orange that you used on your front door the SW Navel? We have an Austin stone exterior with gray hand railing. The orange looks great on your front door. You mentioned that your shutters are a chalky blue. Do you know that paint color off hand? I’m not very good at picking paint colors! Thank you! Your article has helped a lot!
Great article! Thank you! Your friends house (with the yellow door), what is another color that would look good with it in your opinion? A red? We have the same brick and will be doing that grey. I’m just not into the yellow…
Love the orange door…want to paint but cant find the color can yiu advise the name of color Please!!!
I think this is the new color for 2017! (Orange) Wish I knew the name too! Let me know if you find out! karenskidsrock@gmail.com
What is the name of the Orange door…thinking of this for my bedroom on one wall
I’m curious what color that “orange” door really is. It looks kind of orange and kind of brown. I like it. 🙂 Do you know the paint color that it is?
Got it! Folksy gold… sorry- I looked above 🙂
Hello- Do you have the name of the color for the yellow door? I didnt see that in the comments. Thanks!
I was wondering what is the name of the color of orange on the door picture. That is exactly what I’m looking for!
Hi Amy! It was a custom match, but a close color is “Autumnal” by Sherwin Williams. Happy painting:)
I am looking to paint our front door and back door on our 1800 farm house. The brick is light colored and I was thinking of painting the doors a green color what do you think? I love green!
I love green too…go bright, like a Kelly green.
I have beige siding but floor of porch is green. The rest of porch is white. I need help with door n shutter color. Suggestions?
I have a teracota-( red- orange) brick house with Benjamin Moore Taos troupe trim. I am thinking of painting the front door jalapeño pepper, does that sound good, or would something else be better?
Hi- I have a light blue vinyl sided house. I’m looking for a front door and shutter color that is not black or white as everyone seems to do that with this particular lt. Blue (I describe it as 80s country geese light blue). If I search online for a fun, different color the blue of the houses are more of a darker blue or grayish blue. If only. That seems easier to work with. Any ideas for me? Thanks!!!
Bright yellow
Hi thinking of having a purple violet front door and painting the external of house in a dark grey with some white for the window sills – will this go please?
I love the idea but I love purple and violet. I’m now picking a different shade for my front door. Color is too deep violet for my tiny white house.
We are in the process of buying a new home. My Mother’s Day gift this year is choosing the front door color! This article has helped me narrow it down to a poppy like orange or a teal. House is dark gray btw. Before I choose I want to find planters and a rocking chair. Too much if all same color? Farmers style porch. Thanks!
Your beautiful orange front door looks a bit like Behr Maple Leaf also.
Hi my house has white siding and dark green shutters. Could you suggest a door color. It is the same as the shutters now. Are there other colors I could use to change it up Alittle.
If you’re shutters are deep sage green then you may like chocolate brown or golden color. If emerald green go with a blue or black.
I have a small 1200 square foot ranch house on 4 acres with approximately 15 trees. I love my little ranch but it looks small on this land. My house is white vinyl sided with light grey trim. The natural wooden oak door didn’t seem to match so I painted it purple, my favorite color.
Now I’m not happy with my choice. The door looks beautiful after sanding, priming, and painting it with Sherwin Williams (HGSW2411) Resilience Exterior Acrylic Latex Satin but the dark bright purple Amethyst G (may look like new color Kimono Violet SW6839) also doesn’t seem to go with the small white house. Maybe the purple was too bold for the small house? Would toning down the purple to (Wood Violet SW6557 / Plum SW6263 / Renwick Heather SW2818) look better or should I choose a different color all together?
I like purple, blue, aqua, light green, and yellow (colors above of 1, 2, 5,6,8, 11). I will not paint the door pink, mauve, red, orange, brown, black, grey, or white. Any suggestions other than purple/plum? Please help!!
My father lived with me after tornado took his home which he was to old to start over now he is grow and he was always happy but Ian trying g to change shuttle things in home I have a brown dpcedar home and it has been red/burgundy for years what aqua or turquoise would you suggest
Hi There! We are putting Barn Red Siding/ White trim on our home, what color front door would make it all pop? Was thinking a bright Yellow. Any suggestions? Thanks for the help.
thank you so much for those example pictures. I especially love that yellow front door! Do you know if one can get a door custom painted in manufacturing? Thanks!
I am not fan of yellow color, but i like yellow color door looks so great.