Painting your front door is one of the most important things you can do to your house. When someone looks at your house from the street, the front door should attract the viewers eyes to welcome them. It must make the best impression on your guests.
First there are some things to keep in mind.
- Avoid unnecessary clutter. Clutter is merely junk that may amuse the homeowner but it just distracts the viewer. A plain door is great and a simple wreath on the door is fine too.
- A good vase by the door is nice but no more than that. Nothing plastic or cutesy.
- A cheap front door looks like a cheap front door and prepares your guests for a cheap looking interior.
- The front door should always be clean and have a good coat of paint or varnish on it.
- When painting your front door it should always be a contrasting color to the trim and body color so it stands out. Other doors of less importance can be painted the body color.
Your front door must make the best impression.
What Color Should I Paint My Front Door?
If your antique front door is stained and varnished natural wood, that is great. Do NOT paint your front door if it is varnished. Maintain your door by using a Spar varnish which has ultra-violet blocking properties.
If your door is not varnished, painting your front door to match the window sash color or shutter color is the best choice. Your front door will still stand out even though the shutter color is repeated. Since the color is only used in small amounts on the shutters, reusing this color will create a nice feeling of harmony on the house. If you have a small house without shutters reuse one of the existing colors. If you only have a body and trim color then and only then can you paint your front door a different contrasting color.
On a Colonial house however there are a lot of windows and shutters symmetrically placed with a door in the center. Here the door should be a contrasting color to stand out from everything else.
Color placement can also be a problem when painting your front door and entrance.
Colonial style architecture is symmetrical. Painting your front door a contrasting color is recommended. However I do NOT recommend this color placement.
This is a front door for a restaurant but guests enter from the rear in the parking lot. The door and sidelights are not historic nor are they a good design so don’t copy this. This is a good example for color placement only.
As I said a red door looks great on a Colonial building but here the door is red, the sidelights are red and the trim is also red.
The trim on the house is all painted white. The door jamb is part of the trim yet notice it is still painted red.
All this red just looks like one big red hole in the house and doesn’t look good. One may think the homeowner didn’t put any thought into this.
Door, sidelights, and trim is all red.
Here the trim is now painted white just like all the other trim is.
The sidelights are still red to match the door.
This is not necessarily wrong, but I don’t recommend it. There is a lot of red and the sidelights can appear like they are dominating the door, which has a hierarchy over the sidelights. It would look better if there were window lights all the way to the bottom. This may be a judgement call based on the house.
It does look much cleaner and neater than the example above.
Red door and red sidelights and white trim separating them.
In this example, only the door is painted red.
This is most traditional and I prefer this color placement.
Notice that the saddle or threshold is painted the door color. This color is okay only because of the brick color. Typically, I would recommend it be painted gray or the color of the porch floor. The saddle should not be the door color.
Red front door only.
Wrong way.
Correct way.
Is There Really a Wrong & Right Way to Paint Your Front Door?
My answer is – not really. If you have an antique varnished door, sidelights, and trim around them, do not paint anything. Leave them as they have been all these years. I have seen original entrances with everything stained and varnished historically, although it has been very rare.
With a painted door, I definitely do recommend painting the trim surrounding the door and sidelights. Why would you have one color trim all over the house and a different color trim at the entrance? It doesn’t make sense.
Door Colors and Type of Paint
A varnished door looks good in both satin and semi-gloss. Again, a Spar varnish will protect the wood from ultra-violet rays from the sun. Gloss is easier to clean. Satin will make the door look more like an antique.
For door paint, use gloss or even high gloss.
The Colonial restaurant used in the example does not have a nice red colored door. A very good red to have with a white house and black shutters is Benjamin Moore Heritage Red . This is a very popular and traditional red for a house like this. Saturated colors are very good. Consider a bright lemon yellow, blue, orange etc.
Save Energy with a Storm Door or Screen Door
No. I strongly do not recommend a storm door. There is no storm door that will look good. A storm door is unwelcoming and cheapens the look of a house. Think of movies or commercials you watched. If the house is to portray elegance there will never be a storm door. The money you save on heat is not worth the cost of a bad appearance.
Additionally a glass storm door that gets the sun can warp your door because of the heat that can build up in them. Read more about that here.
Screen doors have a lot of benefits but again they do NOT add to curb appeal. A Victorian screen door does have a homey Norman Rockwell look and feel to it but not an elegant look if that is what you prefer. One option if you really need a screen door is to consider removing it during the cold months. I have a screen door on my back door. I remove if during the winter not for appearance but just to get it out of the way when it’s not needed.
With a limestone house with white woodwork/trim, is having the front door white as well ok. the only contrasting color I can imagine looking right is bare wood or black. Any tips for color choices on limestone houses.
Also, a future article on appropriate front doors would be helpful. It’s common around me to have the original front door replaced with modern foam core/leaded glass, and I’m currently struggling to determine what my door should have been.
Hi – You should never replace your front door. The epidemic of buying that vaguely Victorian door with leaded or beveled glass is happening all over. People are buying this door and putting it on every style house without even thinking or caring how incompatible it looks on the house as a whole. Sadly few homeowners have the integrity or inclination to ever consider matching the style of the door to the house. These people feel that a new front door will impress the neighbors and look at it as a status symbol. This is an ignorant thing to do. I can also tell you that my parents did the same thing to their ranch house. This was before I could stop them. Thankfully they kept the original door in the garage for future owners. I’m still trying to get them to put it back on the house.
If the bad homeowners before you did this there are new doors that are wood that may be able to work with your house. There are also original doors you may find at a salvage place. Email me a photo of your house and I will see if I can give you some info on what style would be right.
As for door color, white is fine but I need to see a photo. If the body of your house is a tan color and your trim is white, you should be able to use any color. Red or blue seems like it should work.
Hi Ken. My wooden frame around the front door is rotted. I was told the only way to fix it was to replace the entire door and frame. I noticed you said to NEVER replace your front door. Do you have a better suggestion?
Thank you.
I am not a carpenter but that does not make sense. Today when you purchase a door the frame will come with it to make it easy to install. I do not understand why a wood frame surrounding a door cannot be replaced. Providing you have the correct size, a door can be replaced with another door. Why can’t a door frame be replaced then? I would look for a real carpenter that is more knowledgeable. Can anyone weigh in here?
Nothing says “prefab” louder than sidelights the same finish as the door. It’s an epidemic. Makes me nuts.
Thanks for your articles! I love your informative posts. I just bought a 1940 house in FL that was renovated and have been planning to paint my front door but am challenged since it is a Victorian style door (oval glass)with a non Victorian style house. Is there a way to pull it off with color (I am guessing no lol) or do I just save for a new door that matches the 1940s style? I am a complete novice at older homes and am reading as much as I can, but can’t seem to get a good handle on it yet.
Hi Jamie – paint will change the color but not the style. The style of the front door depends on the style of your house. Do a search here https://retrorenovation.com/?s=1940 or search online.
How about this scenario. 1920 Bungalow in Cranston, RI. House came with cheap vinyl windows and really bad “pine” clapboards. Assuming the original red cedar was replaced at some point.
Last summer I stripped the exterior and replaced all windows and siding and 50,000 miles of trim board, by myself. Went with the Marvin Integrity series windows. Wood sashes with exterior fiberglass cladding. Forest green. Went with a color matched green for the window trim in a gloss finish. Red satin/matte solid stain on the new red cedar shingles.
Question, should I paint the corner boards, water table, fascia trim, soffit, exposed rafter tails, etc… A different color than the windows and window trim?
Should I paint the gable shingles a different color than the rest of the body?
Old wood front door is original but not repairable. Cracked and broken panels, broken stiles and old mortise lock cutout destroyed and covered with brass plates. Done. I built a new frame and panel door from Douglas Fir to completely mimic the old door. Saved the dentil moulding!
I needed a storm door, way too much heat transfer through a wood door. Installed full view glass with green frame.
What color would you paint the new door exterior? No stain and poly on exterior, interior only. Even Spar cracks over time.
What color roof shingles?
http://www.flickr.com/gp/186688064@N02/632329
Hi – there is a body color a trim color and a window sash color.
The body color is the clapboard and shingles. Everything else is the trim. There must be ONLY one trim color.
The windows sash and door can be a contrasting color but not white.
There can be two body colors only if there are clapboards separated by shingles but you must have trim separating them. I have a blog article on this that will help.
Link to blog?
search for shingles
I have a light gray house with black shutters. I would like a ref door but what should i put on sudelights? Clear or a print with colors?
That combination sounds very nice. For this make the sidelights the white trim color.
Debating with my family about door color for a brick ranch house. Inside walls are light gray with white trim. Should door be same color on inside as on the outside? It is white now.
Just can’t decide.
No – the door on the interior will match all the woodwork not the walls. The exterior side is different and can be painted gray or an accent color like blue or yellow etc.
We have wooden thresholds between rooms. We are going to refinish them, but are in a quandary as to what color of stain to use – presently they are stained a light maple color, but the doors and jams are a darker (more of a medium brown shade). To further complicate our decision our floors range from brick, Saltillo tile to black slate.
For the exterior the door saddle should be the porch floor color or a gray. Interior it should match the wood floor color. If you have a gray slate floor in one room and a red brick tile color in the other room first choose the more prominent room. Hallway is more prominent to a bedroom. If this doesn’t work try a combination of the colors like a grayish red. I would not think a saddle matching the trim would work for it may look like you are walking through a hole. Try experimenting with a piece of cardboard painting the stain or whatever color. Not easy I know.
I have a two-story center-hall colonial with white siding, white trim, black shutters and red front door. I like it and want to keep it that way. My question is about the white side facing, basement level pedestrian door which is flanked by two white overhead garage doors. That side of the house is all white with white trim and white doors. It’s looks like a giant white movie screen! I can’t change the siding or trim colors. Can I paint the pedestrian door red (like the front door) or another color? Should I paint the overhead garage doors the same color as the door, or leave them white? I’m not fixated on all the doors matching, I just want to break up the white, slab-sided monotony on that side of the house.
Good question. Garage doors should be the body color which is white for you. Secondary doors would not usually match the front door for that can diminish the impact and importance of the main door. In your case I think the red will stand out too much on a white wall. The black shutter color is what I would recommend for secondary doors. One suggestion on a side note is to have a white house using two different whites – one being brighter or lighter than the other. The house will read white but the trim will stand out more.
Hi, I have a 1920 bungalow with a porch which wraps around the front and one side of the home. I’ve opted for a dark green body, coral accent, and creamy white trim. I am at a loss for what color to paint the porch and brick columns. I imagine a lighter version of the body color, perhaps? Is it ok to use four colors? Unfortunately, the brick columns or supports were painted prior, and I don’t think they can be stripped/restored. The porch floor is wood.
Also, I have opted to paint the window sashes (thank you for your page on how to paint them properly) and doors in the coral color, with all other trim in the creamy white. Is it ok for sashes and doors to both be painted in the accent color? Thank you for any input.
Avoid a lot of colors. Best option is to strip the brick. If not, consider painting it a brick color. The coral accent sounds great with the colors you chose but a Bungalow should not be accented like a Victorian. Use that color for the window sashes and door. The porch floor can be painted gray or maybe even the coral. Sounds nice!
Thank you, Ken. I really appreciate your prompt response, and ideas for the porch!
I have decided to attempt stripping the brick. So far, I’ve found five layers of paint, but it is coming along, and the brick still looks great. It will be a long process, but worth it. I’ll have to send a picture of the final results. Thank you again!
Boy am I glad that I found you. My home is an American four square, built in early 1900. Orange/yellow brick, red mortar.
The previous owners had painted all the trim brown. We have repainted using brown, yellow and a little red. The entrance is still bare wood. Stained glass, sidelights, transom, old wooden screen door.
I know that I want to include the same colors that I mentioned, but in what ratio. It is intimidating.
I would like to send you a picture.
Good your door is still stained. Hard to follow your question so please email me a photo.
House is gray brick, with light gray hardy board siding….shutters are black…..replacing front door and side lights…should door shed sidelights be same?
You never mentioned a trim color – sounds pretty bad.
We live in a light beige brink hope with grey exterior paint. It had a wrap around porch with a few white accents. The door needs to be repainted and I would like a warm color, but not bright red/blue. What do you recommend?
Sorry I didn’t check my spelling. It is a brick home. The wrap around porch is grey with white shutters and “ginger bread.”
I have no idea.
Hi Ken,
Thanks for this post, very helpful.
We have a brick house with white trim and porch banister, which will stay white. We are trying to decide what to paint our front door (it’s original, glass and wood) and wooden front porch floor – currently both are a light grey and we want to go to a bit darker grey and maybe have undertones of blue or green – any suggestions here?
And should the porch floor be the same color as the door?
Not usually – it depends.
Hi!
I need help with a color choice for my front door that’s currently a white steel door with a small vertical, beveled and frosted window in the middle.
The house is a 1950’s home with white siding, with a brown roof. I painted the shutters copper, as well as house numbers and mailbox.
My detached garage right next to house is white, sandstone (tan)garage door, brown roof. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Shutters looking like copper does not sound too good. Black, red, white, or another color would be better. I would paint the door to match the shutters. Garage door historically was the trim color but the contemporary look today is the body color. House numbers and mailbox can be copper.
I recently purchased a new door and wanted black for door. Somehow the frame came in black and was installed when I was out of town. I was never asked by the lumber yard what I want the trim/casing to be. Is that my error? Can I paint the new casing/trim without ruining the look of the new frame?
It’s kinda your fault but really most doors today come in a unit being one color unless you request different. You can easily paint the frame.
Hi!
My front door is varnished wood, but mostly glass. The varnish wasn’t applied properly from the factory and is now peeling where the sun hits it. The sun only hits half the door so only the bottom half looks bad.
Anyway, I’m trying to decide between refinishing or painting as I’m fairly certain professional refinishing will cost more than I can afford. I’d attempt to try it myself, but I don’t have a dunnage door and I’ve never done refinishing before.
Can I paint the door once I sand off the varnish and prime it or do you recommend refinishing?
If refinishing, do you have suggestions? Can it be done hanging?
Hi – well it can be done hanging but it makes the job more difficult. You would be best doing work then rehanging until the next step. I know, it’s heavy. I have a similar issue. My front door inside my porch gets afternoon sun. What I found to work was to apply a coat of Spar varnish every September. A very light coat and that protects the door. Unfortunately the varnish builds up but that takes a long time. If I skip a year some varnish flakes and pulls the stain away making re-varnishing just a gloss over a problem. A stained door does look great but a painted door will hold up better and problem areas just need to be painted over since there is no wood grain to show. Whatever you do, do not sand off the finish. It must be stripped. Sanding will ruin the patina. Just do a light sanding before refinishing like you are dusting furniture. This link may help. https://www.oldhouseguy.com/paint-stripping/
I have two front doors, they are at right angles to each other. They were originally grain painted oak and are currently painted white. Do I strip them and re-grain or paint them a solid color? All of my woodwork was originally grained, some survives, other I have recreated. House is an 1867 Folk Victorian.
Stained natural wood or faux grained wood always look the best. I would try to re-do the original look although it is a lot easier to just paint the doors.
Hi Ken,
My house is a red brick with beige mortar, and white aluminum around the windows. The brick has no other color than red. It is at least 130 years old. I’m looking at painting the west-facing front door a solid dark color, perhaps black. (It is presently painted white) The base below the door is gray marble, and the hand railing on the cement stoop, the front basement windows, and the side gate are black wrought iron.
My I’m unsure if all the wood trim around the door and eaves should be a creamy white or stark white to match the aluminum around the windows. Also, I’d like the floral and vine insets on the trim above the door and on the eaves below the roof to stand out. What colors would you suggest to complement the brick? Wish I could send you a photo. I enjoy reading your responses to all the inquiries!
Thanks for reading! Lori
Get rid of ALL the white and use Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan HC-81. The best color to go with brick and stone. Black door is great.
Thanks for the prompt reply, Ken. Do you mean to remove white aluminum on windows since they can’t be painted without soon flaking, or can we use the above mentioned Manchester Tan on all wood trim with the white aluminum around the windows? (We aren’t able to do windows at this time, but hope to restore them someday) What are some historically good trim colors for the flower and stem inserts I mentioned to go with our brick facade? Will definitely do a black door!
Remove all the white COLOR and replace with the Manchester Tan. There should be zero white just the tan color.
I have a wood front door with beveled glass and side lights. It needs help.
The shutters are SW Rock garden. I have no idea what to do. Thought maybe paint but don’t know what color for the door and the white trim seems a little harsh.
The porch has a grayish siding and the house is brick.
I do have a pic but don’t know how to post it.
Hi, Ken. I have a 1950 bungalow that has new siding in a very light beige, all white trim and Windows and black shutters. I would like to paint my front door a fun pop of color. Any suggestions?
Hi – I usually recommend using the shutter color for the door since the house is small and there are not a lot of shutters to allow to bring in another color. For example a Colonial Revival usually had 5 windows/shutter across the top and 4 on the first floor. That is a lot of shutter color so a contrasting color is good. See what you think otherwise BM Heritage Red is a traditional color but a strong yellow and teal blue is good too for a twist.
I have a white one level ranch style house with black shutters. The roof is black also. I am building a detached garage. What color for garage door and front door? Front door is not painted yet. Trim on windows is still white like the house.
Help!
Black front door to match the shutters but keep the garage door white. You want your front door to attract attention but not your garage.
Hi Ken! I have an 1895 brick home and need help with the front door color and trim. There is one sidelight and a transom above. The threshold is 12 inches deep. The front porch floor is gray cement and the porch columns are white. The trim around the current wooden front door is white and the trim around all the windows is white. The brick is the same color of faded red. Can you make suggestions for color of new door, style, and color of trim? The old door is wood with half beveled glass.
Thank you!
Try Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan HC-81. This is a go-to color for brick or stone homes. It is a neutral color that is a soft cream-tan that will tie into the mortar. Very elegant. Replace all the white with this. Since you are removing the white then no other white – mailbox etc. The door can be an accent color. Usually the shutter color or a black, Essex green, or a saturated yellow or blue.
I disagree. I like the look of it all painted red. It makes a statement. Whatever the owner prefers is the right answer. Your way is not right for everyone. It makes the door look small and insignificant. It’s not the only way to paint a door.
This is not my opinion but a professional statement based on education and training. Your statement “Whatever the owner prefers is the right answer” is a very ignorant comment for if that were the case there would be no need for any design services. If what you think you like is correct then why would you even come to this website?
Aside from the possibility of having low standards, so many people are brainwashed by seeing bad architecture that the bad architecture is what they like best because of its popularity.
I do find it difficult to understand why you would like the trim color to be one color everywhere on the house and the trim color the door color at the door.
I can only imagine what you personally and your house looks like if you revolt against any advice.
Hi,
Interesting article. We have an circa 1840 Greek Revival farmhouse in the national historic register. It has flat white siding and semi gloss white trim. The shutters are painted a historic Amish green from the California paints palette. The question is what is good for the door. It has been white. The door is not original but appears to from 1860, perhaps Italianate with wrought iron black window insets. It’s a double door recessed on the right 1/3 of the main part of the house with a side ell with porch in that direction. House has modest square porch pillars and some pilasters but no big columns.
So it could be green or maybe what? Thoughts?
Thanks
Hi – I would always paint the front door to match the shutters. There is an exception with a Colonial. If there are 5 windows on the 2nd floor and 4 on the first w a door in the center the look can appear static. In this case I would paint the door a contrasting color like yellow if you have green shutters on white.
I have a small one story house on a rural acreage with a 9/12 pitch roof. If it had dormers it would look Cape Cod. The shingles are Owens Corning Chateau Green. No shingles as I think it might make the house look smaller than it already is. The front door is white with four small panes of glass in a row along the top. What color would look good for the door? I don’t want yellow and look like a Packers fan. I don’t want red either so that it looks like perpetual Christmas. Not crazy about black either. A dull clay or terracotta? Thanks very much.
Hi – If I understand your house is white with a green roof? In this case I would paint the roof to match the door. When color is repeated it creates harmony.
Please help. I have a 1980s house beige brick lower, tan hardiplank upper, tan window encasement, arched windows 1st floor, rectangular windows 2nd floor.
Wooden front door with arched center lite.
Should I remove to second level green shutters or keep and paint front door to match.
Wooden front door with arched center lite needs better weatherstripping or maybe replacement since it’s poorly sealed around door.
Any thoughts you’d like to share are appreciated.
I happy to send pictures but unable to attach here.
Hi – sorry but from what you say the house must look horrible with all that beige.
If the shutters are fake – remove them asap. If real then they should be on all front windows that are double hung. If the front door is natural stained then that is the best.
What do you recommend for garage / carriage style doors on an attached garage on a Victorian house? The garage is highly visible from the street. Body colour to make them fade away? It makes that facade a lot of the same colour without a break. But I would also empathize with the approach of not drawing attention to a garage door that is of course not original. I notice architects like Patrick Ahearn seemingly always turn to black or Essex green for the garage doors.
I never heard of a Victorian with an attached garage. The garage should be hidden behind the house and not have a prominent position. A lot depends on the house colors which should match the main house. A garage door can be the body color to not stand out.