The front door of your home is one of the first features people notice—especially when its color is selected to pop with personality. Though it’s a small detail, its perfect shade can dramatically increase curb appeal.
So, before choosing a new door color, think about factors like your home’s architecture, landscaping, neighborhood requirements, and your own personal style. Here are several questions you can use to help narrow down your selection.
What Should You Consider as You Select a Door Color?
There are tons of door shades you can choose, but you can narrow down your options by asking the right questions. Let’s look at what you should be thinking about.
What color goes best with my home’s architecture?
Whatever type of home you own—whether it’s a Chicago school, Greystone, cottage, art deco, bungalow, or postmodern—the color of the front door should match the style.
A traditional style house typically works best with a door that’s a classic, deep, rich color, such as black or white. A more modern home benefits from a bold, creative color scheme, such as a bright yellow, orange or teal.
But don’t be afraid to use a little contrast as well. If the rest of the house is a darker color, a light front door can add value. Likewise, a dark door on a light-toned home is attractive.
Should the inside of your front door be the same color as the outside?
If the outside color of the door works well with the exterior but is too bright or dark for the interior, it is perfectly fine to paint the inside a different color to match the rest of your home.
Does the color of the screen door matter?
There are two choices you can make with your screen or storm door. It can either be painted to contrast the color of the front door, making that color stand out even more, or it can be painted a neutral color so that it blends well with the front door behind it.
Should my front door match my home’s surroundings?
The areas around your home, including landscaping and porch, definitely influence your choice of color. What you select should blend well with those features.
Tip: The overall vibe of your neighborhood can be part of this decision too. Look at houses that are similar to yours to find inspiration.
Should I stick to a classic neutral color?
A neutral brown, black or gray door will automatically add a touch of class to any architecture. Traditional colors continue to look great, regardless of fashion trend changes.
Is there an ideal color for a white house?
So many colors work with a white house that you have a lot of flexibility here.
Even so, the accents of your home exterior can assist you in your color choice. What shades do you see in the roof, trim and shutters? Your front door can either complement or contrast with those tones.
Tip: Using a color wheel and paint samples can help you identify the shades that work best with your home’s features.
Is there a ‘best’ door color for a brick house?
Brick houses can work with nearly every color on the color wheel, but it is important to consider the tone of the brick on your house so that you choose a shade that matches nicely. Try a color that is a few shades lighter than your home’s brick, or see how a color that’s a few shades richer would look.
What about a monochrome color scheme?
Homes that are on the smaller size can look exceptionally attractive when all the exterior elements are painted a variation of the same color. Matching the front door with the window frames, trim, shutters, as well as any other exterior features will cause the home to look larger than it is, resulting in curb appeal and added value.
How creative is too creative?
It doesn’t hurt to experiment! Getting outside your comfort zone is beneficial, especially if a beautiful, striking front door is the end result. There’s no such thing as too creative—it just depends on what pleases you and your guests.
Practical Tips Before You Commit to a New Door Color
Before changing your door’s color, keep these two tips in mind:
Should I test paint?
Not sure about your color choice? Instead of test painting, tape paint samples on your door. Step back to see how they look from the curb. Look at them at different times of the day, to see how the light affects the color.
Does the paint I use matter?
Yes! Ideal exterior door paints are acrylic resin or latex-based with a semi-gloss finish. These popular exterior paints fill in imperfections on the door’s surface and resist cracking and chipping, so they’ll look attractive long-term.
Why You Want to Carefully Choose Your Door Color
What’s the advantage of changing your door’s color? There are a lot of reasons to do so.
Maybe you want to express your personality, or you want your door to create a warmer welcome. Perhaps you’re looking for a small but meaningful home improvement project. Or you want your home to be memorable and desirable to buyers or renters.
All these goals can be achieved with the right color—one that conveys a positive vibe and is pleasing to look at. That emotional, visual response makes your home more valuable in the eyes of others, which is beneficial to you as a homeowner.
Why Not Invest in a New, Modern Door?
Installing a new door with the latest styles and features is a great way to upgrade your home’s curb appeal and value. When you’re ready to install new doors on your Chicago home, Siding & Windows Group is here to help with beautiful, lasting door installations you can rely on.