Contemplating front door color ideas to ensure your home makes the right impression? From timeless favorites to more contemporary shades, there’s a wealth of hues to consider.
Complementing the facade of the house is important, but so, too, is the note the color will strike, be it cheerful and welcoming or more formal and classic. The principles of Feng Shui might also influence color selection of your front door ideas and the maintenance needs of a particular choice will likely come into play, too.
Here, we’ve gathered a host of beautiful front door colors both classic and contemporary in their effect for inspiration and asked the experts to share their advice as well.
Front door color ideas
The best front door color ideas can refresh the exterior of a home, catching the eye from the street for all the right reasons, and might even increase a home’s value. Bear in mind that your front door design will affect which front door paint ideas suit, as well as the period of your home and the color of paintwork visible from the street and your front porch ideas.
1. Go for natural tones with blues and greens
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
Allow nature to be a guide and put front door color ideas in shades of blue or green at the top of your list of preferences. Either will blend beautifully with foliage alongside the front door or in nearby borders for a harmonious look.
Muted shades like this blue or nature-inspired greens are a perfect partner to traditional homes, too, ensuring the front door is attention-grabbing but sympathetic to the architecture.
2. Refresh in a day with white
(Image credit: Sadolin)
Painting the front door is one of the speediest ways to boost a home’s curb appeal. ‘It’s a one day project that can make a world of difference to the appearance of your home,’ says Matthew Brown, Sadolin and Sandtex technical consultant.
‘As the first thing people see when visiting your home, the color and look of your front door really should be a considered choice. Taking note of the style of the door, along with the trim and siding that frames it can change the whole look of the exterior.’
For a smart but subtle entrance, follow this home’s lead with the door painted to match the façade. Bear in mind that cleaning a front door is a more regular task the lighter the front door paint color.
3. Follow Feng Shui front door color principles
(Image credit: Sandtex)
The traditional practice of Feng Shui could assist in selecting a front door color. ‘In Feng Shui, the front door plays a major role in welcoming positive energy into the house,’ says practitioner Eddie Tee of Fengshuied!
‘When we are going for more striking colors, there is a concept of colors that can be applied to choosing one based on the sector where the front door is located within the property or the direction it is facing. This can be generally broken down to the guide below:
- North – blue
- South – red
- East – green
- West – white
- Northeast – brown
- Northwest – white
- Southeast – green
- Southwest – brown
‘This concept is centered around avoiding an energy clash with the nature of energy entering via a specific direction. However, it should be noted that in modern times where the shape of houses are getting more creative, this concept is no longer as widely practised as decades ago.
A more straightforward way of choosing? ‘It can also be said that in Chinese culture, red front doors are generally considered as auspicious,’ says Eddie. ‘They bring good luck and abundance.’
4. Let color bloom with floral-inspired shades
(Image credit: Dulux)
For a truly cohesive front yard or for cottage front door ideas, choose a front door color that picks up one of the hues from among the planting’s palette. For this home, it’s a delicate lavender shade that will echo the wisteria that grows around it once it’s in bloom.
Likewise, flowers in hot shades can be combined with a front door color ideas in red or orange, and borders of sunny blooms with a yellow door.
5. Highlight a door’s detail with front door paint colors
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
There’s no rule that says you have to paint a paneled front door in a single color, and if you want to emphasize its detail, there’s nothing better than choosing a selection of hues for the task.
The keys to success? Pick harmonious colors to use on the different elements of the design, and repeat shades from windows and siding, too, to pull the look together and make a striking impression from the street.
6. Smarten up with black
(Image credit: Getty Images)
For classic good looks, black is a winning choice for a front door color. ‘A glossy black front door is always in style,’ says certified color expert and certified interior decorator Pattie Kelly of Inspired Home Interiors. Black can be a natural partner to more traditional style homes, and it’s a shade that will pop, making the front door a focal point.
But if a bolder hue is your instinct, don’t be afraid. ‘A colorful front door is a fantastic way to make a statement and add some punch to your front porch,’ Pattie continues. ‘The most important thing is to choose a color that you love so you smile every time you come home.’
7. Finish a double door
(Image credit: Little Greene)
Double front doors are an imposing feature in their own right, so a quieter finish can be the perfect choice for a home with one of these. A white like this is a timeless choice, and although the paint finish will need to be renewed over time due to the effects of sun and weather, it won’t go out of style.
When selecting any color for a front door, be aware that if you live in a community with a homeowners’ association (HOA), there may be rules on front door finishes. ‘Double check with your HOA in case some colors aren’t permitted,’ says Pattie Kelly.
8. Go for gray for a contemporary front door color
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
For a front door color that stands out from an exterior in white, beige, or cream, consider gray. It’s a more contemporary choice than black or navy, but is equally handsome, and eminently suitable for a classic paneled door design.
A gray door can also prove easier to keep clean than black and navy as mid to lighter tones won’t make any dust or dirt that adheres to the door’s surface as obvious.
9. Choose a front door color with staying power
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
Whichever hue is selected from among the range of front door color ideas, it’s important to bear maintenance in mind. ‘You do want to think about how much sun the door gets, so west and south facing doors can fade quickly due to the amount of direct sunlight,’ says interior designer and color expert Jennifer Guerin, owner of JG Color Studios.
‘Stay within naturally pigmented hues that won’t fade as fast as the more synthetic bold tones that will need constant touch up. Using a high quality paint, such as Fine Paints of Europe gloss, which has longer staying power, or Benjamin Moore’s Grand Entrance, also known for its protective quality that lasts for years even with high sun volume.’
10. Select a different color for the front door’s interior
(Image credit: Crown)
Don’t forget that the color you pick for the exterior of your front door doesn’t have to be repeated on the interior side. You may want to pick a more light-reflective shade for inside, especially if the door is solid, features stained glass, or has minimal glazing, as this will help brighten up an entranceway short on daylight.
A different color for the interior can also link the door to the rest of the hall decor or a shade from the palette picked throughout the home.
What are popular front door colors 2022?
It’s black that’s set to be the most popular front door color of 2022 with blue and green also favored. Some 56 per cent of experts surveyed for the Fixr paint and color trends 2022 report agreed that black will be the most popular front door color choice in 2022.
‘A black front door will pair well with almost all home exterior color shades and add extra contrast especially against white or light colored siding,’ says Stefania Filizola, Fixr’s design editor. ‘You can also add depth to your home by matching your black door with a variety of siding shades such as tan, red, blue and green.
‘Other popular front door colors for 2022 include royal blue and two green hues, hunter green and sage green,’ she continues.
What color door increases home value?
Keep it classic to maximize home value. ‘Finishes that are neutral in color can increase home value simply by the way they attract a larger audience,’ says Yoselin Castro, senior interior designer at Mackenzie Collier Interiors. ‘Homes painted in colors like black or white make it easier for people to see themselves in the space and personalize it with their own style, as it’s almost like working with a blank canvas. This is true with front door colors too – while it may only cost you a few hundred dollars to change the color of your door if you’re trying to sell a home, it’s better to keep it safe and opt for neutral exterior paint colors.’