Fool-Proof Tips for Choosing the Best Front Door Color

A good first impression is essential, and your front door color says a lot about your home. A sunny yellow door can extend a warm welcome that beckons guests inside a cottage-style home. A bright red front door, on the other hand, is a bold detail for an updated ranch. Whatever the case, the best front door colors make an immediate impact, complementing your home's style and improving curb appeal. Plus, repainting your front door in a fresh color is a simple, inexpensive exterior project that can be done in just a few hours. If you're ready to reconsider the shade of your entrance, these tips will help you choose the best colors for front doors.

Understand a Few Color Basics

Choosing the best front door color isn't as simple as picking your favorite shade and slapping it on. The most successful exterior color combinations rely on logic and a bit of science. If the selection process confuses you, a good place to start is the color wheel.

Refer to the color wheel to help you mix colors that naturally go together. General color schemes based on the color wheel include monochromatic (several shades of a single color), analogous (colors found side by side on the color wheel), contrast (three colors spaced evenly apart on the color wheel), and complementary (two hues opposite each other on the color wheel). Use these color principles as a guide when selecting a front door color that coordinates with your home's other exterior elements.

Pay Attention to Your Home's Style and Personality

Although there are certain "rules" when it comes to mixing and matching colors, there are also cues that come from your home's style and its colors. For example, a pastel hue might look out of place with the ornamentation of an English Tudor-style house. Depending on its paint palette, a glossy black front door might not work when paired with a centuries-old Victorian home. On the flip side, a Mediterranean-influenced design might feel perfectly in tune with a bright turquoise-color door.

Look to your home's style when deciding what works and what doesn't for front door colors. Take into account the materials, colors inherent in those materials, style, surrounding landscape, and other exterior factors.

Use Your Front Door for Impact

Finally, when choosing the best colors for front doors, remember that your entry is a prime opportunity for visual impact. Visitors use it for wayfinding, and the front door is typically the focal point of a facade. Its color can help accent tones in the exterior or provide the final flourish to a design palette. The impact could be subtle or more direct.

Color can also generate emotion. A brighter hue can offer energy to the front door, while a more subdued one plays up a traditional feel. A darker hue is more formal, a lighter one tends to be playful. Decide on the ambience you want to portray and look for front door colors to match that energy.