How to Pick a Color for an Exterior Entry Door
Often the exterior of a house is painted in two colors. One color is chosen for the walls and soffits, while a second offsetting color is chosen for the window and door trim. The front door can be painted to match the walls or perhaps an coordinating color might be chosen that is slightly different from the rest of the house. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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House with Contasting Trim and Wall Color
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Choose a wall color. This is the largest space on the exterior of the building, so this will be your first choice in color. For the most part, this choice dominates your color selection and can be influenced by a variety of ideas relating to color and symbolism. For example, you might want to choose red, if you like farms or to boldly emphasize your home. On the other hand white or light blue might be selected for different reasons.
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2
Select a trim color to compliment your main choice of color. A good rule of thumb is to go with a dark trim color if your walls are white or light colored. And if you happen to choose a deep red or blue as your main color then a white or light shade of the same red or blue would be a logical trim selection.
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Pick your front door color. In this case you can match your door color to the walls or choose a third color for the door. If you decide on the latter route, you might want to stick with a color that is closer to the wall color than that of the trim.
Emphasize the Doors and Windows
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Choose a color for the walls of the exterior of the building. Keep in mind that with this method the trim will be painted an identical or similar color and the entry door (and windows) will be accented with a color that sharply contrasts with the rest of the building.
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Choose a trim color that is identical to the main color or one that varies only by a shade or two. In many cases you may want to choose a light color (or colors) for the walls and trim.
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Choose a bold, solid color for the doors and windows. The closer to white your main color is, the more leeway you will have when you pick a hue for the entry door and accompanying windows. This latter method is the best scenario, if you really want to set your front door off from the rest of the building.
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Tips & Warnings
Three tone color schemes are harder to design than two color schemes, but if done correctly, they can look very attractive.
Using different colors on different parts of the door (i.e., the panels and raised part of the door) can add to the final appearance of your house.
Choose a color scheme that matches the other houses in your neighborhood.
Choose a color scheme that reflects the landscape of where you live.
Dark or solid colors are hard to cover with a lighter color, if you should decide to do so at a later date.
