apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What beautiful wood! Sand and refinish, don't paint. Plus, I think an organic wood tone would compliment the fun color of your home.

I love this idea! And preppy chic would look perfect with the architecture of your home.

Be bold and go for it, if you absolutely hate it, there's always next weekend to try again ;)

Keep us posted with the results!

I have to agree with amt230. I adore those tones of green but save the color for somewhere that calls for it - the color of your house stands on its own. My personal opinion leans towards a dark brown stain...

I go with a bright raspberry!

I agree that a sanded down lighter wood would look really nice, but if not definitely the Citron, as a lighter color will look better with the pink.

Love it! Very Palm Beach Chic!

I'd choose Lemon Grass - 'cause if you're going to go with pink and green, you should GO BOLD!

Pink and green has been a classic color combination long before the preppy handbook.

Judging by the photos, the pink of your home reads cool and the green you select should have a cool tone. The Lemon Grass looks like a good option. I would have the paint store add a bit of black to deepen it at least two shades. Also, look at greens that have a bit more blue in them.

Keep in mind, greens are hard to get right so don't get frustrated if you think you found the perfect color and it doesn't work out. It took 10 sample pots for me to find the right shade for my garden wall but it was worth the time and effort.

I'd like to see a really high gloss black. (A throwback to Elvis---black and pink were his favorite colors.)

I'd spend some time on Lilly Pulitzer's website to get the perfect shade. Or, as Laura mentioned go high gloss black. Either way, super cute house!

I think a hunter green or even a kelly green would look good. I'm not sure about anything in the lime green family. I would think the brightness of the door would be at odds with the brightness of the wall. (Not that the wall is that bright, but pink is almost always a "notice me" color.)

I would also add that the phrase "a new coat of paint" implies that this door was already painted. To the contrary, this will be your last chance to enjoy the natural wood of that door and the patina it's developed. Once it's painted, that's it.

I'd go for the fun - there isn't much organic about a pink house :-) Don't worry too much being preppy - the green half of the classic combo is kelly green (or lime in the summer) so you're okay there. I actually like the grape green best with your house color, at least per my monitor. Then to pull it all together, do some window boxes (painted white like the window frames) with lush greenery and colorful flowers, and put in a Really Glorious Flowering Bush (the one you have now looks a bit forlorn). That way, the green door will be an accent, rather than an oddity.

PS...get rid of the door (you can probably donate it to Habitat for Humanity or a similar type organization) and get one from an architectural salvage yard that goes with the period of your home.

This door screams 1980's track home. Your home is a beauty and deserves an entry just as special!

I agree with the poster who suggested a glossy black. I think it would look great.

I feel like the pink is a bit too pastel for the more neon shades, so if you definitely want green, use the citron.

I agree with seaside...go with your gut and change the door! You'll appreciate your pink house even more.

I like the idea of a green door but am not sure how it would look once the security gate was closed. It might be nicer going with a subtler color like slate blue.

If you're set on a green, I'd go with Japanese Fern.

Black. Glossy black.

When I first moved to the West Village there was a townhouse painted pink and green. It was my favorite house to walk past. Alas, a couple of years later and it was sold and the new owner painted it the most awful grey with a drab blue trim. I miss that pink & green house. Do it.

Why do people keep needing to point out this stuff? The question was not whether or not to paint, it was whether or not to *paint it green* (and what color would look best).

I think the green would be fun, but if you live in a super-serious looking neighborhood, your house may turn into the one everyone on the block despises. If they don't care or you don't care if they care, then citron is my favorite and I think it'll be a lot of fun. Love the pink, by the way!

another vote for glossy black.

urg, if pink and kelly green is preppy, then pink and black is Good-n-Plenty. Who needs more corn syrup? First thought, best thought.

I'm not really loving the green. What about a deep violet blue? I remember seeing the pink-violet combo on a house in London's Notthing Hill and loved it.

It looks like you have a black screen door. I'd be interested in seeing pictures of your door with it closed, since that's what your door is going to look like from the front 99% of the time anyway! You might not like it painted when the screen door is closed!

If I had to pick a color it would be Lemon Grass, and I would switch the hardware to brushed silver.

If you can afford to replace the door, do so! Your wonderful house deserves something better. A front door should be spectacular.

Although these are beautiful greens, they are not working in this context. They are too yellow and don't have enough 'weight.' You need something a little darker to create dimension and ground the door:

---a deeper shade of green would be better

---glossy black would be gorgeous (and safe, if you are concerned about offending neighbors)

---Ellecapitale and nazrd are right: Bright raspberry (keep it dark and with a hint of blue) or deep violet blue would be stunning! I also think these would be just as interesting as the green, but a bit less 'odd' to less adventurous neighbors.

Never underestimate the impact of unhappy neighbors.

Good luck!

I'm with LauraE - high gloss black (or even Charcoal Gray).

What about a nice charcoal gray?

Black. Or if it must be green, go with an olivey green (not on your chip).

If you go with one of your chip colors, be sure to send a picture so those of us talking you out of it can eat our words!

so pretty! go with the bright green. i think you'll be happy every time you look at it! post pix!

The "science" of color theory is pretty straightforward: lighter colors tend to advance (appear to pop forward) more than darker colors; saturated colors tend to advance more than dull colors; and warm hues tend to advance more than cool hues.

That said, if you want to feature the pale, soft pink of the house you need to pick one of the greens that's darker and less saturated. The "Citron" may indeed be a pretty color, but its value and saturation overpowers the pink. If you're going to go with the color compliment of pink (green), err on the side of darker and duller.

WHITE to match the trim!!!!

British Racing Green!!

DO IT!

Lime green will make the house look funky Victorian. If you want to keep the stately-home quality, go for a more sedate shade of green, like Hunter green.

How about deep royal blue? It's funky like green but a but tad less... wild? And so pretty against pink...

I'm also supporting the glossy black choice. green would be tacky.

I too would go with a high gloss black or green-black. In order to get it right, I'd order the Dutch Door Kit from Fine Paints of Europe -- and look at some of their doors.

http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com/dutch_door_kit.aspx

http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com/dutch_doors.aspx

http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com/classic_european.aspx

(Pink and Black is a great combo)

Your door will be stunningly gorgeous!

what about painting the concrete step in one of the brighter greens and keeping a natural wood?

Where is the house? Looks like Savannah. iIm a traditionalist on this one--white or refnished wood.

Yes!

love the pink!
sand and refinish the wood.
not really feeling the green.

Have you considered red?

A glossy aubergine would look FIERCE!!! I also like nazrd's choice of raspberry. No green please!!!!

It has to be Kelly or Hunter.
The comments about the two light colors competing
are 100% correct.

It will also pop WAY to much to do it those limey colors and
not in a good way. Since your neighbor is not painting
there door you don't want it to look like you only painted half the house.

Seriously-stay away from lime. A house is not a dress.

I'm a big fan of pink and red - but it has to be the right tone -perhaps a Chinese red... You could go aubergine - I like that idea too - that was my first thought and red is a close 2nd for a beautiful combination. If you go green - apple would be nice - kelly - not something too bright, it will compete with the pink. Navy is a classic choice too. Black would be chic and so would a french blue with a lot of grey in it.

I vote for a hunter green.

Having painted a door green (after I don't even want to mention how many test pots) keep in mind the natural light at your door. We finally decided on a color that looked great - deep, rich - in the late afternoon...but alas, in the bright morning it looks totally washed out. Ugh.

We're going to have repaint it, but I figure we'll hold off and do it when we paint the entire house.

From looking at the Behr line, I picked Cress Green or Tucson Teal. They are two different looks that I think would be fantastic. The Cress Green is very leafy and bright, and not too neon as the choices above. When people say Kelly green, it seems like non-specific range of colors that are bright and not too dark or light or too blue or too yellow. I think Cress Green hits a very classic yet noticeable green. The teal colors would also be vibrant and yet subdued (? yeah) against the pink. A bluer blue would look too "pink 'n' blue" whereas the teal is upbeat and welcoming. I would see how those look as the sun hits (or doesn't) at various times of the day. They may be a smidge dark, but I think you need to go darker than the above suggestions. Japanese Fern looks completely different in the online color selector than in your post - I would give that a thought, it's kind of more olive-y, or Rolling Hills.

It's hard to tell what those colors would look like in real life. I think my monitor gives pretty accurate color readings, but the colors you are considering may look different than they are being presented with this post. I like a green that has qualities of brightness and slight muting and a little deeper on that pink. I also think that raspberry color would be great, Dragon Fruit or Cherry Wine. I am sticking with the Behr Line names of colors because that's presented and you can look up those colors, match the color to another brand of paint.

While I'm sad to see the wood go, I vote for raspberry. Can you send in a pic letting us know what you decided so we can all see how it looks? Good luck!

Japanese fern or lemon grass

I don't know that your door would look preppy in green ... perhaps just odd :-), in the nicest possible way.

The most famous door in the UK, Britain's PM's house, is painted black. Do you like Britain's PM??? ;-)

My vote is for raspberry also - go for complementary colours.

lucitecturalclassics-the complimentary color for pink/red is green.....