Q: My husband and I just recently bought a home in Portland, Oregon, that we're having a lot of fun fixing up. Although we have a pretty good idea of what we're doing with the front yard (grass, landscaping, etc.) we're stuck on what color to paint the front door. I love red doors, but we've got so much red going on out front already, it seems redundant. Any help from the Apartment Therapy community would be much appreciated.
Sent by Stephanie
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I'd go for a royal blue, a mustard yellow or black... good luck!
Love the Royal Blue option!
I agree with mingle, I think mustard yellow would look especially nice if you aim to keep the steps in the red-ish colour they are now.
A nice blue (not too bright though) would also look really good and make a great contrast to the brick.
Lovely house by the way :o)
My first thought was mustard yellow... because I think I saw some mustardy yellowish in the brick. But then I realizes the steps are bright red. And I wonder if that would look like ketchup stairs and a mustard door. Hm. So maybe a charcoal gray?
I think you should paint the steps another color. A more muted one that more exactly matches some of the bricks, or is a soft terracotta. The color in the photo reads as a sort of liver color, not the most attractive. A blue door might be nice, or ochre, yellow, or olive. Something not too dark because it is in shadow already. Frankly, I think orangey red would be fine, too.
Yellow! It's welcoming and cheery.
Stephanie, your new house is adorable. The front door would be nice painted a kelly or lime green. Sort of an updated take on the hunter green of yesteryear. Choose a hue that is not cartoonish or out of sync with your classic tudor architecture.
But... the red painted stoop is an issue. Right now, your eye is drawn to the stoop. The red paint is prominent and also dictates your overall color palette. Can you sandblast the stoop or re-paint it (maybe a charcoal)? In an ideal world, it would be nice to resurface it with stone but that is another project...
If you can’t change your stoop right away, I’d go with a black door as it will work well with the stoop. Oh, and remove the screen door.
Some inspiration for the green door:
http://urbannestblog.com/blog3/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/img_3670.jpg
http://www.penick.net/digging/images/2010_01_23/Front_door.JPG
http://img4.myhomeideas.com/i/2010/07/68870-green-door-r-x.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5rh0WY4s8eE/TKocbmTwykI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/WVELrI3js0U/s400/green+door.jpg
I have a brick house and I painted the door a light olive color. I love it. But given your little dark entryway (not meant pejoratively!), something in the gold/ochre spectrum would light it up better.
If you could paint your porch and steps a fresh shade of gray, then I think a vibrant green such as BM Chic Lime would look great on your front door.
http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Yl/3-Chiclime-0209-th.jpg
For the gray porch I was thinking BM Horizon:
http://www.saragilbaneinteriors.com/travelfordesign/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Desktop81.jpg
There's absolutely nothing wrong with red for your door as long as it's vibrant - think of a red with more orange in it than blue.
I agree with some of the other posters that the stoop draws too much attention and will compete with the door. I think the steps should be more neutral. They could even stay red, but a darker shade with grey or brown overtones.
That said, I like the ideas of blue or mustard. Both colors appear to have a presence in the brick. For either of those colors, take a look at the 20/20 home cure day 3 video. There are pictures of doors in Ireland at about 1:09.
I think you can paint the door any color—even red. But I think you should repaint your front steps a more neutral color, like gray.
pink
Wow, I'm loving all these ideas! I think we'll start the process by painting the steps a neutral gray color, and then move on to painting the door after that. (Right now I'm leaning towards a shade of green or yellow, but we'll see if that changes once I see the steps in a gray.) Thanks again for all your help!
Lime green or a greenish acid yellow would look fantastic against the brick. I'd paint the door first and worry about changing the stoop colour after that if you feel it clashes.
You should check out this blog post by DIY Design experts (IMO). This is a great post about selecting a front door color!
http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/11/mmm-pickles/
I think if you painted the steps to match the black/dark gray in the brick, and then painted the door a mustard yellow, the overall effect would be complementary and balanced, and the door would really pop.
Super cute house...and welcome to Portland! :)
I'd remove the screen door and paint the front door as well as the front concrete stoop a deep Forest Green.
I'd also consider planting a couple shrubs in front of the steps.
I would consider painting the stairs a more natural color, like the beige of the concrete, or black. Either way, I agree you should plant something in front of the stairs about the same height.
As for color, as long as you have the type of storm door you have, the front door will be obscured. I got a black full length glass storm door with a brass plate along the bottom. Then I painted my front door black. The storm door disappeared, and the brass plate appears to be at the bottom of my front door. You might try that. My door was set at the end of a 16' porch, and it became visible from the street.
I agree with others - painting the stoop in a neutral, and the door a mustard yellow (and removing the storm door) would look great. Planting shrubs along the front side of the steps would look really nice too. Congrats on the cute house!
Plum. Or, keep the storm door and go with black. (Wait til summer to decide--you might really want that storm door.)
I agree with painting the front steps a more "concrete color" (gray) and the paint the front door a nice shade of blue. Some suggestions were royal blue, but I'm leaning toward PEACOCK or TURQUOISE.
(Please show us the after photos!)
agreeing with chiclectic that you should shroud those steps in some greenery- and maybe paint them a more neutral colour until it fills in.
as for the door, i think a nice rich yellow would brighten it up and look warm and welcoming. cute place! :)
Neutralize the stoop (either a darker brick color or a charcoal gray), then the door either a rich green (somewhere between a dark lime and olive) or teal or cadet blue. Good luck!
I like blue, bright blue. I think it would be a nice contrast with the brick and the red steps.
The painting "La Puerta Azul" by Gayle Faucette Wisbon springs to mind. Google it.
Good luck!
If you can paint the steps, I'd paint them black, spray the railing with a fresh coat of black, and plant the bushes people keep mentioning...then paint the front door either a bright royal blue or a warm yelllow.
Stephanie. Your house is awsome. I like the idea of painting the front steps a shade of gray and then the front door. I also would take the screen door off since in your climate you do not really need it. Check with the paint store to see if there is a certain type of paint that is best for concrete steps.
Steps grey, door Lime Green, screen door lime green as well. Shrubs in front of steps to dress them, they look naked now. Will be fun to see what you come up with.