The Best Paint Colors for Your Porch, According to Real Estate Agents

Your front porch is much more than a buffer between your front door and the outside world. The porch — and the color that you paint it — acts as visitors’ first impression of your home. And when it comes to selling, first impressions are everything. But what colors are best to paint a front porch? I posed this question to real estate experts across the country and found that the answer can vary. Here’s what they said.

“For a porch floor, stick with traditional colors like a charcoal gray or a blue that complements the color of the house,” says Angél Rodenbeck, a home staging expert and director of accounting and social event planner at Spyglass Realty in Austin. Her personal preference is battleship gray.

Grays and blues seem to be preferred among real estate agents, but Maureen McDermut, real estate agent at Sotheby’s International-Montecito, says she’s noticing a new color combination that works. “One color scheme that I have seen look really nice lately has been a darker gray porch with white railings.” If you want to add a look of dimension to your porch, this can be a great route to go. 

According to Brian Mollo, licensed Realtor and CEO of Trusted House Buyers, porches and “entry doors are one of the most noticed items when it comes to curb appeal, so it is always a smart move to paint your porch a color or shade that highlights it rather than drowns it out.” In that vein, “pastels also can be a nice choice, especially if you have a wooden entry door or a stronger color like red or green doors.”

McDermut agrees. “I have found that muted yet inviting tones are the best when it comes to front porch paint colors. This is true for both when you’re selling your home and when you just want to freshen up the exterior.” According to McDermut, muted and inviting tones include pastel yellows and blues, and can even venture into the deep blue or light gray families.

Another tip? “Try to align the color with your entry door, especially if you’re planning on selling your home, as digital curb appeal will be a major help in selling,” McDermut says.

Jared Blumberg, licensed real estate salesperson and cofounder of the Werner Blumberg Group at Compass, has a hot take on, well, no paint at all. “The natural color of wood not only goes with anything, but it also won’t turn anyone off,” Blumberg explains. “I have never heard of someone not liking the look of natural wood. Also, a natural finish is easier to keep clean. When a porch is painted, you can usually see the buildup of dirt and dust, harder to see on natural wood.”

He also points out that going this route will allow the home purchaser to paint over the wood more easily than if there was existing paint there that they want to remove.

“You don’t want to go too wild,” says Ryan Rodenbeck, the owner of Spyglass Realty. Rodenbeck once had to sell a home with a porch painted burnt orange, the school color of the University of Texas at Austin. Orange, which is a popular choice in the homes of alumni, has no sentimental value to the city’s growing influx of newcomers who likely never attended the school, according to Rodenbeck. 

“When a client walks into a house, they know within 15 seconds whether they like the house, but the opposite is even more true,” he says. “They know in 15 seconds that they don’t like the house. You don’t want to take a risk on the very first thing that they see.” In other words, neutral colors like tan and white are a safe bet.

While neutrals may be a safer option, you may still wish to showcase personality on your porch. In these cases, softer colors serve as a good middle ground. 

“Turquoise or eggplant are great colors to paint the exterior [of a house],” says Emily Moore of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Kansas City, Missouri. They’re the perfect intersection of interesting but not too wild. She also lists butter yellow, the “it” color of 2024, and gray-blue as colors she has seen work nicely but believes that ultimately when deciding on a color, the best one to choose is based on outside factors. “You want to have some harmony with the vibe of the neighborhood so you don’t have the one house that stands out in the wrong way,” she says. 

Depending on where you live, even vividly colorful porches can add to a property’s curb appeal. 

“In a lot of different communities we see some homes that are really vibrant,” says Veronica Figueroa, the CEO and team lead of The Figueroa Team at eXp Realty in Orlando, where colorful homes are popular due to the area’s tropical climate and Caribbean influences. 

Figueroa cites Laureate Park, a vibrant neighborhood in the heart of Lake Nona, in Florida, as an example of a community where traditionally painted houses can be seen next to a home that is bright red, for example. “What’s most important is having the paint look clean and inviting,” she says. 

De’Andre Marlin, of LPT Realty in Columbia, South Carolina, believes that a home’s curb appeal is more impacted by the upkeep of the home’s exterior. “Make sure the shrubberies are done, the yard’s nice, and keep everything together,” he says.

When it comes to color, the Realtor believes that there aren’t many no-no’s. “Color adds to the appearance,” he says. “It’s just up to the owner’s preference.”