Front doors require a certain amount of maintenance, such as regular cleaning, weatherproofing and the occasional (well-deserved) spruce up. A new coat of paint is a welcome opportunity to choose a new color and refresh your home’s first impression. Choosing a new color for your home’s front door can be overwhelming whether you’re going for a fresh coat of neutral or taking the plunge with a high-contrast hue. Tape a few swatches (ours came from a midcentury paint palette) to your door. The colors will appear quite different outdoors than they do inside your home. Consider the other colors in your home and its surroundings. In our case, the natural greens in the plants surrounding the entryway served as inspiration, as well as the gray undertones in the flagstone accent and the home’s siding and roof. Weathered flagstone in the sidewalk has a natural, mossy patina that complemented the green colors in the most flattering way. It’s easier to achieve a professional-looking finish if you take the time to remove the locks and knobs.

You can tape them off and paint around them, but it’s not the best approach. If you’re considering new hardware, now is the time to get it. Clean the door and use a palm sander to roughen the flat surfaces of existing paint (Image 1). This will help give the primer a better surface to adhere to. You may have to hand sand in the crevices and around the trim (Image 2). Wipe the entire door clean with a dry rag to remove dust (Image 3). Depending on the final color, you may want to get the primer tinted. By doing so, you’ll probably need fewer coats of paint. However, we used just white primer and two coats of green paint (about 1 quart of paint). When the primer has dried, run the sandpaper lightly over the surface to level out any irregularities in the primed finish. Use the rag to clean off the sanding dust. Begin by brushing inset or trim details by hand with a paintbrush so that you can lay an even base coat. Use the brush to feather out the edges of the paint so that there are no drips.

Use a small 6” roller with a low-nap texture (or a high-density foam roller) to apply a smooth, consistent paint application across all of the flat surfaces, including the edges of the door. Low-nap and foam rollers are ideal because they leave minimal stippling on the surface. But to achieve a really nice finish, use a paintbrush to lightly brush over the final coat of paint while it’s still wet to level out roller marks and leave a smooth “hand-painted” texture.victoria home decor stores When the paint has had a full day to dry and cure, reattach the locks and knobs.bedroom theme ideas for couples Try a splash of gorgeous color to boost curb appeal and make your front entry more welcoming.room decorating tips and tricks

Photo By: © Royalty-Free/Corbis Inspired by an antique cabinet she saw, Beyond the Screen Door blogger and designer Sonya Hamilton painted her own front door a brilliant blue-green and applied a glaze to mute the effect. The color is Sherwin-Williams Nifty Turquoise. You just can’t sustain a bad mood in the presence of a bright yellow door. This one, which belongs to blogger Erin Loechner, is set off by charcoal-gray shake siding and a decal applied to the glass sidelight that says sweetly, “Hello.”what the best exterior paint to use "The strong ocean blue and bright red shown here hold their own against the color of the exterior stone,” Erika says. best exterior color combinations for housesThis color combo is bold but still classic — it complements the historic feel of this home without imparting an ounce of stuffiness. wall decor ideas diy

Image courtesy of Behr Paints A Victorian home is a license to indulge in brilliant paint and trim choices. "This style of architecture has so much detail that it takes a dark or bold color to draw your attention to the front door as a focal point," says Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams. This shade, Sherwin-Williams Indigo, harmonizes with the copper trim above and the brass hardware and kick plate below. It's hard to resist painting a contemporary door an acidic shade, like this delicious Overt Green by Sherwin-Williams. "The simplicity of the door — which isn't interrupted with panels, windows or other details — acts as a great blank canvas to apply bold color," Jackie says. ) got so inspired while she was painting her front door blue — that’s Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue — that she decided to go all out with porch stripes. Those colors are from Sherwin-Williams: Perfect Greige and Antique Ivory. “It turned out so fun and bright,” Barnes says.

“I love pulling into my driveway now.” The color orange is associated with vibrant energy, according to award-winning designer Lori Dennis, ASID. For that reason, orange can be hard to pull off — but pairing it with a cool gray exterior as Lori did here keeps the mood balanced and bright. There's just something about a glossy black door — it's elegant, bold and impossible to ignore. But it makes an even bigger statement with the right trim. Here, the black entrance door of this historic home is enhanced with accents of olive green, cream and red. ) on a neighborhood stroll. The pale Jordan-almond color is a close match, she suggests, for the Sherwin-Williams shade Aqua Tint. "Nontraditional colors can trigger an emotional response," Erika says. "This can be used to your advantage in making your home feel more approachable." This purple door adds just enough whimsy to put visitors at ease. Got a stodgy brick façade on your hands? An electric blue front door will certainly breathe some life into the picture—and knock your neighbors’ socks off.

) spotted this one on vacation in the United Kingdom. If you’re going to paint your front door, why not go all out? , gave her door a much-needed makeover with a strip of crown molding and a can of Benjamin Moore paint (color: Iron Mountain). Then she took it up a notch by painting a houndstooth pattern on a papier-mache “M” from a craft store in a lighter shade of gray, distressing it with sandpaper and attaching it to the door to achieve the final look. Cass, blogger from That Old House, describes the hue of her front door as "summer squash yellow." It's actually Benjamin Moore Imperial Yellow, which pops out like a happy surprise from behind the charcoal-colored screen door frame and trim. White is a versatile choice for a front door, says Erika Woelfel, director of color for Behr Paints. A bright white can add pop to a blah exterior, while a softer white such as Behr's Cotton Fluff can bring things into balance, as it does for this cottage’s welcoming entrance.

This cool grayish-blue (Behr’s Oslo Blue) makes a great complementary pairing with the warm neutral palette of the surrounding house. The color also echoes the soft blues on the stone porch. A red front door may seem awfully dramatic when you're looking at paint swatches, but don't fear it. Red is such a popular way to add interest to a neutral exterior that it's now considered a classic choice. This shade, Behr Licorice Stick, is a source of energy and an instant cure for "the taupes." This deep, rich blue shows off seasonal décor to great advantage (lush spring ferns also look fantastic against it). ), who likes to change up her color and accessories to keep her look fresh. The color shown is Sherwin-Williams Naval Blue. Everybody knows and loves the classic red front door—but the shade people usually pick is cranberry, which has blue undertones. To turn the temperature up a notch, push your red towards orange instead. As shown here, it makes a totally unexpected but satisfying pairing with weathered brick.

Your front door color doesn’t have to be high-contrast to be beautiful, especially if your house is already a distinctive color. This door — painted in Behr’s Tuscany Hillside — deepens the effect of the green siding without making the look too busy. ) knows a thing or two about home improvement, but for this project she didn’t have to lift a finger. She inherited this purple front door from the previous owners of her home and decided to keep it as is. The color, unique to Bailey’s neighborhood, pops against white trim and also picks up the color in the mosaic tile on the brick porch. ) helped pair one of her clients with a local custom millwork company to create this fabulous wood door. The intense turquoise color makes a strong statement against soft yellow brick, especially flanked by mirror-backed lanterns on either side. Don’t be afraid to commit to a front door color just because it won’t work in your living room! The turquoise door shown in the previous photo was painted white on the reverse side to keep the foyer calm and neutral.

A saturated blue door keeps this two-toned house from fading into the landscape, but it still maintains a traditional feel. The paint color shown is Sherwin-Williams Regatta. ) to paint her front door a warm orange. The tasty pumpkin-pie color is Behr’s Maple Leaf. If your house is a neutral color but you’re squeamish about bright hues — not everyone can handle a candy-apple red or a neon green front door — try a paint color that is also neutral but has the opposite “temperature.” That is, choose a warm door to go with a cool house, or vice versa. Here, taupe siding with warm yellow undertones is nicely complemented by a charcoal gray with a cool bluish vibe. You can’t miss with a blue-toned red, which is so ubiquitous it’s practically a neutral these days. Shown is Behr’s Morocco Red — it’s like a cherry on top of the vanilla siding sundae. You might think coral pink would be a tough color to pull off, but it looks right at home paired with a pale cream brick.