Front Door Colors and Tips

One of my projects for this year is to paint my front door. What color? What kind of paint do I purchase? Are there tips for doing a great job? Here's what I found.

Planning

Red - choose a red or shade from your brick colors or a nice gray (try pulling the color from your grout lines).  Light yellow and beige will work as well.

Grey - light blues and turquoise, yellow and dark purple all make great choices.

Brown - bright red, mossy green and darker blue shades will create a lovely look.

White - dark colors like green, black and dark gray create a dramatic and classy look. However, when your house is white - any color will work.

Tape paint chips to your door to compare your choices. Another suggestion is to purchase samples of your top picks and paint larger swatches to compare throughout the day as the colors will appear differently depending on the sunlight.

Better Homes and Gardens lists some traditional exterior house color schemes:

• Yellow and Cream
• Charcoal and Light Gray
• Sage and Taupe
• Plum and Taupe or Cream
• Rich Green plus Gray
• Forest Green and Black

Painting

First, wait for a clear sunny day - you don't want to paint when it is below 50 degrees.  About a quart of paint will cover a single primed exterior door.  Be sure to purchase paint designed for exterior surfaces. Glossy paints tend to last longer and go well with brick. Clean and sand your door prior to priming and painting. You can use a paint brush or low-nap or foam roller to apply the paint.