Front and Center Color: When to Paint Your Door Black

Amy Renea Fabulous ideabook - love the swatches!

Rough Linen A colour that's just under black - darkest blue or green - has twice the resonance, like Georgian doors in London or Dublin.

kennedytarheel Just not lovin black doors. The lack of color seems boring and tired. Conservative, yes. Interesting, no. My front door was black when we bought our stone front home. The first week we were here, I painted it a deep turquoise and have never looked back.

Beth Love love love the black. Simple, elegant, zen, less is more.

JAN MOYER Love!!!!!! a black door. Also a fabulous backdrop for potted color in the warm months, or greenery in the cool. Just watch your roof/trim tones. A deep deep olive green gives you the same wonderful effect, and works better off a warm toned roof.

cgc Exactly what I have in mind for my front door. I'm really looking for the black enameled finish of 10 Downing Street, the UK Prime Minister's door. Any ideas for that exact color and finish?

lelabelle I loved reading this article. I am remodeling my, 1963 built ,house and plan on a stunning shiney black front door. The door has not been installed yet or I would've attached a photo. Great photos, thanks!

highway61 I love this article on black doors, I'm looking for a brown/black paint for my door any ideas?

trasgorshek Uhhh, I'm so sad. We have a black door but it will be getting a paint job in a few days. We face east and a neighbors glass shattered out of their storm door this summer due to extream heat. So now they've talked the HOA into painting them a light color to match the stone, hoping to reduce the heat. I do agree that the doors get extremely hot but I will miss the black.

Debra Kling Colour Consultant Jennifer, I absolutely ADORE black front doors (glossy black front doors are even better!), and I am hoping your article will help make people less afraid of them! I do occaaionally have a client who tells me thay would find it depressing to come home to a black door every day-- to them I say, "Then you should not have one! " So, a caveat-- one must always take personal preferences into account.
Thanks for your article.

refresh home staging and redesign Black entrance doors are the absolute best!

Debra Kling Colour Consultant Here is the Before and After of one of my recent exterior curb appeal projects-- the front door which was once red, is now black.

Britastina I have a black front door and love, love, love it! That freestanding garage (#4) is the most beautiful garage ever.

Sandy LeRoy Excellent article, and while I agree with many of your ideas, I feel differently about garage doors, particularly the door in Example #1. Accenting the garage door makes it more prominent than the front door, which should be the center of attention, and I also don't think the color flatters the siding color. Better to put the garage door in its place by painting it the same color as the siding so that the beautiful black front door is the undisputed focal point.

katgovas1 Love this, well done. It's all about black used properly. Black truly can take a bland entrance in any architectural style, and take it to another level. Of course, there are some eras, where it's a must! We purchased a 1939 International style home 12 years ago. The house was dark tan with grey windows, brown doors and trim. Today, the brick and stucco on the house are a soft, natural (we're in the Chicago area) white, stainless steel trim with a black door (original to the house) front entrance.

House of Doors It is so true that black doors are stricking and elegant, but care should be taken before rushing to paint your front door black. Many door manufacturers void their warranty if the door is painted black. Black should never be used on a door that has direct sunlight. The sun will fade the black and may blister, peel or warp your door. Covered doors and those facing north are your best bets.

lulusf415 I really like all the examples...thanks for the ideas!

Janette Higgins I feel completely differently from Sandy LeRoy above about the first example! When i first looked at it I thought how perfect that the below grade garage door was de-emphasized by grounding it with a darker neutral.

trinidadralph Black does not appeal to me too much at a distance; I prefer to look at the grain and texture of the palette used especially with wooden doors....ebony black with a low sheen tends to bring out the details from up close.

lelabelle To House of Doors...a big thank you for your comments about the sun fading and damaging black paint!

piscesfille I painted ovr white metal door black... however, it shows every scratch and ding... what did I do wrong?

Beth I assume the hard door paints are enamel and fade resistant. Need to read up on the paint brand to see what they say about application and upkeep.

trinidadralph piscesfille, you ought to have primed the white with a darker primer first, usually grey then apply your finish (black), in at least two coats.

artissima Great post!
Thank you for shedding light on color...or, er, black (absence of color?!), Jennifer.

lovesmesomepitbulls I'm in love with picture number 8, Black Door with Medium Gray. Not only a great example of when to use black on a door, this is just stunning design. All those great rectangles with one curved element, and all the blacks/grays with one hit of brown - really wonderful. There is a lot of attention to detail here, though the less-is-more design makes it look deceptively easy. One of those designs where I go, "I want to live there."

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Great article

Oruc Kenan Yildirim very instructional thank you

Karen Evans We love the look of our black door against the dark brick of our home.

ana474 I have been thinking of painting my front door black for a few months, but not sure do you have to paint the inside of the door black as well? I would think not, but not so sure, any thoughts?

JAN MOYER Ana
No, you absolutely do Not have to match inside and out!

ana474 Thanks Jan, I appreciate the answer. I can now paint that front door without wondering. The black exterior door bring my inside out a bit, but I have black wallpaper in my foyer so I did not want the front door inside black as well. this is good news, so again thanks.

christofu I just bought this house a couple of years ago and the Hobbit door swayed me. Still need to figure out how to landscape this front yard. Any suggestions would be great!

Sheila Schmitz ana474, I wondered about that when I painted my front door black a few years ago, so I was happy to see this beautiful example of a front door that is black on the outside and crisp white in. I love the delicate outline of black you see from inside when the door is open:

cathybruce Oh my goodness!! Black front doors are my absolute preference...have had a glossy black door with brass kick plate for over 20 years! On the subject of paint color for garage doors....I said, "hallelujah", when I read Sandy LeRoy's comment about NOT using a contrasting paint color for garage doors!! I've never understood the concept of highlighting and bringing attention to this part of a house! I have ALWAYS felt garage doors (AND the trim around it) need to be de-enphasized and painted the same color as the siding or main body of the house!! There should be NO transition in color from house to garage! This creates a seamless, unifying extension of the house without detracting from the more important focus and visual weight of an entry, front door, beautiful windows, shutters, pathways or landscape!
The photo of the beautifully appointed, traditional-style home that featured the below grade garage door with a contrasting paint color, was a clever technique that camouflaged the garage to appear as part of the house foundation and draw attention to the upper level. However, while it was done exceptionally well with impecable attention paid to detail, I still would have esthetically preferred the same continual flow of color from the body of the house all the way down to the actual foundation. The result would be a slightly more restful feel that typically evokes subtle, classic sophistication....a "less is more" quality! Window boxes overflowing with beautiful white flowers and lush green foliage attached to the black iron railings, of what appear to be faux balconys, would complete the picture for this gorgeous, elegant home!!

loramurphy Great article. Liked the varied comments too. FYI, the definitive exterior door paint is Fine Paints of Europe. I just painted my brownstone front doors with its "Brilliant" high gloss finish. Once I checked out their website I took the plunge. Around $120 per euro gallon. It's oil based and has great coverage as I was left with 1/2 gallon after multiple coats. Requires careful prep but, it's very rewarding. I can see my reflection in the door, it's so glossy. And yes, it's black.

lelabelle Thank you, loramurphy, for the information about your front door and how to get that super shiney finish. I am remodeling my entire house and have a new front door that will be painted shiney black inside and outside. At the very least, oil base paint is what I need to achieve the hard shiney finish I am looking for. My interior doors will be painted black as well (with light neutral walls and moldings), I wonder which finish is best for interior black doors?

geunderwood #4 is so very pretty. My kitchen is this color. I was wondering what it would look like if I painted my cabinets black? They are white now, but this is so pretty.

blackiselegant Great article! I was a little nervous about painting my bungundy/cranberry colored door black, but this article has given me the courage to do so. We're planning to add brass hardware to make it the color look less stark.

decoratingmom I adore black. Think I am bordering on an obsession! Here is my door. I had it sprayed at an automotive repair shop. Pricey but I love it!

holland721 To the author - I used to live in the first house posted here with the wrought iron detail and the "black" doors. All credit is due to my mother for the stylistic changes made to the front of the house. Also, the door is actually dark green, not black.

cathybruce To: holland721 Amazing how a very deep green palate can read black....until close range!! To me....it suggests the homeowner is "non conforming" and "adventurous"!! Somone who is certainly NOT afraid to tweek the "expected" with a little surprise Love it!!

cgc Update for prime minister's door
Fine paints of Europe is the answer as mentioned above. They actually sell a Dutch Door kit for $100 that has everything you need to prep, prime and paint your front door to a glossy mirror finish, in black, or another color.

alwilson1020 Love a black door! We moved into our dark brick home with a white front door. I experimented with a berry color and HATE it. We are on the books for an exterior redo that includes painting our door black. I can't wait! My color palette was actually inspired by house #6 that I found several months ago.

jlitchenburg I am planning to change out shutters (20yrs old) and paint the front door. Would like a change of color, too. Leaning toward black. Full house pic is a little dark but you can see from the others that we have an "evergreen" color on 4 shutters on 1st floor & on 2 on 2nd floor. Will black be too dark? This gets west sun.

prraper I love black doors and have a old house that is painted a light yellow with a gorgeous front veranda. Currently my front door is painted black but it needs to be freshened up and I am wondering thinking Onyx Black but would love a recommendation and I am questioning what finish - should it be gloss?
Thank you for your advice!
Pam

decoratingmom Hi Pam,
I did mine black with white trim and they applied a urethane gloss over the black to increase the durability. I love the sheen. Just scroll up a bit and you can see the pic and the shine of the gloss.
Decorating mom

lelabelle I just completed a nearly year-long remodel of my 1963 built home. Long story short, I painted my front door black inside and outside! I also found identical doors for my interior doors and painted them black as well. To my eye, it is over the top gorgeous! Neutral colors on the walls with deep crown molding and a dark gray/black tile, on majority of the house, that looks like wood planks! I wallow in this lovliness everyday, as only Lovie Howell would :)

blackiselegant I painted my front entry door black. I should have hired a professional! LOL!

betty819 When we moved here, we painted our double entry doors(aka front doors)a raisin torte. DH painted them; and they need painting again but he will not be doing it because of recent back surgery. He has the color of existing doors as BM Raisin torte..probably a flat or matte finish. Shouldn't entry doors be painted with a gloss or high gloss paint? We swear by BM paint..the vinyl siding is a light grey and the vinyl shutters are a burgundy color, brick facing next to front doors. Should we continue with the burgundy doors or go with grey to blend in with the siding? There are storm doors on entry doors, they are white.. I hate the color grey but something tells me that might be a better choice.

betty819 If we change from raisin torte to a grey color, should the doors be primed first to cover over the raisin torte. I found another shade of burgundy that I like better than raisin torte, it is AF-300 dinner party. Don't know if it comes in semi-gloss or high gloss though.

betty819 decoratingmom...i read about you having your front door painted at an automobile repair shop..don't laugh but years ago I visited a lady whose husband restored cars and he painted their kitchen cabinets a candy apple red and used black barn hinges using automobile paint. It was beautiful! Not my personal taste but it was their house and they liked it and that's all that matters.