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Front and Center Color: When to Paint Your Door Blue
Who knew having the blues could be so fun? These 8 exterior color palettes celebrate sunny-day skies to electric nights
Houzz contributor and designer at the Austin-based architecture and interior design firm, Loop Design (http://www.houzz.com/pro/loopdesign/loop-design).
Loop Design specializes in modern residential new construction and renovations. We are passionate about sustainable building practices and enjoy it when our clients bring those same interests to their project.
Houzz contributor and designer at the Austin-based architecture and interior... More »
There's a reason blue is often cited as a favorite color. It reminds us of the sky and the sea — or perhaps of our school colors or a favorite sports team. It can also be a terrific color on your front door. Blue front doors are a bit unusual in that you don't see them as often as other colors. The key to making them work is to select the right trim and siding colors or materials.
These eight exterior sample palettes show how to incorporate a blue front door for your own home.
These eight exterior sample palettes show how to incorporate a blue front door for your own home.
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1. Blue Door With a Brick Exterior
It can be tough pairing a daring color with red brick, but I like to think of the latter as a neutral that can work with any color. If you opt for a bold blue color for your door, keep your other trim neutral to help your door stand out.
It can be tough pairing a daring color with red brick, but I like to think of the latter as a neutral that can work with any color. If you opt for a bold blue color for your door, keep your other trim neutral to help your door stand out.
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: If you like the look of a bold blue front door but don't have red brick siding, here's a sample palette to try. Clockwise from top left (all from Glidden Paint): Soft Sapphire GLB04, Shaded Fern GLN42 and Wood Smoke GLN40. |
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2. Blue Door With Light, Natural Siding
This weathered siding serves as a great backdrop for the pretty sky-blue door and window frames. As in the first image, the pop of bright blue color enhances the simple, classic architectural style of the home.
This weathered siding serves as a great backdrop for the pretty sky-blue door and window frames. As in the first image, the pop of bright blue color enhances the simple, classic architectural style of the home.
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: Clockwise from top left (all from Sherwin-Williams): Nautilus SW6780, Cocoon SW6173 and Realist Beige SW6078. |
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3. Blue Door Against a Mix of Colors
Not a fan of vibrant blue front doors? Consider a darker blue that reads almost gray. This color works with any architectural style, as well as on a house clad in a variety of materials in a variety of colors. It's a superb choice here, as it picks up some of the blue-gray tones in the stone. The gray-blue door acts as a neutral and grounds the entryway.
Not a fan of vibrant blue front doors? Consider a darker blue that reads almost gray. This color works with any architectural style, as well as on a house clad in a variety of materials in a variety of colors. It's a superb choice here, as it picks up some of the blue-gray tones in the stone. The gray-blue door acts as a neutral and grounds the entryway.
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: With a steely blue door you have your pick of siding colors. A couple of options are included in this palette. Clockwise from top left (all from Mythic Paint): Seaside Reflections 026-5, Kind of Blue 026-1 and Wrought Iron 140-1. |
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4. Blue Door With White
This shade of blue, a cross between navy and teal, would look great on a wide range of architectural styles. Here it enhances the sharp, clean lines of this modern house. If you want your door to stand out from everyone else's without being too over the top, this is your hue.
This shade of blue, a cross between navy and teal, would look great on a wide range of architectural styles. Here it enhances the sharp, clean lines of this modern house. If you want your door to stand out from everyone else's without being too over the top, this is your hue.
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: Clockwise from top left (all from Olympic Paint): Plymouth Blue G56-6, Smoke Screen D56-3 and Windswept D48-1. |
| 5. Blue Door With a Soft Exterior Palette This home has a fantastic soft paint palette that picks up some of the cool shades in the stone. |
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: Here are a couple of palette options featuring a soft sage green for the siding and a watery turquoise blue for the doors and trim. Clockwise from top left: Gentle Wave 5007-7C and The Harbor AR1222 (both from Valspar), and Aegean Blue MSL118 and Morning Fog MSL115 (both from Martha Stewart). |
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6. Blue Door With a Blue and Gray Interior
This front door has some navy blue — a neutral that can work with a wide range of colors — in it. The color works nicely with the blues and grays in the interior of the home.
This front door has some navy blue — a neutral that can work with a wide range of colors — in it. The color works nicely with the blues and grays in the interior of the home.
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: Clockwise from top left (all from Behr): Signature Blue UL240-22, Poppy Seed UL260-23 and Gray Area 770F-4. |
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| 7. Blue Door With Warm Hues This shade of blue resembles patinated copper, a metal commonly used in Spanish colonial architecture. It's a natural fit with the warm, golden hue on the house. |
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: Clockwise from top left (all from Benjamin Moore): Pool Blue 2052-50, Cloud White 967 and Papaya 957. |
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| 8. Whimsical Blue on Secondary Doors If you like the blue doors shown here but don't envision the colors for your own front door, consider painting a secondary door on your property, such as in a gate. It can add a fun focal point to your hardscaping. |
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by Jennifer Ott
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| Example palette: The vibrant electric blue in the previous photo works well with the cool-hued stone. If you were to paint your house to work with a blue door like this one, you might want to stick with light neutrals that veer toward the cooler (grayer) end of the spectrum. Try (clockwise from top left, all from Dunn Edwards): Beautiful Blue DEA136, Silver City DE6337, Sparkling Frost DE6345 and Frostbite DE6274. Tell us: Do you have a blue door? Share a photo below. |
Ideabook published on Sept. 17, 2012.
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We love blue!
Thank you.
karelina wrote:
"I love the blue in the 2nd pic, but its much darker than the square below, which says it's Nautilus SW6780. I've been looking for a blue and plan to paint the house in the next month. So, is that really the color of the door? I also have the same question about the siding color, which I think I'd like for the trim on my plum stained cedar (which I can't change). Does that sound like it would work?"
carolsuec wrote:
"We're building a home in Florida with Hardie board siding in a color called Navajo Beige. The trim will be white. The roof will be metal (so, silver). We'll be painting the celing of the little porch overhang baby blue. Would LOVE to do a blue door. Thoughts on a good shade?"
No matter where you live, blue doors also look fabulous with bright pink to fuscia toned flowers-- geraniums, verbena, or petunias in nearby container, or a hedge of bougainvillea.
Benjamin Moore paints:
Body - ruby dusk 1267
Trim - ashen tan 996
Accent 1 - el cajon clay 1260
Accent 2 - scandinavian blue 2068-3 (porch ceiling & door)
My house is stained cedar siding and the painters all said it would cost a fortune to change the siding colors.
What do you think? Advice is definitely appreciated!
drkate11 wrote:
"I love the "whimsical blue" but we don't have that paint manufacturer on the east coast. Do you have a color substitue with another manufacturer? I would like to use this color on my coastal cottage front door. The siding of the house is gray and I have a couple of wooden rockers on the front porch. I like the whimsical look of the blue and am wondering what color you would suggest to pain the chairs or do you think white chairs with colorful cushions?"
CJ Sebert wrote:
"How is it that you ALWAYS seem to do an ideabook for some project we are currently working on? We are in the process of going blue..see half-way there! My handy husband also replaced the threshhold and is putting on new door hardware, next the brick under the step will be replaced. My mom likes the red color better, what do you think?"
@photogirl333: Love the Teal Ocean.
-Deborah