Need help choosing exterior door colour.

13 years ago

I would like to paint my front door but cannot decide on a colour. The roof is burgundy and although I detest the colour I can't afford to replace it quite yet. Any other suggestions on how we can give the place a bit of a mid-century modern facelift (on a budget) would be great!

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Al M

13 years ago

last modified: 13 years ago

Here is what I'd do:
1. Remove the 2 shrubs but don't trash them--replant on the side! hire some hulky HS guys to dig. GREAT suggestion to ask great gardner neighbors for cuttings and advise!

2. Door color? I'd go with a deep maroon maple leaf chocolate. It would pull the tans and the reds and accent with a deeper drama than red or black and be more unusual too. This fall, get a gorgeous red maple leaf and visualize that color with a bit of chocolate. Home stores can mix a pint to a leaf color match and add a bit of dark browns to get the color you want.

Another really unusual color is deep eggplant. Almost black but has a warm glow. You can paint the shutters the same later on too if you like shutters. I'd add to the front window too if you do. A front porch would be nice on this place too later on! Extend roofline to picture window so you can hang potted trailing petunias ect and have a garden framed view from insode too. Then those chairs would be rockers and you'd be enjoying the space! A nice place to sit and admire the garden you plant! **Join the neighborhood garden club if they have one. YES, it's all old ladies but they KNOW their stuff and you'll get a TON of cuttings and save a fortune on plants! I planted my entire yard from their generous cuttings and plant thinnings!!!

3. Plant a japanese maple out front and colored shrubs in the purply blues of firs and other easily cared for things and then add your neighbors clipings and annuals and perrenials for splashes of color!

For the roof: There are companies that paint a rubberized paint over shingles to extend their life and you could go with a darkre color of that. Here in Hawaii we use white to reflect light but there you can go dark. Would make the roof last a while longer in case it needs to last a while.

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Comments (14)

houssaon
13 years ago
last modified: 13 years ago
You could do all white, which would be handsome.
Exterior · More Info

Then there is the old stand-by, deep red:
Home Renovation and Addition in Decatur · More Info
Maybe even a burnt orange.

I would paint the porch posts white and remove the bushes there.
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Chromatic Design
13 years ago
Are the siding and brick are different colors.
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christiek
Original Author
13 years ago
The brick is a pale yellowish colour, and, the siding is green.
elcieg
13 years ago
last modified: 13 years ago
Garage and Entry · More Info

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Paint the house one color with a lighter version on the trim and garage doors. Remove shutters entirely and paint the door black. A power wash on the roof might make it more appealing to you while you wait to replace it.

Or, as houssaon recommended, paint it all white and paint the door red.
decoenthusiaste
13 years ago
You've got a lot going on colorwise already. Needs some unification rather than an additional color. Out with the clumpy shrubs for sure. With your porch roof, you probably don't really need the storm to hide the door, whatever color you finally arrive at for the entry.
User
13 years ago
With the yellow bricks and black shutters, I would paint the front door black. If you are painting the siding, I would choose white for it and the garage door.
amyspaulding
13 years ago
A red roof is good feng shui.
christiek
Original Author
13 years ago
if i remove the shrubs what should I do for landscaping?
houssaon
13 years ago
I was thinking about the landscaping after my last post. I think a large island bed in the middle of the lawn with flowering shrubs, perenials, bulbs and an ornamental tree would look good. That way you have focus away from the foundation where there are some lower level windows. This is a bit full but it gives you an ideal of what is possible:
Traditional Perennial · More Info
Or:
Jennifer Jamgochian/ Multiflora · More Info

Then I'd frame the windows with some small trees and tall shrubs. See:
Woodland Estate · More Info

Look for native plants that do well in your area. Drive around and see if there is a home with a landscape you admire and ask the home owner for some tips.
lefty47
13 years ago
HI -- try a dark navy -- very classy ! Semi , or Satin gloss .
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NATALE JR PLUMBING & HEATING LLC
13 years ago
I like to pull colors from the roof. You can also go to benjaminmoore.com. If you click on "paint your room online" and then "exteriors" you can play with color choices.
Perhaps you can add shutters to the front window. Maybe a flower box underneath it.
Since your trim work is in white, I would paint the post white. Good luck.
nasmijati
13 years ago
Your storm door hides the front door so much that the color doesn't really show. I would paint the door, porch post, and trim white. Leave the garage door the color it is.

Remove the bushes by the porch.

I would remove the shutters. They are the wrong size for the windows, and the front window does not have shutters.

The windows above the garage look newer than the front window, which looks original to the house. To unify them for now, please put white linings in all of your draperies. (You also don't want a bad guy to guess that a little girl sleeps in the room with pink curtains.)
PRO
Studio NOO Design
13 years ago
Glossy black or navy, I agree...very classy !