Will there be more design elements changing??

Will it help to google yellow doors for inspiration? Personally, I think that your tone of yellow has too much red undertone and the brownish house paint make the whole thing muddy or rusty. I love this pic but don't know if painting entire house is an option for you.

Hockeymom84 I am the front unit condo of 4 homes on the lot and the HOA is a very responsible group but also pretty conservative as most are older, and one is an income property. Nobody seems to want to put a lot of upgrades into the home. They already agreed that windowpanes should be kept an aluminum trim so it's not too costly for everyone. And I assume they will feel the same about landscape and the lanterns. ;/ We will probably move homes in a few so we have more flexibility to customize.

So I want to repaint with a "safe" traditional choice.. haven't figured out what that is yet...? the double door makes the impact of the color feel huge. Bossyvossy I agree the yellow is the wrong yellow.

I would bring in more color with planters and accessories to tie this in. Good luck!

Deepening the yellow to a more golden tone that is a similar intensity to the roof will make it work. I couldn't find a door picture, but this shows the tone of yellow I am imagining:

Maybe something similar to lindsey's suggestion (bottom photo):

I think it would pop, but also tie in with your balcony above (shown here)

Though I like the yellow you chose, it clashes with the roof. I think lindsey's suggestion could be better. A sage green can also work with red-ish/terra cotta roofs.

IMO, a very nice bright, lush green would look very good or perhaps a another color of green that you like. Green, white, yellow, and touches of black also look good. However, I agree that the yellow clashes with the roof in this case.

I think something like the second shade from the left here could work nicely.

Trim and doors painted or stained a color from the tiles

I think a color that blends with your roof as you already have brown and tan on the house and gold, tan , and cream and white on the stone.....you need to have something relate to the roof, as it looks lonely. Or a natural wood door stained the trim color of your house, IMO.

Door painted a darker version of overall house color

Door painted or strained the trim color....I think the prettiest color for your door would be a version of any color that is already on the house exterior and chrome yellow isn't it....

I like it. Don't do anything rash. Live with it for a bit.

I have a yellow front door, SW Colonial Yellow. Everyone in the neighborhood commented on it and like you, I felt exposed. But I love it. Different, fun, slightly bold. Your door looks great too!

That yellow is not complementary to the home. A darker wood tone finish would look better on this home.

Little to no budget, huh? Definitely makes it harder. If the the brown wood strip things were painted the same color as the body of the building, the doors would work.

Getting any color to look good is going to be a challenge because there's a big brown rectangle directly above competing for visual attention. It's messing up the color hierarchy making it difficult from a wayfinding perspective - it's tough to make sense of that exterior because the front doors are overshadowed (literally) by the brown rectangle.

I actually like the color of yellow; it relates nicely to the flagstone porch and walkway.

Thank you everyone!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to leave suggestions, visuals, and renderings. I had such high anxiety when I woke up, feeling like I gotta pick a new color FAST. But as I see everyone's differing tastes, and design formulas for coordinating an exterior I am feeling less panicked and more reflective.

I do think I will shy away from a fun, complementary color for now because I feel it requires precision to really nail the look. Although many people are saying go RED.

I am taken with the dark brown door. Although my door is wood, it was really sun damaged. I am researching whether or not to strip it down to bare, but damaged wood, or to keep the primer on and create some texture and dimension with paint. Might be nice to start over. Either way I will post an update here once I have an update!

Thanks again Houzz community!!

It will look even better if the whole trim and the front door are painted the same, a rich dark color (bronze, espresso) that would create a better contrast and would balance the roof and walls.

That looks gorgeous too it'sALLart!! I stripped the yellow off the door today YAY! I will let it completely dry out and be ready to coat it in a day or two. I was going to gel stain it Java by General Finishes to preserve the beautiful natural wood. I also bought a smaller can of Georgian cherry to give the stain a red undertone. But will keep you all posted.

So I made a lot of rookie woodworking mistakes a long the way.. like trying to sand the entire door with a sheet sander and wondering why the finish was so horrible, and then Java gel staining the door when it was still rough sanded and causing the door to soak up the gel at full saturation...

so I washed off as much as I could and chemical stripped again... sigh... and thought the door was doomed when there was still a darker shade where the stain had been.

BUT I DID IT RIGHT TODAY. This morning I went out and bought a random orbital sander, my husband and I took the doors off the hinge, and following the advice of posters here, we went successively from 60grit sandpaper up to 220grit in succession. Then used a dremel to try and get into the crevices, which was semi-successful.

Here is a hopeful progress shot for anyone who feels like giving up after a huge diy mistake!! Starting over.

I still have to intentionally gel stain the crevices in the right door to match the left. I had such a high from that recovery that I spray painted and clear-coated the door mats that were worn down to black, paying attention to try and match the roof :)

Suffice to say... we may lightly tint the door before varnishing but I'm not going anywhere near paint or deep stain colors... I love my natural doors!!

Wow! Your doors look wonderful! Lots of work but it is paying off and you aren't even quite finished yet. Love the mat colors too. Consider getting a mat that is large enough for both doors, it gives a nice welcoming touch.

They are looking really nice sanded smooth. You have a clear slate to work with now.

What is the color you will go with? Stain or paint?

Love the natural wood look with the light tint. Congrats on getting it right. It really works well with the house style

mobuddy89 I would like to skip stain altogether and just varnish but my husband thinks we should stain it for protection. So I'll choose the absolutely lightest shade before varnishing. I'm looking at the Zars exterior stains chart and can't tell the difference between some of the shades. So I'm still researching!

The wood looks like oak. Could you get a small piece at HD and practice on that? I think with the gel stain in the crevices and the natural look, it does look pretty good now. I used Provincial on my floors and the result was a lot darker than they are showing in the chart. Sometimes I go into Rockler or Woodcraft and one of the guys will open the can on the spot and we do a small test. Awful nice of them!

mobuddy89 thanks for the suggestion! The first time I visited Rockler they thought the same- that the door might be oak. But I dropped by today and another gentleman thought the knots made it look more like pine. I picked up a few sample cans of Zar stain (Rockler is clearing them out so they ran under $4 each), Salem Maple, Honey Maple, Teak Natural, and Spanish Oak. I did finish gel staining the crevices in the other door today and have to decide whether or not to chemical strip them to get the same washed out effect as the left side or just to leave them. I am so ready to be finished with this project. lol.

AK, think how much you have learned! I beat myself over these type of situations, but in the end you will have a beautiful front door and heaps of knowledge for your next stripping/staining project.

From looling at the chart, it seems that the Spanish Oak stain would look so very good with you home, your roof, just everything. You are doing such a wonderful job of this project.

Thank you for the encouraging words! Gave me the nudge I needed to take the time and savor these last steps because the end is in SIGHT!!!

I finished gel staining the crevices in the right side and acid washed them off this morning. So once they are dry I'll give them a quick sand, clear seal and apply my stain hopefully tomorrow morning!!!

Also made my board samples! They aren't completely dry. From left to right are Spanish Oak, Honey Maple, Teak Natural and Salem Maple. The boards were prepped with the Zinsser clear sealer first, followed by two coats of stain. I must say Zar stains are really nice and easy to work with. I love how rich the colors feel. This is the most wood I've stained in my life. I'll photograph them again in front of the door when the lighting is better.

Looks amazing so far! This is a really gratifying post to follow :)

I've been following and you've made some great progress!

I'd tie what you have closest to the wood trim.

even if a pinch lighter is fine!

Here are the samples. I picked these colors because they were in the light to mid tones. The first one is a beautiful color that does pick up the roof with the red tones... but the value is about equal to the trim and brings out all the same reddish brown of the entire building. The second one is also nice... not noticeably positive or negative. The third one has the most brown in it of the four and picks up the brown in the beams- which I think is nice although the beams may not always be brown I hope. The last one warms things up. I think so far we have a favorite. Which one do you favor?

I am indecisive as they come, but I think the third or fourth one is good. The only thing throwing it off are the beams. If you were to redo the beams one day, would you want them stained as well or painted? If you can still see some of the gel stain in the crevices it helps tie it together until you do the beams.

Regardless, you have done a great job. I am partial to yellow doors as you had done originally, but natural is better here.

You are almost finished! But don't forget to poly them. General Finishes has some good ones. I dislike Minwax.

Would talavera be appropriate for your area? I could see bright blue and a little red and yellow.

either of the two middle stains would look good. you did a nice job on that door. make sure to use a wood conditioner before applying the stain.

since you said the door gets a lot of sun, please do a clear coat w/3, yes 3, coats of a good UV Spar Urethane. Epifanes is one, Cetol Marine, or Penofin Marine are some of the others.

It has to have UV protection or it's not going to last. just using a plain spar varnish isn't good enough. UV,,,ok? at least 3 coats, and 1 coat every year or two thereafter.

they use this on boats, so you know it's good.

this is my redwood bridge I did with 3 coats of the Marine varnish. It gets sun and water every day. This spar stuff is great.

mobuddy89 These days I obsess about what other colors our home would be. There are a few more brown beams in the back of the complex and the same brown trim over the garage doors! If the brown stain doesn't work we could definitely layer with deeper colors!
torreykm I think talavera elements could work in our area. I have thought it would be nice to really bring out the Spanish character of the home but in a very updated way? I'll have to peruse Houzz and see whats out there! :)

Beth H. Thanks! You know, I looked for a wood "conditioner" and wasn't able to find one at HD, Lowes or Rockler that was exterior grade?! But Rockler recommended the Zinsser Bullseye clear sander coat as a base layer. Its very clear and watery stuff. The UV varnish I picked up is also the Zars exterior UV grade. Wish I'd known about the other products- but will see how the Zars holds up this time around. For sure will take your advice and do no less than 3 coats! Your garden is amazing!!

nope. the clear coat is not the same. you can use any wood conditioner. minwax has some. I believe it's called Pre-conditioner or something. In a pinch you could dampen a rag with water and wipe it on. what you want is to pre soak the wood so it accepts the stain in an even manner and won't end up blotchy. Pine has a tendency to 'blotch' so you really want a conditioner. check Amazon if you can't find anything.

don't use the clear coat by Zinsser. that seals the wood! you would use that after staining, but it's not necessary.

and thank you! it keeps me very busy.

Beth H. Ok I'll look again! Thanks!!

That porch light ... the glass looks murky and depressing. it's too small for the house, too.

I know it was stylish once upon a time, but a new light would be high on my ,list.