I like the door black. have no idea what the siding looks like.

honestly though, those slats over the door? get rid of them. They add nothing to the look and make it look choppy. painting it the color of the siding, huge mistake.

get a taller door, one w/glass

Or,

I'd remove it and add a transom window (and get new lights

want to see a drastic change w/a wood door/transom and bronze lighting?

either way these bright white posts don't work. wrap them in cedar, stain them, or paint them dark to match the black door.

have you also given thought to painting the cement porch? you can paint and stencil it in a soft pattern.

These colors would look nice w/your brick. notice how they did the 'rug' on this front porch.

If you planned on doing a white siding, this look may work (white trim around the door/transom and the white post)

if you painted your siding gray, you want this look???

some type of leaded glass would be nice too, especially w/some black or red in it

maybe one w/your address

these are easy to overlay onto a fixed piece of glass. get a plain transom piece fit in place over the door. now order a stained glass piece to go right over it. I did it w/my bathroom french casement window.

not the best photoshop, but you get the idea.

Not replacing the door. It’s newer and there’s nothing wrong with it. The glass above looks nice and I would consider it in the future but I’m not spending money there right now. I just spent thousands on new windows.

It’s frustrating that any time people post ONE thing (door), the entire facade gets ripped apart. I have a plan for the posts. All the soffit and fascia and everything is also getting redone. The front yard is getting ripped up and the step to the house is getting replaced. The post with the number on it is actually getting moved because it’s in the way. The lights are changing too. Some people just aren’t doing everything all at once! Things cost money! I specifically asked about what colour to paint above the door for the time being. Why can’t people just stick to what was asked?

And I didn’t say I was painting the siding grey, I said brown with grey undertones and also that I was still undecided.

Sorry if I come across rude but this happens literally every time I post anything. All these ideas for everything else. I have a plan and that’s going to take a few years to play out. One income family, soon to be 4 kids. I don’t have tens of thousands to drop all at once. This year it was windows and a few minor touch ups to the exterior (door) Next year it’s going to be more windows, painting the siding and the soffit/fascia/front porch/lawn overhaul.

This looks really cool w/a black frame around it to match the door

and new address placque. would better w/the white posts painted too

left the post white so you can see. I like the black trim. or try BM Wrought Iron

a simple stencil design

Not interested in what colour you would have painted the door. Let’s keep the focus on the above wood slats, thanks! :)

Well, I'm so sorry to have ruined the post for you. I didn't mean for you to go out and buy a new door,(In fact, I said I liked the door black), I merely posted something that looked good w/the transom instead of a photoshop. (I put in ONE pic w/the wood door and transom only to show how it looks together. it was an option. I did keep the focus above the door

All the other photoshops are of YOUR door in YOUR color. The other photo I posted w/the diff paint colors was meant for your siding!(with an option to do something w/the very gray cement porch)

.

There are these wooden slats above the door, above and below the bay window (to the right, not shown) and above the garage door as well. We will be painting the aluminum siding next year

You're asking about painting the slats above the door to match siding, but don't post a picture. How exactly would you like us to respond to that? How can we possibly know if painting them would look good, (I think no) when we can't see any of the siding, the color you want, or anything else about the home?

I posted a few diff things that I think will look way better than painting those slats to match the siding! But go ahead and paint them now. takes 5 mins.

Here. painted slats

no clue where the siding is, what color it is, or what color you want it, so here's a gray and a terra cotta /brick shade

You have the luxury of seeing your full house, we don't.

You also wrote this,

However, maybe that’s just my brain and it’s the proper way to go about it? Which I’m not opposed to. I think if it’s the right way to go I just need someone to ease my mind? Can anyone advise?

I did advise

I assumed, silly me, that you wanted some other options on how best to make this work. I advised on what would look best, IMO.

Sorry if I overstepped and posted a diff light, address plaque and had the nerve to suggest painting the porch. I thought you wanted advice on how to make things look better than what it is.

If you can’t do a cut-out with glass, paint it black and get large white numbers that are your address. I like the black door too.

No thats not your brain thinking that looks wrong. It looks wrong because it is. The slats look like the previous owner patched that area to accomodate a smaller door. Ive seen it happen before. This way they could buy an in stock door to save money instead of having to order a custom size.

If you are keeping the current door as is, I would look into getting some thin brick or thin brick veneer that matches your current brick and install it above the door to make the door appear to fit the space.

if you are not willing to go that route and as you say want to go about it the proper way, then it is hard to make suggestions without knowing the overall style of your home. Assuming you want to move forward with an overall plan so in the future you're not back pedeling to fix any lipstick you've put on a pig we need to know what the entire elevation of the home looks like.

My next suggestion would be to have moulding put around the entire door and paint it whatever color you choose to paint the trim. But this is dependent on what style your home is.

But if your just looking for a paint color its really not going to make a huge difference either way because the area, as you pointed out, isn't going to look right until its redone.

With all that in mind paint it the color of your trim and paint the casing around the door the trim color as well. The all black door and casing isnt doing the door any favors. I think you will get the quickest improvement this way.

so if you decide on white trim paint the casing/trim around the door along with the odd slat siding things. This would include your porch posts and all.

if you decide to go dark and moody do the same. the door trim/casing and the odd slat siding would go the darker moodier color as would your porch posts etc and the door would stay black.

Hope this helps.

I think the slats look fine, I really like the brown wood tone with the door and the brick. I see no problem with matching these trim pieces for the bay window and garage the same paint color...I'm sure it will look great.

This would not be an issue for me if this were my home. Have fun!

I would paint the wooden slates black. I like your black door.

Those aren't 'slats'. Most likely textured T-111 plywood. Infills. Commonly done in houses of a certain vintage--1970's ish. My neighborhood is brimming with houses built just like that. No, there wasn't a taller door. There is a header above the door, the windows and the garage doors. And you don't cut the header out and install a transom. For those that don't know anything about how a house is framed (ample evidence above), the header is there to transfer the load from above to the foundation via cripples, headers, king & jack studs.

My own house has hardboard infills below two windows and above the garage doors. I did paint the brick (solid black brick) and painted the infills the same taupe color as the brick. White trim. Black shutters.

I would suggest removing the plywood and replacing with hardboard or sheet PVC. Or even rough sawn textured plywood that doesn't have any grooves in it. And painting it a terra cotta color from the brick. Stain rather than paint if you use wood. The vertical 'stripes' are a distraction, IMO.

Well! The internet "kitchen" lives and does so for a reason. It often keeps folks from mistakes, encourages thinking about different or better options with regard to any question. The "heat " suffered in the kitchen is often well worth the result.

If you can't survive heat, want nothing but a pleasant balmy 70 degree breeze? You stay out of the kitchen.

The slats? Cover with anything, get rid of them, and paint/stain to match the darn door. If you can find a thin brick match to yours? An option, certainly. Sorry. ..........they add nothing, and only detract from the goal of a lovely entry.

Try this. Poster board, painted black. See how it looks. I think a flat piece of plywood vs. the v groove siding would look good in black to match your door. Then, get smaller house numbers in an interesting font. Modern, craftsman…whatever style best suits your home, and put them there instead of on your post. Good luck. One step at a time…. We have all been there!

Paint them black to make the door look taller and have more presence.

I’m thinking paint it black but we need to see a picture of the entire house please :)

I would paint the door a different color that blends with the brick better - either a dark green color or one of the red colors in the brick. The white wood clashes with the brick. The brick should be the focal point, not the white which is where the eye is drawn being the lightest color there.

Transom window over the door is great idea. Paint all the white wood a darker color. And repaint the door - a brown copper may blend with the brick better but hard to tell whether the brick is in the orange range or dark red range.

This was proposed above but I'd like to talk about it. How about framing the door with casing trim and make the top transom to cover the slats part of that. I would paint it the same white color as the house trim. In the picture below the top header is integrated with the side trim but it would be taller to cover the current slats. The side trim in the picture is probably too wide but it shows the idea. Yours should be appropriate for your house's style. It would be a little more work because your door is recessed from the face of the brick. Not a problem but the 3 inch brick edge would need to be trimmed, too. That recess makes the entry a little more elegant. The existing black frame of the door can stay black.

For the casing trim around the door, you could mimic the panel design on a much thinner scale as the door which looks quite lovely because it picks up the darker bricks nicely.) For the trim on the side, you could have it routed different ways to give it a little more interest.

Casing the door integrates everything together, would look appropriate for the house's existing styling, matches the color of the white house trim, and draws the eye to the door. Simpler is generally better. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can DIY it by buying trim at Home Depot or have a local handyman do it. Maybe add 4 inch house numbers or a pineapple pediment centered above the door.

Not sure if it would look appropriate, but if there are other windows on the house front, maybe consider casing them in white as well. This would make the black frames and sashes of the windows look good and integrate with the look of the door. Don't worry about the sides and back of the house.

Removing the column post can certainly be done and probably should be done to make the door look good. But the header above the column will probably need another length of wood or structural plywood to make it stiffer. This is sometimes humorously called "shortening the distance" of the header. A good carpenter or framer would know what to do. If there are multiple posts, you probably can only do the one directly in front of the door. Otherwise it would get expensive.

Keep plugging on your house projects. With a little landscaping, the front of your house will be quite inviting. Have fun.

Commenters who go above and beyond the original poster’s question are a good thing for the forum. In expanding the scope of the brief with their ideas and illustrations, these commenters help readers like me, who are here to learn, practice thinking outside the box.