Ooh, I really like the idea of painting the door red! Good idea!

Hunter green!

I hadn't thought of green but that sounds pretty good!

Red would look amazing with your home!

I agree with red...green, not so much.

Cute house. A rustic barn red would be very nice.

Red or black works, but first sand down and repaint garage doors before your wood rots. Casement window above that also looks worn. If you paint G-Doors to match siding, the house will look bigger, but you have to keep the driveway clean so dirt doesn't splash up on the white. You could paint G-Doors white and raised panels black; that would look good as well. Black will show less dirt but invite more maintenance on those doors. Right now, your G-Doors are the focal point because of the wear.

I agree. We will actually replace those doors soon with newer carriage doors. I am leaning toward keeping the garage doors black though.

I like the black door; would love to see you do something else with the garage doors first.

No, I would leave it black. The garage doors need a re paint though. If you want to brighten your doorway think about, as you said, planting, pots and lighting.

The same color red as the flowers in the picture. Darling house.

Sorry, didn't read that you going to re place garage doors. If you do, I would still keep them black. The white and black combo is lovely.

If the current G-Doors are in good shape, refinish them. You'll save $2000. Consider removing tree on left for low bushes that won't contribute to the mildew/mold issue on the cement wall. If that tree provides needed shade (it must) then coat the wall with a paint that looks good, resists spore growth and rinses clean easily. Stay on top of your maintenance, especially with dark colors. Take a look at our Work In Progress 3 which shows the result of deferred maintenance.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions. This house is from 1935 and was in bad shape when we bought it. Not sure the doors can be saved but happy to try. Paintworx do you recommend anyone in the portland OR area?

BTW, your home is gorgeous!!

So glad you're willing to save the garage doors if possible. They add so much to the charm of your home. Bold door- red would look awesome. Maybe repaint the house letters to make them more visible?

Thanks! I should say if we did replace the garage doors, it would be with a carriage style door that looks exactly the same with as nice or nicer wood than the old. That being said, I always love to keep original what I can. I may post the doors later to see if people think a paint job and new hardware would save them.

I like red or green. A nice shade of purple to match your salvia would be a little more out of the box, which I always like. If you go red, do more of a deep red to match your red flowers - not an orange red. I agree with the others regarding painting the garage doors. I think black to keep the focal point on the door. They have a lot of character, so if they are in good enough condition, definitely keep them. Flowers in your planter that trail down would look great. Keep with the red and purple theme set by your garden. A little chartruese potato vine would look good added in as well as some gray/green like dusty miller.

Funny thing: Before I even read your question, I though: "Perfect house! Would totally go with a red door!". :D

So, I vote for a red entrance door. It seems the right thing to do, in my opinion. I'd keep the garage door black. :)

Happy painting!

Here is a close up of the garage...think it can be saved?

Yes, front door a bold colour and doing up the garage door is a great idea

Yes you can save those nice garage doors, as long as there is no wood rot. It looks like you may have a bit of rot on the bottom of the wood trim that holds the doors. That could be replaced. A good power sanding, and you are good to paint I would think. I also like them black with a red front door. Lovely house and great garden.

I do not have a recommendation for the Portland area. Depending on how much rot there is, there are wood hardeners and epoxies that can treat the wood once the loose fibers are removed. Then you can fill with Bondo, prime and paint. This is relatively easy for a homeowner. If you don't mind that, you'll save yourself a lot of money. Perhaps save the finish painting for a professional. Again, it depends on how much rot there is

Too bad you aren't in the area paintworx sounds like you know your stuff! Any thoughts on what a professional might charge to do the whole thing?

Those doors can most certainly be saved. It will take some elbow grease, but that's likely original & that means old growth wood. They are extremely dense & can take a beating before they're unsalvageable. Remove...strip with a heat gun or silent paint stripper. There is a process to getting some "good" moisture back into the wood. I use a 75/25 mixture of linseed oil & turpentine (to aid in drying time) Then 2 coats of an outdoor oil based primer. Then 2 coats of whichever color you choose.

If there is rot...there are many wood fillers that are out there. I haven't needed that, but I can check with some restoration friends on https://www.wavyglass.org/ They have seen & done it all!
I've done this exact process to several of my windows. Just like new!!! :0)

Bring your carriage doors to a local millshop and have them repaired. I would consider painting them lighter though for many reasons, but mainly dark paint on wood causes more heating which causes more expansion and contraction!

About $350/ door so compare to new and Period Millworks. If the area around the hinges are bad, bring to Period Mill

Unfortunately we are outside of New Orleans, so shipping wouldn't be worth it. But you guys have great door shops out there!

Thank you very much. I have reached out to a few companies this morning so hopefully they'll be interested in helping us out.

So not sure if anyone is still reading this string but now all the suggestions have me thinking. What if I had the paint stripped off both the front door and the garage doors (assuming they can be saved) and gave them both a nice stain that had a deep red color. Any thoughts? I tend to really start over thinking things once in project mode...

Also, I have a great company coming out to look at the garage doors: http://www.versatilewoodproducts.com so thanks Period Millworks for the good suggestion.

I'd stick with black on the garage doors. Accent red on the front door only.

What about a charming light by the front door? This one by Lantern & Scroll is so cute! (Find them on here or Facebook, and they are awesome to work with. Cheers!