While neighborhoods continue to be redefined by black and white exteriors, there is still room for colour. Here are 14 of the prettiest front door paint colours to choose instead of painting your door black.
A black front door is and always will be a classic choice for many exteriors. But we are in a moment where entire neighborhoods are being built or “updated” to the most uniform exterior colour trend the world has ever seen: black and white.
So right now, a black front door simply doesn’t have the mystique it used to have.
Because every house has one.
Stop painting your front door black
So, it’s time to think beyond black for your front door colour. If I were a part of one of these ubiquitous neighborhoods, I’d rather be able to say, my house is the one with the happy green door. 💚
And truth be told, right now that’s the only thing that will make your white house different from your neighbours white house.
Here’s the thing that’s great too. It’s ONLY PAINT. Painting a door is a pretty easy weekend project. And the potential curb appeal you’ll add is outsized to the cost.
So what’s holding you back?
Not sure which colour is best for your exterior? Try this.
Harmonize on key – consider existing exterior colours
Front doors look great in a surprising range of colours. The trickiest thing you need to pay attention too is how saturated or muted the colour is in the context to the other colours and finishes on your home’s exterior. For instance, on homes with an earthy exterior colour palette, especially with brick or stone, choosing a colour that is too clean will certainly look off.
Try an eDesign front door colour consultation
If you have an exterior with earthy beiges, greys, taupes or browns, or anything that’s not white or cream, you might want some guidance. Our front door colour consultation will offer you at least 3 beautiful options to consider that will accent your specific exterior perfectly. Try it here!
Front door colours for a black and white house
But let’s look at colours that will look good on a white house with black windows or accents.
First, have you noticed how black painted doors often look simply like holes in the facade – kind of like black windows?
My director of eDesign painted the main entry door that goes from the garden to her cream garage black some years back. She said she couldn’t count how many times that at a glance the door looked like it had been left open.
The good news is a black and white exterior colour scheme can handle a very wide range of accent colours. So I’m going to show you some of the best front door colours my team and I are into right now to help inspire you.
Terrence, Chief Technology Officer
“Since a white house can have really any colour according to Maria, I would go for a playful colour with vintage vibes like salmon or pistachio to bring some joy to the otherwise stark feeling of black and white.”
Behr Indian Sunset
Behr Enchanted Meadow
Lisa, eDesign
“I think brighter and more saturated colours are having quite the moment right now as alot of us crave a little more visual interest for our homes and would be the perfect solution for brightening up and creating a happier look on a classic white exterior.
This vibrant periwinkle colour would be so fun to repeat in porch decor and a leafy green would connect beautifly to lush green surroundings.”
Sherwin Williams Lobelia
Sherwin Williams Dill
Marla, Customer Service
“A black and white house looks especially classic with an eye catching red door. Poinsettia is a clear pink leaning red that gives a fresh take on the traditional red. I like a rich blue with some warmth so that it stands out with black accents.”
Sherwin Williams Poinsettia
Benjamin Moore Blue Danube
Kristy, Social Media Director
Just like cognac warms up black and white interior schemes, it makes a pretty focal point at the entrance. Deep teal green is always a beautiful choice. Teals and blue seem to be trending here with the MK team.
“This summer, I’m planning to give my front door a beautiful new update. My heritage home has a classic white exterior with a charming brick foundation, so I’m considering a terracotta hue to add a touch of warmth that perfectly complements the brick (and some well-placed terracotta pots on my front porch).
But, as someone who loves to play with color, I’m also eyeing a rich blue-green shade, similar to the colour of my back door. Adding a pop of colour to your front door is a simple update that can really breathe new life into your home’s exterior – no matter how old your home is.”
Benjamin Moore Warmed Cognac
Benjamin Moore Dragonfly
Shana, eDesign Customer Service
“Saffron gold is uplifting. Yellow can be tricky for a front door since some look too bright. But this is a darker and richer gold looks pretty and regal with a white exterior. For a calm look, a muted mid toned aqua or slate colour always looks polished. It would provide soft contrast to any white exterior, traditional or modern.”
Sherwin Williams Sunflower
Sherwin Willams Mountain Stream
Tricia, Director of eDesign
“I know I’m often in the minority for my love of earthy moss greens, but they are having a moment and are a good choice for creating a grounded look on a white exterior with black accents. And a muted lilac colour is sophisticated in an unexpected way and really easy to repeat in plantings.”
Farrow & Ball Sap Green
Behr Dream Sunset
Sheila, eDesign
“It always works to take a classic colour like primary blue or red and shift it slightly for a more interesting and custom designer look. Salsa Dancing is the perfect meeting of red and orange, and Lucerne has that dash of green that brings deep beautiful water to mind instantly.”
Benjamin Moore Lucerne
Benjamin Moore Salsa Dancing
I hope you found some inspiration directly from my incredibly talented team here at Maria Killam Inc.!
We are always here for you and ready to help you with all things colour.
If you’d like to refresh your front door with a brand new coat of paint this spring, we couldn’t be more behind that. And you can get Maria and the team’s help with the best colours for your specific home here.
Related posts:
Create Gorgeous Curb Appeal with these Front Door Colour Ideas
An eDesign Front Door Colour Consultation: Before & After
The Best Front Door Colours Inspired by Mid Century Modern Homes
My front door and window frames are black because that had the best feng shui for our house, which was super important to my husband. That belief system is just a limitation our designer and I have had to work around 🤷🏻♀️
Yes that is why I have a blue door myself. House faces north.
I have a taupe stucco house with white trim and a black door. Honestly, the black door disappears. When I had it painted a number of years ago, I thought it would look classic. Instead, because it’s in an alcove, it’s a big nothing. We plan on installing a new front door this spring to replace the original builder-grade door, and I will definitely paint it a happy color from one of the recommendations in this post. 🙂
Stained wood might be worth a thought!
My front door is SW Fabulous Grape… on a pink brick house!
My house is a tuscan clay color (tan/beige). My door is in desperate need of a repainting, but I’m at a loss of what color I should do.
That is a neutral that can take any door color. Pick the color you like the most but make sure undertone is similar to undertone of the tan/beige.
I like all these colors, but my favorite has to be the Behr Indian Sunset which is the first one. My current door was painted bout 20 years ago and I would say it is a pale yellow. It has held up really good for all these years. I would never paint a front door black but that’s just me. I don’t like anything painted black. Only black accessories maybe or hardware. Just little doses of it. For an entire house maybe mostly white with black but not much black.
Our first house was classic red brick. We painted the door a lovely lemon yellow the day we took possession! Unfortunately, there was a white storm door blocking it. Cue me taking it down, stripping it, priming it, spray painting it the closest yellow I could find (which was quite a bit warmer in tone), then repainting the door with paint custom matched to the spray paint. Although it wasn’t exactly the color I wanted, yellow brightened the look of the home so much! And with some yellow flowers in front, it was lovely. Now we are picking our next color for our next red brick house, so this comes at the right time.
PS The greens are fab!!
My house, and all the other houses in my neighborhood, has a solid wood front door behind a clear glass storm door. The solid wood front door is often left open to let in light and to be more welcoming. Therefore, the front door, in whatever color it is painted, needs to blend into the interior of the home, as when it’s left open, it’s part of my living room. This creates challenges in complementing the exterior brick, the landscaping, the color of our concrete driveway (very important to me), and the interior walls and living room furniture.
What are your thoughts on painting the inside of the front door to match the exterior of the door?
For about 15 years the front door of my traditional white house has been painted Pickle, Sherwin-Williams 6725, slightly fresher than the Sherwin-Williams Dill door shown. I can’t tell you how happy the color of my front door makes me and I have received many compliments on it over the years. We repainted our interior two years ago and it was a good opportunity to change the front door color but we just re-painted the same color, that’s how much I love it. And when I saw photos of Maria’s previous house and realized our door colors were similar, that was pretty cool! To me, an attractive front door color is friendly and welcoming.
My front door is the beautiful original wood from when my house was built close to 100 years ago. I won’t paint it BUT I have great fun painting my stairs a colour. Right now they are a Tiffany blue and look pretty with my light grey house. It’s also much easier to tell people who haven’t been to my house before to come to the house with the pretty blue stairs. Seeing as I have all trees and garden in the front of the house it helps visitors to identify the house without searching for the address.
We have a white house with gray shutters (BM Chelsea Gray), I painted the front door SW Sassy Green, it’s bright and cheerful : )
I have a saffron gold painted house with a deep blue door. So cheery! I love it!
I would love to see some examples of houses painted a color. It seems like any color will go with white, but trying to decide for a house with color has proven difficult (at least for me).
Our house is Mediterranean style and painted a yellowish- orange. Every house in our neighborhood has a black, brown, or cream garage door.
Terrence’s picks for the win! So fun
I love the format of this post! It’s a great way to get acquainted with the team while enjoying the diversity of their choices. I love all the choices. I wish I had as many houses with different styles so I could have a door in each color haha!
I have house with pink brick, sort of a lighter salmon color and it makes changing my colors from a creamy white basically impossible. And I hate the creamy white.
I also live in Texas and the front is west facing so I have to stick to lighter colors to reflect it or it will get so hot paint can peel (happened to my neighbor’s red door even it lost shade).
My nice trees that helped protect it were severely damaged in an ice storm this February. I’m not looking forward to summer.
Honestly, I pick a lovely wooden door if I could, but between the heat, the West sun, and the fact that when they built this house the frame is crooked so you cannot actually have any door form a tight seal. There’s no way to fix it without ripping out two stories of brick facing and then risk having it not match the rest of the house, and the brick is on three sides.
I absolutely will not paint the brick either as much as I’d love another color, as it takes a lovely maintenance free siding and makes it require significant maintenance in this heat, as well as potentially damaging the brick.
How I covetously look at my other neighbor’s lovely white stone and how I could easily change to any color with it.
Should read *easily change to any door or trim color with it (white stone my neighbors have, compared to my bossy pink brick).
I don’t live in Texas but I had a house made of lovely pink brick in a newer development several years ago. It was facing south, if I recall. I painted the front door a beautiful deep salmon colour, with a warm white frame. It was beautiful! Years later, I repainted the door a deep aubergine colour which also worked well. I think you still have some options with pink. 🙂
I love my vermillion red doors, front and back. Gives the otherwise muted neutral facade a colour hit and lifts the entire vibe of the exterior.
I love Terrance’s and Tricia’s choices!
I can see how Tricia related her colors to existing elements; no wonder she is the Director of eDesign.
If I chose Terrance’s beautiful salmon selection, I’d set a few pots that color near the entry, or some salmon-colored annuals.
Maria, I hope you’ll do more posts showing your crew’s choices for other design elements! What a creative post!
This is inspiring me to do something with our doors! We are in a massively fixer upper project house, and a lot of times it feels like every weekend of work is just a drop in the bucket. Our exterior may be shabby and faded, but painting the doors would be a big ROI on joy with minimal work. Thanks for the push 🙂
I have a front door desperate for a punch of color. The house is sandstone siding with white trim, no shutters and a pink brick porch. Color aside, what parts of the door do you paint? There is an oval window in the door and 2 sidelights. I have to keep the storm door which pulls down to a half screen as I am right on the river and the cross breezes are amazing. Right now everything is white. Thanks!
These are all so fun!
I work in construction for a custom door company — largely the very high-end, luxury home market. Please stop painting your exterior doors black if any of the following conditions apply: doors exposed to significant direct sunlight, doors that face north, south, or west, or doors without a good amount of overhanging coverage. All wood doors will expand and contact with changes in temperature and humidity, and doors painted black, or even stained very dark brown/black under any of the above conditions will absorb the light and create a tremendous amount of heat. Excessive heat will damage the finish, crack the wood, and cause possible structural issues that will warp your door. You will be unhappy. Also, remember, the climate outdoors is different than the climate indoors, and the greater the difference between the two, the riskier the situation. If you must have a black door, there are a few companies out there, which you can find online that build quality fiberglass and steel doors. By quality, I mean have a good weight to them with a solid core, have a thickness of 1-3/4″ or 2-1/4″, a wide range of sizes and styles to choose from, and a variety of ‘wood grains’.
My front door was dark green for many years but we painted it SW Tame Teal which is beautiful and we have had many compliments. The siding is SW jogging path and white trim. So far we still have dark green shutters, so still not sure if that is the best color for them. It is. Williamsburg style house.
Any suggestions for a south facing door on an orange-red brick house with white siding and trim? It is black now because the orange tone in the brick is limiting in my opinion.