Should all of your exterior doors be the same color? On the one hand, it seems smart to match. But then on the other hand, maybe you want something bold for the front door but don’t want it everywhere.
Your exterior doors do not all have to be the same color. Many homeowners will choose a vibrant color for the front door and then a color that complements the rest of their home.
Let’s take a look at some of the more common ways to paint your home’s exterior doors and some other questions about door colors.
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Exterior Doors: All The Same Color? Or Not?
Picking out exterior paint colors can be both exciting and terrifying. There are decisions around trim colors and siding colors and other details, but also doors. Though the front door is what comes to mind first, there are also the garage doors and side doors, backyard doors, french patio doors, and even storm doors. What’s the best course of action?
Most homeowners prefer either matching all or choosing a front door that’s vibrant and let the other doors match the trim on the windows.
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This homeowner has chosen a vibrant turquoise door, but the window trim and storm door are painted to match each other.
Here the front door is a rich burgundy that pops against the blue siding and white trim. But off to the side, the mudroom door is painted a soft grey that more closely ties into the roof shingle color and picks up the greys in the blue siding color.
In this light-colored stucco home, the owner has chosen to stick with a palette of greys for the doors and window trim. Though the hue of the front door and window trim is slightly darker than the garage door, it’s all shades of grey.
Can My Front Door Be Natural Wood Tone and Not Painted Like The Others?
Yes, of course. A gorgeous wood tone is still a color, and many Craftsman-style bungalows feature a hardwood entry door. In that case, the color of the wood stands on its own and works well with a variety of other paint colors.
These natural wood doors look simply stunning with a painted brick exterior.
Here a large wooden entry door picks up colors from the brick and the shingles while the garage door and side door are painted white to match the window trim.
Natural wood looks great with other natural exterior finishes like this stone or with brick.
Should My Front Door And Garage Door Be The Same Color?
As a general rule, especially if your garage faces the front of your house, you’ll want your front door and garage door to be the same color. However, there are exceptions to that rule.
- If your front door is a bright color like red or yellow or turquoise, you might find the same color overwhelming when applied to the expanse of a garage door.
- If your architecture is something unique like stone or a log cabin, you might want your large garage door to blend in with that feature.
- If your home is kind of bland or a vast expanse of similar color, like red brick, you might choose to match white trim or black trim on the rest of the house rather than match your front door color.
Should The Storm Door Match The Front Door Color?
Storm doors are a secondary door that goes over your primary exterior door. They provide extra-precaution against weather and elements. Typically they have large glass panels that, if your main exterior door is open, provide visibility to the outdoors. Because of this, the main door’s color may be seen through the storm door.
You can have your storm door match your front door, but you don’t have to. Many storm doors come in a specific neutral palette, and you would choose one that compliments your door color.
Here, for instance, the homeowner chose a black frame on their storm door, which complements the gray door, and darker gray shakes beautifully. It also creates a cohesive look with the black lantern and rocking chair that is also black.
What Color Should Exterior Doors Be?
There’s a lot to be considered here. Does your neighborhood have building codes? There might be a select color palette that you have to choose from. Are you selling your home? Research says that buyers gravitate toward red or white front doors.
Many homeowners will try to choose a color that coordinates well with the style of their home. Or maybe they choose a color based on symbolism (see our post here: What Does A Red Front Door Mean?). There’s no should or shouldn’t, simply what you love and what works best of your needs.
Keep in mind that darker colors or lighter colors are going to have more eye-catching curb appeal than the medium shades. Lights will pop on darker colored homes, and dark colors will pop on lighter colored homes. And then there’s always the appeal of a unique and colorful day if that’s what you love.
As you can see from our examples, your exterior doors don’t have to match. For the most curb appeal, you’ll want to choose a mix that blends well together, but there are no rules. It’s up to you and what you love as you pick out the next set of colors for your home’s exterior.
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I disagree that a front door and garage door should be the same color. I agree with the exceptions to this rule, but I also think matching front and garage doors should be the exception, not the norm. A house with a front-facing garage has been referred to in some circles as a (ahem) “snout house”, and painting the garage doors the same color as the front door draws causes them to compete with the main entrance for attention. The garage doors may be attractive, carriage-house style doors that are best displayed facing the street, but this in itself is eye-catching enough. In my opinion the two doors should be the same color only if neither stands out. Our last house had a front door painted plum, with front-facing garage doors painted white to match the trim; but even if the front door were a more subtle color I would not have wanted the garage door to match.