Picking out a paint color for your front door can be a challenge. You want a color that compliments your exterior paint color and adds curb appeal, but you also want a color that you appreciate.
If you are thinking about a green front door - for your home or business - you probably want to know if there is a meaning attached. We have done the research and have information to help you out.
Please keep reading to learn more about the meaning of the color green and why it is desirable as a front door color.
And if you're still early on your journey in choosing the perfect color for your door, make sure to check out our guide with 27 fantastic door color ideas!
So, let's get to the issue at hand and talk about the meaning of a green front door.
Green is a positive color associated with nature, prosperity, health, and security. Therefore a front door painted green would invite these elements into your home.
Green 101 - what green means (not just on a door)
We've covered the basics of the meaning of a green front door, but there's more to talk about, so let's get into the 101 of the meaning of the color green.
Psychology and Symbolism
Green is the color of nature that represents life, growth, and renewal. So it's no surprise that fertility and tranquility have associations with the color green. Having a green front door might suggest that a homeowner enjoys and respects the great outdoors and support conservation.
Green is an optimistic color that brings positive energy and is believed to relieve stress, aid in healing, and restore depleted energy. Therefore, a green front door may indicate that one places high value on health and well-being.
Green is a color that is known to inspire creativity and increase motivation. It also has positive effects on memory. A green front door might make a house more memorable to guests.
Money is green, so it's no surprise that the color is associated with wealth, prosperity, and success. A green front door may welcome fortune into a home.
Green signifies safety. A green light tells us that it is safe to go. A green door might signal the brain that it is safe to enter and make guests feel welcome.
Color Theory
If you consider green, you have the most hues to choose from than any other color. It is a scientific fact that the primary colors, yellow and blue, mix and make green. Therefore, green is a secondary color with tertiary tints that range from yellow-green to blue-green.
To create color harmony with green, you would consider the two colors on each side of your green hue on a 12 part color wheel. This theory would create analogous harmony. You can also create complementary harmony by pairing with the color directly across from your green on any color wheel.
If you are interested in a color wheel, consider this bestseller from JimKing.
How We see Green
It is helpful to understand that how our eyes and brains adjust and react to color depends on the wavelengths that transmit them. Cool colors, like green, have short wavelengths, so our eyes do not need to adjust while our brains find them calming and relaxing.
In contrast, warm colors require eye adjustment and cause brain stimulation because of the long wavelengths. Therefore, green is easy on the eyes, making it a soothing and attractive color for a front door.
Colorblindness
A small percentage of the population won't appreciate your green door because they don't see green like other people. Eight percent of men and less than 1 percent of women experience color blindness, also known as color deficiency, which means that their eyes cannot correctly distinguish specific colors. The red/green and blue/yellow color combinations are most predominately affected.
So, unfortunately, no matter how lovely your green front door appears to others, people with severe color blindness will only see it as grey.
Style of Home
Let's get back to green in a home - green doors. And by the way, you can have green elsewhere in your home, of course. Here are some more articles you might find interesting later on -
17 Elegant Emerald Green Living Room Ideas
42 Green Bedroom Ideas That Will Inspire You
A green door works best on traditional homes with modern touches that feature historical elements. It is not uncommon to find a simple roofline, symmetrical windows, and subtle details. Brick is a common exterior material for a traditional home, and green softens the look of the masonry.
Colonial and Victorian-era homes commonly have green exterior trim features. The same is true for farmhouses where green edging and doors perfectly offset the traditionally white exterior.
Just make sure that your shade of green complements your exterior paint color. You want the green to stand out, so consider darker and brighter greens rather than more neutral tones that can be muted.
Is a green front door lucky?
Green is commonly associated with many luck-bearing traditions like celebrating St. Patrick's Day, modeling shamrocks, finding four-leafed clovers, and even Ireland's notorious phrase "luck of the Irish." So it would stand to reason that a green front door would invite luck.
Ironically, some cultures and professions associate green with bad luck. Many racecar drivers avoid green cars because they consider them unlucky, while in reality, green vehicles may be more challenging to see.
Circus performers and traveling entertainers in Australia dodge green to avoid misfortune. In Isreal, green symbolizes terrible news while it can represent infidelity in China.
If you plan to sell your home, a green front door may produce luck by bringing a home sale. In some countries, homes with green front doors are top-sellers.
What does a green front door mean in feng shui?
Feng Shui is the art of using the placement of objects in conjunction with the forces of the five natural elements of water, fire, earth, metal, and wood to control a home's energy. In Feng Shui, the primary portal for entry is the front door, making it the gatekeeper to the energy that flows into a home. Therefore, it gets special attention.
The color green in Feng Shui has a powerful connection to family and represents the element of wood. Like nature, green possesses active energy representing renewal, development, and recharged vitality. For this reason, a green front door will invite new beginnings and opportunities as well as personal growth and restoration into your home.
Chinese tradition also believes the front door is influential because it leaves a first and last impression with guests who enter and leave your home.
What does your door color say about you?
Attraction to color has a psychological meaning. Therefore, your favorite colors may indicate personality traits, characteristics, and interests.
Having a green front door may indicate that you like nature and adventure. It also may mean that you are a peaceful and serene person full of confidence.
If you are attracted to green, you are probably stable, and optimistic and your life may be full of balance and harmony.
Attraction to the color green indicates a motivated person that seeks prosperity and success. However, green is not without negative connotations; it can mean someone is jealous, possessive, and materialistic.
More green door ideas
We've used some pictures of green doors throughout this article, but that may not be enough for you at this point. With that in mind, check out our visual guide: 11 Amazing Green Front Door Ideas
Should the front door be the same color inside and out?
Generally, designers stay away from painting doors the same color on both sides. A home's exterior and interior door colors should coordinate with the overall design of the corresponding space. Matching isn't necessary, but you don't want your exterior and interior colors and design to clash.
Front door colors may be bolder to attract attention to the home, while interior door colors are generally more neutral, so the focus is on the home's decor. White is a standard color for the interior side of a front door. However, if you want the door to be a focal point of the room, a more vibrant color may be needed.
However, there isn't a clear rule about paint colors for a front door's exterior and interior panels. There are interior design recommendations based on the color wheel and how some colors compliment others, but ultimately, the paint scheme for your home should be one to make you happy.
Until you decide to sell, then at that point, you need to listen to your realtor's recommendations about what colors attract buyers.
When it comes to painting the sides of the door, the rule of thumb says to paint the sides that open inward the color of the interior and the side that opens outward the color of the exterior.
Since most storm doors open outward, the inner exterior door should open inward. Therefore, you would paint the outer edge to match the interior and the hinge side to match the exterior.
If all that seems too complicated, one exception is to use a natural wood door not meant for paint. In this case, the door color remains the same on both sides.
In Conclusion
The colors we choose often give a glimpse into our personalities and values. Choosing green as a front door color can indicate that the homeowner is peaceful and balanced or loves life and the great outdoors.