Painting the Dexter House's Front Door (+ Tips for Picking a Color)
THE DEXTER HOUSE
We’ve been over at the Dexter House, getting it ready to switch over to a long-term rental (it’s been an Airbnb since we moved out), and I finally painted the front door! It was one of those things I’ve been meaning to do since we bought the house (ummm 5 years ago), but never got around to. Why?! Well last month we bought a can of exterior paint for the bedroom door trim, and I decided it was perfect for the front door, too. And goodness let me just say for the millionth time…paint works miracles! Today I’m sharing how the Dexter House’s front door turned out plus giving a few tips for picking your own front door color.
our Dexter House // door is SW Naval, smart lock, other sources here
We went with the color Naval by Sherwin Williams. Not only is it the color of the Dexter’s new bedroom door, but it’s also the color we used for the 6 Day Kitchen Reno and just happens to be the paint brand’s color of the year. So it was an easy choice for this front door. And I love how it turned out!
Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of pictures of what this door looked like before (I was trying to avoid the ghastly thing and all that), but here are some from when we bought the house in 2015. It was a short sale and a giant fixer-upper.
Somehow the door stayed like that (minus some lock changes) with it’s red-and-white color scheme until now. I’m blushing in embarrassment over here.
Thankfully painting a door is a pretty quick endeavor. It took me about two hours to tape the door and give it a fresh coat of Naval (I came back and added a second coat the next morning). Here’s what the door looks like now…
I love how this color changes with light. It can look like a dark navy when it’s in the shade and then like a bright blue in sunlight.
One tip about painting doors…take a moment before you start to decide where you want to start and stop the new color. I opted to paint the trim too, for a more cohesive look. But I wish I had left the sides of the door unpainted, where it sits in the jam. Old doors already have layers of paint and adding one more of such a dark color (which takes a long time to dry), made the door stick a bit.
Picking a color was easy for us this time around since we were already using Naval on the exterior of the house. But usually color is hard! And I wanted to share a few things I consider when picking a paint color for a front door:
Tips for picking a front door color
One // If you’re itching to add a little personality and a bold color to your home, the front door is a great spot to do that (but you don’t have to - see the next point). I love when the body of a house has a neutral paint color and then the front door is a bold pop.
Two // classics are a great choice. Black and navy almost always look good on exterior doors. My personal favorites: BM Hale Navy (we did the Porch House in it), BM Onyx, and SW Naval (shown here).
Three // take cues from your house’s style and paint colors. Whether you’re going with a pop of color or a neutral, make sure the color works with your existing exterior colors. A good way to do that is to grab paint swatches of your existing exterior colors and the future door color and hold them next to eachother in natural light. If you don’t like the combo in your hand, you probably won’t like them on the house.
Four // Be unexpected. If you’re planning a big pop for the front door, consider muting it just a tad and going with an unexpected color. Rather than bright yellow, try mustard. Is red your favorite? Try a deep burgundy hue. Instead of a basic blue, try something on the darker side like a navy.
Five // take a walk around your neighborhood. If you’re struggling with where to start on color, go for a walk around your neighborhood. Really analyze the homes you love and take note of the colors. I love to do this and find it the most helpful way to discover your own likes and dislikes regarding exterior paint colors.
Six // Approach white cautiously. The outside of exterior doors take a beating from weather, animals, humans, and daily use. So a white might not be the best option for your door. We’ve used white before and liked it, but it tends to look dirtier quicker than darker paint colors, so approach it cautiously. psst: my favorite white paint color is the same for exteriors as it is for kitchens and cabinets.
Seven // buy a sample first. Colors look so different outside than they do inside, so even if you know you like something, it’s great to buy a small sample and try painting a swatch on the door first.
Eight // Remember, it’s just paint. If you’re on the fence about a color, remember, it’s just paint and it’s easy enough to repaint.
Those are my best tips to guide you towards the right paint color for your exterior door. What’s your favorite tip or an exterior door color that you love?
