19 Bold Colors for Your Front Door

This cheerful blue looks good anywhere, especially on a white exterior or on a lighthearted Dutch door. It promises an instant smile from neighbors as well as curious house hunters. Need advice on going Dutch? Check out Jeld-Wen Model 1242; customize it with small, plain hardware.

Paint It
Greek Isles (P510-1); behr.com

Defining Elements
Double up on pots. Keep the plantings equally loose and casual with baskets and a smattering of mossy terra-cotta containers (Blonde Wicker Planter, from $36; amandalindroth.com and Mossed Redstone Rose Pot With Saucer, from $8; jamaligarden.com).

This rich purple is best for Georgian architecture. These house's roots go back to a style popular during the reigns of four British kings named George. Nod to your home's royal connections with a stately shade of purple.

Paint It
Creative Thinker (30-20); prattandlambert.com

Defining Elements
Leave the trim light. Break up the dark eggplant door and red-brick exterior with white on the pediment and pilasters.

This cheery color is best for a simple white cottage. A small dose of a daring hue, such as this surprising chartreuse tone, creates a dramatic look-at-me-now presence.

Paint It
Sassy Green (SW 6416); sherwin-williams.com

Defining Elements
Make a modern play and select house numbers in a sans serif font style to keep this cottage grounded in 2019.

This rich blue is best for craftsman-style homes. Their blocky millwork and deep porches have historically been associated with muted earth tones. Consider a new approach with a shot of cobalt to brighten your bungalow.

Paint It
Indigo (SW 6531); sherwin-williams.com

Defining Elements
Stencil the floor. Paint a calm, tonal geometric pattern across your front porch.

This pale pink is best on a blank canvas. Without any shutters or a front porch, this ballet pink is able to take center stage of this historical colonial. A few pops of pink flowers is all it takes to take this color up a notch.

Paint It
Sugarcane (1185); benjaminmoore.com

Bring the liveliness of your lawn and garden all the way to your stoop with a shot of green on the doors. This versatile shade works with both gold and silver hardware.

Paint It
Tradd Street Green (dCr090); duron.com

This traditional red color is best for Tudors. Whether stone or stucco, big or small, these homes have a naturally imposing attitude. Counter that with a cheery front door that looks like it could have been pulled from the pages of a storybook.

Paint It
Heritage Red (HC-181); benjaminmoore.com

Defining Elements
Skip delicate flowers around the entryway, and pick shapely boxwoods for easy impact

A black door—like that classic black dress—adds instant distinction to your home, whether it’s a small cottage or a big manse. Dark shades work in two ways. Offset them with plenty of white trim for a crisp look or surround them with dark grays for a romantic moody look.

Paint It
Bone Black (TH16); ralphlaurenpaint.com

Looking to add a quick pep to your exterior? Look no further than this cantaloupe hue. It’s a little unconventional, but not too out-there to get anything other than, “I wish I would have done that” sentiments from the neighbors. This hue works best on white or gray painted homes.

Paint It
Gumdrops (P210-3); behr.com

It never gets old—the uplifting power of a fresh coat of white paint. That well-known fact aside, white also works to neutralize a door with elaborate carving or to brighten up a dark exterior. If you’re going for the white-on-white exterior palette, choose a slightly deeper white for the door than the shingles to give it some dimension.

Paint It
Cloud White (OC-130); benjaminmoore.com

People typically fall into two categories: blue lovers or green lovers. Make everyone happy with this pleasing shade that’s equal parts blue and equal parts green—and it looks just as good on a shingled house as it does on a stone house.

Paint It
Quarry (1342); prattandlambert.com

A shot of this happy hue brings to mind: Coca-Cola (the original, not the diet version), the American Flag, a great picnic-table gingham, and other All-American notions. If you want to be known as the house with the best barbecues—this is your best bet. It looks best against a crisp white and avoid pairing with bits of navy—lest you want to be known as the flag house.

Paint It
Real Red (SW6868); Sherwin-williams.com

Not quite white, cream, or gray – instead this shade is a mix of all three. It’s uncomplicated in its simplicity and just the color to add some grittiness to a pastel exterior without hijacking the overall light effect. Keep this in a matte finish.

Paint It
Toque White (SW7003); sherwin-williams.com

Take a color cue from your oldest, softest pair of old blue jeans for your front door. It gives your home an instant welcoming warmth. Just like your jeans that go with anything and everything, this color will too: try it on a white shingle house, a log cabin, a hacienda, or even a stately Tudor. It is key to select a finish with some shine to give your door some liveliness.

Paint It
Daydream (26-8); prattandlambert.com

If you’re looking for one color to invigorate your whole house—look to yellow. It’s a shockingly happy color and your house will be the easiest one to find on the block. You’ll simply say, “the one with the yellow front door.” This hue is such a statement that it’s best used with simple colors like white or dark gray/black. If you match it with too many other colors, you’ll get a Crayola effect.

Paint It
Premium Yellow (14-15); prattandlambert.com

Embolden your home with a complicated, dramatic door color like vermillion. It’s not quite red and it’s not quite orange. Rather it’s somewhere in the middle. Keep expressing your exotic side and outfit the rest of your door with atypical things like planters filled with sculptural agave plants.

Paint It
Blazer (No. 212); us.farrow-ball.com

Have you amassed a sizable collection of uber-Southern ginger jars? Even if you’re just wishing that you had one, proclaim your classic Southern aesthetic with a door to match your china or your ginger jars. Avoid using a matte finish with this color and accessorize with deep greens.

Paint It
Gentleman’s Gray (2062-20); benjaminmoore.com (this door has been given a high lacquer which adds blue to this gray paint color)

Complex and soothing at once, this soft red orange changes color depending on the time of day. With direct sunlight it will read like a coral. In the shade it will read like can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it red—similar to the lighter tones of a hot house tomato.  Play up the color’s warm tones with brass or gold-toned hardware.

Paint It
Hot Orange (IB67); ralphlaurenpaint.com

Don’t force a painted finish on a beautiful wooden door. Try a rich stain instead that will bring out the wood’s grains. Surround it with loose and lush green plantings to loosen up the stain’s stately vibe.

Stain It
Rosewood Water-Based Stain; minwax.com