Good Morning Sunshine! Are you enjoying the beautiful spring weather yet or do you still have snow? I have friends that are tired of the snow and ready for it to melt. My answer to that? Come visit me in Texas! It’s really nice here. But if you wait until next week to visit, it could be blistering hot!
But since we have nice weather I plan to paint the front door. It doesn’t necessarily need it but I’m so over the terracotta color I chose in 2009 that looks so 2008. This girl needs a change. I’m thinking maybe a bluish greenish grayish color to coordinate with the style of the house. The style of our house could go traditional or french country or even rustic with a few modifications but I’m going for a mix. A sort of traditional/french country/modern farmhouse look. Don’t judge. It’s a look. And yes, it’s in the middle of a subdivision.
So today I’m choosing a front door paint color from brick and want to show you how I go about it.
Choosing a Front Door Paint Color
Let’s go back almost 10 years to when I chose the terracotta color. I really wanted a red door but some of the bricks have a subtle orangy color in them. So in order for the door not to look like a giant stand alone teenage zit, I needed to choose something with a little more orange. If you squint your eyes, look passed the Dirt Dauber nest, and magnify the picture below, you can see a tiny spec of the reddish color on the brick next to the arrow. See it? It’s the same as the door. 😉
Here is some of the brick with the orangy/peachy colors in the photo below.
Now fast forward to 2018. I usually look for colors from the brick or stone. It makes coordinating a no-brainer. Get a fan deck from Sherwin Williams and fan out a few strips or pull several swatches so you can look closely at the bricks. It may take a few minutes to choose the right strip but you can do it! Do it in the sunlight but not when the sun is shining in your face or directly on the swatch itself. And don’t pick one color from one strip. You need several choices. If it feels overwhelming, start small. Start with one brick.
Can you see the other colors in the brick from the picture above? There are grays and browns and plums and creams.
The grays, browns and creams are neutral and would look fine for a traditional looking house. The plums and charcoal colors would look good on a rustic style home. Honestly I’ve always wanted to paint the trim of the entire house black. Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. Blacks can be tricky but not SW 6258 Tricorn black. It’s perfect and would be striking on our house! But the Mister is afraid (sigh) and so I choose a different battle.
You know how I want to be different but can’t go crazy because I’ll get a nice little letter from the HOA? Well here’s how to be on the different but safe side. When you find the color you think looks nice, like I did with the terracotta color, take a look at a color wheel. Pull it up on Google and find the color that looks closest. The terracotta is a deep reddish orange shade on the color wheel. Now look at the opposite side. The color would be in the blue family. It’s like Christmas. The red and green don’t match but look good together because they are opposites on the color wheel.
For me this 2018 “Year of the Cindy” and wanting a sort of traditional/french country/modern farmhouse look, I’m choosing the opposite of terracotta and going with a blue. Will it be one of the colors above? Probably. Am I driving the Mister crazy? Absolutely.
On the bright side though, I most likely won’t want to paint the front door again for another decade give or take a year and by then we should be long gone. Kickin up our heels, chasing calves and pluckin chickens. Okay, not the pluckin part. I’m not that country. 😉
Post after pictures! I’m sure it will look great! I’m into those blues myself!
Author
Will do Laura! I think it will completely change the look of this house. Hope you have a great day and thank you for visiting!
HI Cindy! Loved this post! Hey, our exterior paint color are shades of brown, but I hate the brown door. Our stone has similar has some gray in it and I would love to paint the door grey (it’s a SW brown). I’m afraid the gray will jack up front porch trim (on the porch columns). Would love your thoughts! xo laura
ps love your story. We are becoming an empty nest too (in denver). laura
Author
Thank you Laura. Are you looking forward to being empty nesters? I go back and forth. :/ Anyway. I’d try a gray that has a lot of blue in it. Remember how blue and brown look so good together? If the browns are warm, then get a blue gray that is warm. I know that sounds like an oxymoron but there’s one out there. My two cents. Best wishes!
Your brick is exactly like mine. Our front door is stained a dark mahogany that I’m completely over. I’m going dark walnut this time.
Have fun choosing.
Author
Do you like your brick? I love ours and love a stained door but our porchette is dark and that would only make it darker. I bet yours will be beautiful!
Hi Cindy,
I also want to paint my front door and was lost on what direction to go but with your great advice I have a starting point.
Author
Yaaaaay! That makes my day. Send a before and after pic! I’d love to see it.
We have Tricorn Black here and we had it in Oklahoma too. I love it!
Author
It is seriously the best black out there. Thanks for stopping by Ms Stacey!
We painted our front door black when we first moved in over 10 years ago. Our trees weren’t big enough then and the western sun shining on our black door melted and warped the trim around our little window. Had to repaint it ivory! Maybe I’ll try black again (and I’ll be sure it’s SW Tricorn!)
Author
It’s crazy to think the sun can melt trim but it sure can in Texas! If you do paint it black again, you’ll love SW Tricorn Black – you shan’t be disappointed. 😉
Thanks for providing this knowledge. It taught me a lot of things. I eagerly await your next blog post!