What colour/Paint for external front door?

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Georget79

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Hi all, I am going to be painting the front door. I thought it would be a cheaper option than getting a new one for now, but was hoping maybe there may be some tips on what colour would work (photo attached) and what type of paint is best? It looks scruffier than the photo suggests. I was also going to probably paint the brick a more natural brick colour, (I don't know what I'll do with the steps) so something that would match that...Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks
 

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Unless your coucil has some planning constraints any colour you want. I love our street as is has doors of every colour, not sure I'm totally bought into the shocking pink one but each to their own!

Ours is a matt finish dark blue/green, painted a few years back in F&B exterior matt estate emulsion. Door was taken off it's hinges, all cracks raked out and filled, a few loose pieces of trim taken off and reattached. Two coats of decent undercoat and two top coats. It's the prep that is the most boring but important step.

Door.jpg
 
Colour is a personal thing really so whatever floats yer boat, I would not paint the brickwork but i would have some re-pointing done.Just give the steps a good blasting with a power washer.:)
 
As above, colour is whatever you want. If you pick a 'now' colour it might look outdated quite soon, although you can always paint it again. I do like the inky blue one above but it depends on what else you are doing around e.g if you planted up the 2 grey planters with dark green lush plants I think it would all look great together. Plants can do a lot to bring it all together and look really inviting.

Could be interesting to tile the steps as that can look really nice. Just google 'outside tile doorstep' or similar and have a look at the images. They would need to be non-slip and frost proof.
 
There is no right answer, look around where you live. In our village most doors are wood finish or if painted they are muted greens, greys etc with the odd dark blue or maroon. That fits the buildings and look right with the local pale cream brick. In a nearby new development, all trendy townhouses and apartments, bold colours look good, tangerines, deep lilac, fits the place well. In the old bit of the city it's mostly serious and stately, maroon but mostly deep greens and blues, quite a lot of black. A seaside village I know well has a bonkers mix of yellows, greens, pinks, purple etc but it works there, wouldn't work everywhere. Maybe have a few evening local walks and see if you spot any " oooh I like that" moments. That's what we did to choose our new doors 2 years ago. If you are handy with things like windows paint or similar, edit a picture of your door by filling in with different colours. See what works. Maybe go on the Solidor website, pretend you are looking for a new door, use the door designer feature, pick a design similar to yours and just scroll through the different colours available.

Another thought is the local atmosphere. We get quite a lot of wind borne dust off the fields nearby, all light. Light doors look clean even if they aren't. When I lived in Moss Side Manchester in the very early 70's anything which wasn't grubby dark grey soon got that way if it rained because we still had lots of coal fires and traffic. Again, a few local walks will tell you a lot.

Choose what you like but remember you might want to sell the house one day so don't go too far away from the local norms.
 
Unless your coucil has some planning constraints any colour you want. I love our street as is has doors of every colour, not sure I'm totally bought into the shocking pink one but each to their own!

Ours is a matt finish dark blue/green, painted a few years back in F&B exterior matt estate emulsion. Door was taken off it's hinges, all cracks raked out and filled, a few loose pieces of trim taken off and reattached. Two coats of decent undercoat and two top coats. It's the prep that is the most boring but important step.

View attachment 161619
Thanks, I like that green actually, I think it work well with all the green in the garden as there's a lot
 
Colour is a personal thing really so whatever floats yer boat, I would not paint the brickwork but i would have some re-pointing done.Just give the steps a good blasting with a power washer.:)
Thanks, I'll try that. I think there's still some paint on it though that has worn over the years
 
As above, colour is whatever you want. If you pick a 'now' colour it might look outdated quite soon, although you can always paint it again. I do like the inky blue one above but it depends on what else you are doing around e.g if you planted up the 2 grey planters with dark green lush plants I think it would all look great together. Plants can do a lot to bring it all together and look really inviting.

Could be interesting to tile the steps as that can look really nice. Just google 'outside tile doorstep' or similar and have a look at the images. They would need to be non-slip and frost proof.
Steps idea sounds good, will look into it 👍🏼
 
That’s really easy, what ever colour your partner chooses!!
Haha, usually that would be the best choice. My elderly mum's house, and she rarely sees the front door anymore unfortunately, so it's not going to be too much of an issue as long as it looks tidy and clean and matches everything
 
There is no right answer, look around where you live. In our village most doors are wood finish or if painted they are muted greens, greys etc with the odd dark blue or maroon. That fits the buildings and look right with the local pale cream brick. In a nearby new development, all trendy townhouses and apartments, bold colours look good, tangerines, deep lilac, fits the place well. In the old bit of the city it's mostly serious and stately, maroon but mostly deep greens and blues, quite a lot of black. A seaside village I know well has a bonkers mix of yellows, greens, pinks, purple etc but it works there, wouldn't work everywhere. Maybe have a few evening local walks and see if you spot any " oooh I like that" moments. That's what we did to choose our new doors 2 years ago. If you are handy with things like windows paint or similar, edit a picture of your door by filling in with different colours. See what works. Maybe go on the Solidor website, pretend you are looking for a new door, use the door designer feature, pick a design similar to yours and just scroll through the different colours available.

Another thought is the local atmosphere. We get quite a lot of wind borne dust off the fields nearby, all light. Light doors look clean even if they aren't. When I lived in Moss Side Manchester in the very early 70's anything which wasn't grubby dark grey soon got that way if it rained because we still had lots of coal fires and traffic. Again, a few local walks will tell you a lot.

Choose what you like but remember you might want to sell the house one day so don't go too far away from the local norms.
Yeah good point, I've looked at a few houses already but not much. I guess I'm also thinking about the colour of the windows and exterior window sills too, hoping it will match. Although they also really need a paint as its worn right off (more so round the front) I guess the deep green could be a safe bet
 

Attachments

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    11 MB
Hi all, I am going to be painting the front door. I thought it would be a cheaper option than getting a new one for now, but was hoping maybe there may be some tips on what colour would work (photo attached) and what type of paint is best? It looks scruffier than the photo suggests. I was also going to probably paint the brick a more natural brick colour, (I don't know what I'll do with the steps) so something that would match that...Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks
Crown Trade Fastflow satin or eggshell, a joy to use, exterior or interior. Water-based, and inexpensive, some of our top decorators are using it as a go-to paint. Fast drying, which is great for doors. As a developer, I'd go white, it will look good and fresh against your resin walls. I'd change the letter box, drip and knocker to chrome if funds allow, it'll look much sharper! Good prep is vital but the eggshell finish is very forgiving... Excellent paint! The steps are easy, pick a colour and use simple concrete floor paint, antislip. The concrete? side cappings need to be re-shaped with a good filler to restore the corners etc, all very easy, then finish in white, the same Fastflow paint will work but a tougher wall paint would be preferable. Hope this helps and goes well for you! I have nothing to do with The Paint Shed! They make some useful comments on the product...

https://www.thepaintshed.com/brands/crown-trade/fastflow
 
The door looks like it's had stain varnish on, probably polyurethane, in which case, unless your planning on stripping it right back to bare wood then I'd go for an oil base paint. Its harder to get nowadays but most Trade placed still sell white and black, colours are harder to source. If it gets the full heat of the day then black may start to bubble and lift in summer.
I'm painting my front woodwork at the moment and plan to mix a little white and black to get a suitable gray shade (mostly because I already have a gallon of while and black paint already and dont fancy either).
 
Classic high gloss black with brass fittings works well; equally a dark navy blue often looks black from a distance and certainly at night.

Look around expensive areas of London (at least) and all those nice big period doors are gloss black with brass fittings. Very few red or whatever.
 
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