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sweet_tea_

New house need help with front door color!

sweet_tea_
9 years ago

I posted in the Building forum, but I figured y'all would have some good advice, so I thought I'd post here as well.

We're mid-construction on our house. It's all cypress board and batten exterior, the body is SW Spice Chest and the beams/trim are SW Hawthorne. Rock is natural slate. Porch post will have rock base, then be the same as the beams.

All exterior doors are fiberglass with stainable/paintable jambs. That's where I'm stumped. Do I stain them? Do I try to match the dark stain. Or paint them an accent color, I was thinking a mossy green, blue green? ( SW Thyme Green, SW Retreat) I'm stuck! Any help would be great!!

Comments (27)

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Another picture of siding.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I'm seeing a cranberry for some reason.

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    bluerd- I like that shade, I'll definitely check that one out. It might work if it has enough "depth". (Not sure that's the right term.)

    Tibbrix- I confess I haven't really thought of anything red toned. The body of the house (Spice Chest) can come off with an orange hue. Do you think that would clash? Although, the siding in the pic you posted comes off that way and it looks fine. Hmmm.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    That is the nice thing about wood; it goes with just about everything. If you pick a color that you'd find in nature, it'll go nicely with your siding.

  • Fun2BHere
    9 years ago

    I would definitely choose an accent color rather than trying to match the other wood types on the house. Before you finalize your choice, think about what you plan to use for plants in that area. That might give you a direction.

    Bluerdgddrs, I love the blue that you showed. What a pretty color.

  • Oaktown
    9 years ago

    I like the dark red as Tibbrix suggested.
    Personally I think blue might make the house siding look more orange? Good luck!

  • patricianat
    9 years ago

    Green, the color that goes with anything.

    Jack Pine green.
    http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/jackpine

  • caminnc
    9 years ago

    I agree with patricia, go green!!!

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Funtobe- Ok it's decided, definitely an accent color! Plantsâ¦are you kidding??? I'm still trying to picture what the steps will look like. :) I'm not that far ahead yet!

    oaktown-Thanks. That's what I was afraid of with the blueish green, will it be better or worse?

    patricia- Thanks for the suggestion! I'll put that one on my list to check out. I'm definitely leaning toward green.

    caminnc- Thanks for the vote!

  • oopsie913
    9 years ago

    Agree with fun, i like more of an accent color like a berry or even a pink. I think if you go muted to blend in with siding, it will not show as well. I can very much picture that blue shown on the pic above. Good luck. The house is gorgeous. !!

  • Holly- Kay
    9 years ago

    I would go green. IMO green is a fabulous color with cedar and there are so many luscious shades of green.

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    oopsie- Thanks! I will check out a few cranberry shades and see how they look, I haven't tried any out yet. Thanks for the compliments! I'm so ready to get it finished!

    holly-kay- Thanks for the input! I have been leaning toward green, it is a color DH usually gravitate toward.

  • lascatx
    9 years ago

    I think you have lots of options. I like the cranberry, but I really like the juniper. Your door appears to be in a shadow, so I like the lighter color and the soft blue-green seems to marry the idea of plants and sky without competing with either. I think it would play well with lots of foilage variations as well as all the pinks, purples, blues and whites in flowers. It would probably do well with brighter, warmer colors too (yellow, oranges and reds). Check the color you think you want to use on the door with the colors you tend to like most in flowers, but as said above about the wood siding -- when you work with colors in nature, they are going to tend to play well together.

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    lascatx- Thanks! The door is in shadow with it being under porch, however the front of the house faces south, so it does get sunlight. I admit I haven't given thought as to where things would be be planted yet, but it would most likely be a typical Southern garden, lilac, gardenia, crepe myrtles, hydrangeas, and the like. I guess mostly whites and lavenders.

    Next question, I guess I should paint all exterior doors the same color?

    Thanks for all the help everyone!

  • Oakley
    9 years ago

    Since the porch is shaded I think you need a brighter color for the door. If not, then red, green, or whatever won't really make a difference from the road, if you want it to be noticed.

    I saw a tangerine color on a front door not long ago and it was darling. The color you choose needs some oomph to it. :)

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    oakley- You can't see it from the road, but you're right I do think it does need a punch of color. I don't think I'm much of a tangerine girl, but I will check out some reds and more blues. Thanks!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I love that Juniper, but I wonder if it's too beachy for what appears to be your environment.

    I LOVE the new Williamsburg colors by Benjamin Moore. Check out Timson Green, a very interesting green.

    Or the Carter Red, kind of a salmon

    Or the Azurite Blue Or the Prussian Blue

    That collection has some amazing colors, very unusual.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Williamsburg Color Collection

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Tibbrix- Thanks for the link! I'll definitely be making a run to the paint store tomorrow! I do like that Azurite and Prussian Blue. I'm also drawn to the Everard Blue, but it may be too dark irl.

    What do you think of the Mayo Teal or Spotswood Teal? Too light?

    Oh my gosh this is so hard!! :)

    Thanks for the help!!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I was actually going to suggest the Mayo Teal in the original Williamsburg post. I too love, love, love the Everard blue, but I think it's too dark for your door, no pop.

    Not drawn to the Timson Green? I think it wold look amazing next to that Cypress!

    I also love the Cochineal red, and red is my least favorite color.

    I think the Spotswald Teal is, again, too beachy. I'm just not seeing beachy on your house, but I cold be totally way wrong!

  • patricianat
    9 years ago

    The Jackpine green would be lovely with pumpkins and hay at Hallowe'en, holly berries and red velvet at Christmas, orange and white flowering quince in late winter, yellow daffodils, pink tulips and queen Anne lace in spring, blue hydrangea and mauve roses in summer, and of course some golden rod and brown plaid bows in autumn.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Oh, also LOVE the Palmer Green and think it would be perfect next to that cypress and among your surrounds. It's a very brown green, but it has pop.

  • beachpea3
    9 years ago

    I have Everhard Blue on all the woodwork and paneling in the den. I love it but it is probably way too dark for your door. You might want a brighter color like your Spotswood Teal.That would have far more punch.

    Get some small samples and paint them on large pieces of cardboard or scraps of wood to test the colors. Good luck and have fun with that lovely new home!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Oh, Beachpea, can you post any pics of your Everard Blue woodwork? That is SO Colonial Williamsburg! When I got my antique NE house, I was so torn as to keep the woodwork in a color (it was in an olive green) or not. I ended up painting all the woodwork in the house White Dove. For some reason, I"m hung up on thinking woodwork should be one uniform color, and I know I'm wrong about that, but I can't seem to move away from that thinking!

    I love that Everard Blue. Another color I absolutely love in that collection, believe it or not, is the Gunsmith Gray. I saw a pic of a front door painting in it and it is stunning.

  • Sherri Lawson Brown
    9 years ago

    If you can narrow down your choices to three or four, I recommend buying some large plain white poster paper and painting a LARGE swatch of each test color, leaving a 2" white border around the edge so that you don't compare the color with whatever is immediately around it, but still see the color in its intended environment. This works for interior and exterior areas. Hang the swatches with painters tape in the area where you want to try it and let it stay there for a few days days while you think about it and look at it different times of day. Don't rush it! Those little Benjamin Moore paint pods are about $5 and other paint brand sample sizes are inexpensive, too. You can easily paint large swatches with the samples and the expense is minimal compared with the cost of having to do something and then re-do it because the color isn't right. You'll be surprised how different a color can look in larger quantities than on a paint chip. N.E.V.E.R pick a paint color from a paint chip or from an online picture. Monitors, cameras, and computers' calibrations, time of day, seasons, area of the country you live in- so many variables when it comes to how any color looks. It's worth it to use HUGE swatches. Paint chips really are just a start to finding the perfect color. Also, if you find a color is perfect but it's too dark you can have the paint folks mix the color at a % formula- 50% if you want it half as dark, etc.

  • jterrilynn
    9 years ago

    Go to homedepot and look at Glidden paint chits. You donâÂÂt have to use Glidden Paint. Sherwin Williams will mix it in their brand and so will Behr. When it comes to picking a door color any time again in my life IâÂÂm starting with Glidden, they have some great colors. But also, the dried color of paint pretty much looks like the paint chit in the store. You will save yourself $100 in gas driving back and forth from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and other paint stores getting endless samples and all of which look nothing like the chit when dry. I did this (the driving AND more money spent on paint sample tubs). I was in HD getting other supplies after all that and saw the color I wanted at first glance in Glidden. I had it done (mixed) in Behr paint and I love love love the color.
    You really have a lot of choices for colors with your wood house. Pick a color that makes you happy.

  • sweet_tea_
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    You guys are awesome!

    tibbrix- I don't know about the Timson, I'll check it out at the store, but on my monitor it comes off as a yellowish green. I just love that Williamsburg collection though! Everytime I look at them, I see new ones I like, Washington Blue, Raleigh Green, Carriage Red. Wow!

    beach-Thanks! I agree with Tib I'd like to see the Everard!

    patricia- Don't worry Jack Pine is on my list!! It looks like a real contender. It actually reminds me of our front door of our first house we bought. :)

    lawson- I plan to visit BM and SW and tomorrow and probably buy more samples than I should! I also have to decide on what color "white" to use to whitewash pine shiplap for my weekend project!

    jterri-Thanks for the tip. I think I have some glidden and behr paint chips in a folder from years ago. I don't have a HD close to me anymore, but I'll go dig them out and see what I may already have that might work for this. I'm a hoarder of paint chips!