You don't know how to pick a front door colour - is that right? If you're reading this article, then you must be looking for help to find the best front door colours for your property.

Colour is a personal thing - one person's amaranth red is another person's English vermillion - and it can be difficult to visualise what a full door will look like from a tiny sample colour. Unless your blessed with the talents of Kelly Hoppen or have the property savvy of Kirsty Allsopp then knowing the best front door colours to choose can be a method of pick one and hope for the best.

Fortunately, we do know a thing or two about doors, so we put together this guide to help you know what colour to paint your front door.

• What does the colour of your front door mean
• What is the meaning of a black front door
• How to pick a front door colour
• Best front door colour for red brick house
• Front door colours for white house
• Best colour front door to sell your house
• Should front door be same colour inside and out?
• Best front door colours recap

What does the colour of your front door mean

Does it even matter what colour you paint your front door - it's your house, so who cares?

Actually, colour does carry a great deal of significance and meaning and the colours that you use for your front door could reveal more than you realise.

If you want to pick the best front door colours based on the psychology of what they symbolise, consider the following:

• Red attracts attention and shows strength, power and confidence - it's stimulating and vibrant and often used for period properties.
• Orange is encouragement, optimism and enthusiasm - it's extrovert, motivating and joyful.
• Yellow is youthful and full of energy - it's uplifting, confident and successful - it stimulates decision making.
• Blue instils trust, calm and peace - it represents loyalty and integrity and is also used as a classic colour.
• Green is refreshing and associated with nature and health - it also signifies abundance.
• Brown represents safety and reliability - the colour of the earth and reassuring.
• Grey avoids attention and is unemotional and detached but associated with maturity.
• Black is sophisticated, formal, strong and powerful and one of the most popular colours for traditional houses.

What is the meaning of a black front door

According to Feng Shui, the front door is the main portal of energy into the house that allows qi (energy) to flow into the home. For this reason, Feng Shui recommends you should pay a lot of attention to your front door.

A black front door means protection, solid energy and creates a powerful shield. If you have a North facing door, black is the perfect choice as a front door colour - but if your door faces South or West then it should be avoided.

Setting Feng Shui aside, black is still a colour that represents power and strength. Think of the most famous black door in the UK - Number 10 Downing Street.

A traditional city period property looks sophisticated and domineering with a black door, but it's not for every house.

How to pick a front door colour

To pick the best front door colours for your home, you first need to consider the architectural style and the location of your house.

Period properties

Traditional colours work best with period properties. Listed buildings have limitations on what colours you can paint windows and doors, usually classic colours that are sympathetic to the style of the house. Grand houses should always opt for classic colours to represent their grand nature. Best front door colours: black, red, dark grey, sage green and dark blue.

Terraced house

This is where adding a personal colour choice and a brightly coloured front door will add some wow factor work. The splash of a bright door will look cheerful and inviting and make your house stand out against the others. Best front door colours: any bright colour - yellow, turquoise or lime green.

Country houses

Traditional country colours are a must for a country residence. Natural wood stains and varnish are also better choices than colour with natural authentic materials complementing their natural surroundings. Best front door colours: natural wood, classic greens, sage and pastels.

Coastal properties

Pastels have always been popular colour choices for the woodwork of properties by the sea and the best colour would be a sea-green/blue. Best front door colours: anything in blues, turquoise and sea greens have the most appeal.

Contemporary homes

For an architecturally designed home the choice is usually for natural wood materials or glass. If you have a modern style of home, muted shades look elegant and stylish. Best front door colours: steel or slate grey, black.

After thinking about the style of your house, the colour of the brick or building materials should also be considered to offset your front door.

Best front door colour for red brick house

The housing boom in the 1930s was the start of the dominance of the red brick house across the UK.

The best front door colour for a red brick house is a dark blue door. This is based on the colour theory that the orangey hue of a red brick is complemented by its opposite on the colour wheel, which is dark blue.

The strong colour of red brick is one of the few types of building material that can offset a white front door for it to stand out. Red bricks can also be complemented by a steel blue/grey or a pastel green.

Front door colours for white house

Pale stone or rendered buildings look best with a bold contrast to mark the entrance - a pastel or pale coloured door will be lost and creates a washed-out style. Some websites recommend a white door on a white background, but a total whitewash creates a bland canvas with no discernible entrance.

The best front door colours for a white house are anything that can stand out against the white - for a classic contrast a navy-blue door is an elegant choice for a white house and black or dark grey offer a monochromatic striking look.

For a bold contemporary look, a bright yellow, lime or turquoise colour door will look fresh and appealing and certainly make a statement but this isn't to everyone's taste and can affect the sale of your property.

Best colour front door to sell your house

Your front door is the first experience of your home that a visitor has and it sets a standard of what they can expect to find inside. First impressions really do count.

According to expert estate agent's advice, the colour of your front door can have a huge impact on the sale.

The best colour front door to sell your home is a classic colour that's in keeping with the style and location. Black, greys, blues, deep reds, natural woods and classic greens are all safe options you should opt for. Stay away from 'on trend' bright colours like lime, orange or purple, they might look 'wow' now, but they date very quickly.

Never underestimate how personal colour is and how much it can affect a buyer's decision even on a subconscious level and if there's a choice between two houses, every little detail matters.

A buyer will make their mind up about your house within seconds of seeing it, so make sure the front door looks its best. Refresh the paintwork and consider shiny new door furniture to offset the classic colour and make the door stand out for the right reasons. Now isn't the time to experiment with bold or unusual colours.

Should a front door be the same colour inside and out?

For a natural wood door, the front door should be the same colour inside and out - allow the beauty of the material to complement your home.

For a painted timber door, or a composite door, your front door shouldn't be the same colour inside and out - usually.

The exception to this is a classic black or dark grey that can suit most interiors and can offer a striking contrast.

If your door opens into a hallway, space is much more forgiving of strong colour and continuing the outside to the inside can work. A strong coloured door can be a focal point.

Interior spaces generally have a neutral or muted base and a strong colour that works outside against brick or stone is too domineering on the inside.

Once your front door is closed, consider how the door suits the interior of your hallway or entrance and offset the colour against the interior decoration.

If your door opens straight into a living space then you might want to recede the door with a neutral colour or for a contrast you could pick out a colour detail from your interior.

Best front door colours recap

• Pick a front door colour suitable for the style and age of your property
• Pick a front door colour that suits the brick or exterior colour of the house
• In Feng Shui, a black door is considered protective and a powerful shield
• Terraced houses can carry off a brightly coloured door that period properties should avoid
• When selling your house stick with classic 'safe' colours of black, red, dark blue and dark green.
• Match the inside of your front door to your interior.

We've made and fitted millions of front doors over the last 50 years

We offer 40 stunning door colour choices for you to find the perfect colour for your front door.

We also offer dual colour doors so you can have a different colour inside and out.

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