A Simple Update That Can Make a Big Impact

By Laurie Pellichero | Photography by Charles R. Plohn and Jeffrey E. Tryon

Royal blue, lime green, deep red, bright coral, or perhaps a shiny black. The right front door color can do much more than just create a great first impression for your home – it can also help boost its value.

Princeton is filled with beautiful and striking front doors in an array of colors, all adding to the appeal of the homes. According to a recent article in The Washington Post, curb appeal sets the tone for your home, and the entryway specifically helps to establish the mood, since it is the focal point of the exterior. The front door can reflect the personality of the people who live there, and telegraph to the world who they are.

While there are many popular front door colors, homeadvisor.com notes that “the best front door paint color for your house will depend on a variety of factors. Some of these include the architectural design of your home, your personal taste, and the color of your house.” Another factor that may need consideration could be the type of door. For instance, a timber door may have a huge surface area to paint, while aluminium sliding doors by doorwins or a similar company could have only frames to paint. Hence, while painting a door, consider what door color can accentuate the look of your exterior, be it red, black, or white. You can use bold colors for timber doors whereas neutral tones for metal sliding or bifold doors.

The website points out that if you want to make your home look modern and sleek, front door colors such as black, lime, turquoise, eggplant, taxi yellow, and bright orange are recommended by designers for non-traditional homes.

In recent times, it has become increasingly common for people to choose traditional front door colors that include jet black, classic red, slate blue, emerald green, dark gray, and pure white.

If you have a brick home, it is important to consider the tone of your brick to avoid clashing or more blending than you might like. Colors that go well with multiple shades of red brick include sage, black, navy, and light gray.

It’s also been said that some people associate characteristics with front door colors. Black might mean that you appreciate order, control, and simple elegance. Pink says that you are romantic, happy, and generous, and red says you are welcoming and enjoy attention. Orange means you like to entertain and enjoy a good challenge, while yellow indicates that you are logical, positive, and creative. With green, you value tradition and are ambitious, and blue says you enjoy peace and value truth.

Spruce.com notes that, in the principles of feng shui, your front door is one of the most important areas of the home and represents the face that you show to the world. It sets the tone for you and your visitors when entering the home, and it’s also the last thing you see when you leave your home to go out into the world.

According to feng shui, red, which enhances the fire element, makes a bold statement and is a good color to use if you want to get noticed. Black absorbs, attracts, and brings in positive energy. A brown door is perfect for connecting to the stability of the earth. Also connected to the earth element, yellow is a bright, fun color for a front door. Green is connected to the wood element, related to new beginnings and growth. White represents cleanliness and purity, while blue represents knowledge and self-cultivation.

A color wheel can also be helpful when choosing a front door color. Found online, this tool shows the relationship between colors. For a monochromatic style, you can pick several shades of the same color. For a light contrast, select a door color about three shades away from the color of your home. And for complementary colors, choose colors on the opposite side of the wheel.

As for boosting the value of your home, most residential owners tend to invest in wrought iron doors. These doors make staying cool in the NC summer quite easy-breezy, while also ensuring that residents are always protected both from the elements as well as intruders. Iron doors have the specialty to keep the house warm during winters and cold during summers. When presented with such options, who might not grab it in the first stance? Residential specialist Beatrice Bloom of Weichert Realtors, Princeton says, “The front door is the ultimate first impression and sets the stage for curb appeal. Painting the front door a classic glossy black can also boost a home’s resale value – by as much as $6,000 according to some estimates. You also can’t go wrong with classic front door colors such as deep red, slate blue, and dark green. We’re also seeing turquoise, corals, and lime greens brighten the front door in contemporary homes.”

Donna M. Murray, founding agent of Compass RE Princeton, says that, “The front door starts the showing experience for the buyer. Color and condition also play a factor for the buyer’s initial thought process. Within the first 3-5 seconds of walking through the front door, a buyer knows if the home is for them or not, so make sure the front door is a color that complements the landscaping, which boosts the curb appeal and also boosts the value.”

“Front door colors can show off the personality of the home and are an attractive and inviting way to attract buyers,” says Murray. “A red door color is popular for brick or stucco homes. Bright turquoise, yellow, and pink capture attention in a contemporary house. Popular shades for traditional homes are deep blue, dark gray, and sage green. A black door is most popular with any style home and wins the prize for the color on most doors.”

Such decisions come in handy, especially if you are planning on selling your home. Besides choosing the right front door, you should also ensure that the house is freshly painted, as faded walls would not help in making the house attractive to potential buyers. Besides these, you might need to hire a professional estate agent to ensure that your house lands in the right hands. For example, if you own property in Burton, you could take assistance from trusted estate agents in Burton to help sell your house for a favorable price in a short amount of time.

Additionally, Heidi A. Hartmann, sales associate with Coldwell Banker Realty Princeton, says front door colors “sometimes can make a statement about the owner if it’s not a traditional color for Princeton. Most homeowners like to match or contrast the color of their shutters and trim – so the door color is determined based upon those parameters. However, some door colors can give a fun or whimsical look to your home and, depending on if you’re selling or not, could hurt or enhance the sale.”

“Most people opt for classic black, white, or red doors – they are safe for resale, with red and black giving the most bang for curb appeal and for photography,” continues Hartmann. “Fun colors could be lime green, orange, or cobalt blue. It all depends on what statement you want to project to your neighbors and visitors.”

According to homeadvisor.com, semi-gloss paints are ideal for front doors. Regardless of color, they are more durable and easier to keep clean than flat sheens.

Picking the perfect front door color can create a unique look and make a big impression, and the possibilities are endless. So have fun and choose what speaks to you.