Design

My Favorite Colorful Front Doors

October 24, 2020

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I'm Heather, an Old House Lover, DIY Addict, Gardener Wannabe, and Crazy Dog Lady. I have renovated historic houses for over 20 years now with an emphasize on preservation over a quick flip. Now, I take great joy in teaching others the ins and outs of the renovation world.

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It’s no secret that I love a colorful front door. While some folks play it safe when painting the exterior of a historic home, I say go for what you love and paint away to your heart’s content! I just finished installing a new screen door to my front porch and wanted to share the reveal with you along with five of my favorite colorful front doors and some of their beautiful vintage hardware.

Colorful red screen door on front porch of my historic home.

My 1914 Bungalow

My house is easily identified by the colorful red front door greeting you. Red is a long time favorite in my personal homes and for my newest, I thought it would be a great pop of color against the neutral color of the siding. As it turns out I have seven exterior doors including three along the front of the house – the front door and two small doors off the patio. And please don’t kill me but I don’t have the color to share with you. I know, I know. It’s a custom mix with a faded label but just as soon as I have it color matched again, I promise to share the formula.

My red doors have also been a great backdrop for photos with some super cute dogs.

The glass door knob and silver door plate are beautiful on their own but the vintage mailbox along with my Papa’s small bell that serves as the only doorbell finish off the entrance to the house well.

Red front door with vintage door hardware, mailbox, and door bell.

A NEW SCREEN DOOR

While I love my front door, I always knew I’d be adding a screen door once I found the perfect one. Historic homes typically have larger doors than what’s in stock at the home improvement stores so it took quite a while to find one large enough at a price point I could afford. The best part is that the ‘X’ pattern on the bottom matches the same detail along my back porch.

Colorful red screen door.

And can anyone guess what’s to the right of the door? If you guessed a vintage door stop, you’d be right! It’s super helpful when I need to prop the door open when carrying in groceries.

Vintage door stop.

So far I’m loving the new screen door and once I settle on a door knob or pull, this project will be complete. I’ll be sure to share more about the installation process later but for now let’s check out some of my other favorite front doors and hardware.

Front porch of historic home with red screen door.

The Queen Anne

BEAUTIFUL PRETTY IN PINK VINTAGE DOOR

If I’m being honest, the front door of the Queen Anne is my favorite, and most likely always will be.

Queen Anne style historic home with black siding and soft pink front door.

It’s pretty hard to compete with in this pretty shade of Valspar Semi-Precious and look at the details of that trim work and the way the wavy glass frames the beautiful foyer chandelier.

Pink front door with vintage hardware.

And the hardware. well, it’s just swoon-worthy.

Vintage door hardware

And you may not have noticed but the front porch also has two smaller doors leading to the living room and another side door leading to the dining room. This blush shade of pink looks stunning against the dark black siding and crisp white trim.

Black siding with soft pink exterior doors.

The Yellow House

COLORFUL BLUE PEACOCK DOOR

Speaking of colorful…..When I purchased the Yellow House from another investor, the exterior had already been painted a very bright shade of yellow, hence the name of the house, which felt like sunshine. In trying to decide what color on the front door would complement the yellow best, I landed on this turquoise blue color, Blue Peacock by Sherwin Williams, and carried it into the house on the walls of the dining room and on the cabinets. I’m a big fan of having the interior and exterior of a home complement one another for continuity.

Colorful yellow house with Blue Peacock front door.

I also stripped the doorplate and knob of years of paint and discovered this cool retro vintage style.

Vintage door hardware
Colorful yellow house with Blue Peacock front door.

The Harris Home

A FRONT DOOR FULL OF SUNSHINE

And speaking of yellow, when my clients of the Harris Home decided on this beautiful rich shade of blue for the exterior cedar shake shingles we decided a bright shade of yellow for the front and back door would really pop and create a great contrast for a warm welcome. Oh, and just look at the detailed trim under the three pane windows.

Navy historic home with colorful yellow front door.
Colorful navy historic home with yellow front door.

The Americana

ANOTHER FAVORITE, RED FRONT DOOR

Are you noticing a trend here? Dark blue house? Red front door? What can I say, I love rich colors! The Americana was my last personal house and from the day I laid eyes on it I knew I would be painting the cedar shake siding a dark navy blue with a red front door.

Navy blue historic home with red front door.

The screen door is presumably original to the house and squeaked like old doors should. Overall, it was in really good shape so other than a little cleaning up and a fresh coat of paint, it was ready to say welcome. Once you opened it up you had the chance to admire this beautiful glass doorknob against the dark door plate.

Colorful red front door
Favorite red front door.

The Spanish Showstopper

COLORFUL ORANGE FRONT DOOR

Rounding out my favorites is the unexpected shade of orange on the Spanish Showstopper. We went with a soft white on the exterior, Greek Villa from Sherwin Williams, and a bright turquoise blue for the windows. The deep orange on the front doors compliments both of those colors and creates a unique color scheme for a very unique and now colorful house.

Orange front door with turquoise blue window sashes.
Colorful Spanish style historic home with orange front door and turquoise blue window sashes.

And my favorite entrance….the back door! While only the new homeowner gets the chance to see it, I love the way the orange pairs well with the natural wood pergola.

Orange exterior door.

Okay friends, that’s a wrap on my favorite colorful doors! Hope you like them and if you’re on the fence as to whether or not to go bold on your own door, my vote is always going to be yes!

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