Have you heard the news? Front door colors are one of the hottest topics in home improvement these days. Presenting a homeowner’s guide to choosing the best door colors, how to achieve them, and what they can do for your home.

Door Colors and Real Estate Prices

Experienced real estate brokers report that door colors add a powerful zing of curb appeal, when you’re looking to sell your home. After all, the front door is one of the very first features that every potential buyer sees. Interestingly, not all door colors fare equally well when it comes to fetching a good price. Real estate giant Zillow found in their 2017 Paint Color Analysis that on average, doors painted in shades of blue or gray -- ranging from navy to pearl -- sold for $1,514 more than other color choices.

Door Colors and Feng Shui

Feng shui offers advice on the best door colors, as well. In this ancient Chinese approach to achieving a more harmonious environment, it’s important to consider which way your door (the “mouth” that draws energy into your home) faces. Each direction is associated with an element, which will guide you in selecting the best paint shade.

North’s element is water, making a blue or black door ideal. South is associated with fire, which is nourished by red, pink, purple, and orange hues. East’s is wood, suggesting greens and browns. A westward-facing entrance has metal as its element and white and gray as recommended door colors.

Door Colors and the Law

Before you go merrily calculating how much money you’ll make when you sell your home or how feng shui will bring your household success and happiness, slow down a minute. There’s something else you need to check out – the rules and regulations surrounding door colors. Yes, your HOA will definitely have an opinion … but your local government may also weigh in on the subject.

An acquaintance of mine got more than she bargained for when she recently decided to redo her front door. The wooden entrance had been covered with a dark brown faux finish, which she wanted to have stripped and re-stained. But when her very talented handyman removed the finish, he found the wood underneath was a jumble of odd, unmatched boards.

Long story short, they had to quickly change their plan to painting the door instead of staining. The delicate lavender-gray that the homeowner favored (see photo) had to be given the official green light in a town council meeting before they could proceed. Funny, that, because on a quick walk around the ‘hood, she counted a grand total of 43 different door colors!

Door Colors and a Great-Looking Home

A very basic reason for updating your front door color is to make your home look fantastic and give you a thrill of pride every time you walk in. For a decorating scheme that’s easy on the eyes, coordinate door colors with the house’s base color, trim, and garage doors. Use a total of 3 paint colors, max, on your home’s entire exterior.

Before painting your entrance door, fill any cracks. Sand well, clean up, and apply 2-3 coats of high quality exterior paint and primer. Not only will it look great, good paint will last longer than the cheap stuff. After all, your front door has to put up with all kinds of weather – from bright summer sunshine to winter snow and storms.

DIY or Hire a Painter?

Although painting is often promoted as an easy do-it-yourself home improvement, your entry door is different, for 2 reasons.

1. The typical door has lots of fine details, such as panels, windows, and bevels, which can be awfully tricky for an amateur to paint “just right.”
   
   
2. Since the best way to paint a door is removing it from its hinges, all the work must be done quickly and efficiently, so it can be completed in a single day.

These factors may put changing door colors beyond the scope of your current DIY skills. If so, don’t be shy to hire a contractor for a professional paint job that will create a fabulous first impression.

Laura Firszt writes for networx.com.