Objects

4 Front Door Colors That Hurt Your Home’s First Impression

August 2, 2024
|
By 
Hannah Haber

Your front door is more than just an entrance—it’s a powerful statement. As the first thing visitors see, it sets the tone for your home’s overall atmosphere. Some colors exude warmth and feel inviting, but others can be downright appalling. Discover the four front door colors to avoid for a home with lasting appeal.

Flashy Saturated Colors

4 Front Door Colors That Hurt Your Home's First Impression.
Photo from Pinterest

Personal preference is essential to make your home feel truly like yours. However, following emerging trends like flashy saturated colors can make your front doors look dated over time. 

Moreover, they also affect your home’s curb appeal. A Zillow study found that bright red and saturated blue front doors were linked to lower home prices and fewer house tours. 

Neon and electric colors are particularly intense and pure because they don’t have any black, white, or gray mixed in. Having such a high chroma easily dominates the visual field and makes objects appear larger and more prominent. 

When applied to front doors, this creates a harsh contrast between the surrounding environment, especially when the backdrop is light. These bright front door colors then cause increased light reflection, leading to glare and reduced visibility. As a result, the door can become a distracting focal point, overshadowing the home’s other architectural and decorative features.

In terms of their psychological effect, flashy saturated colors typically evoke high energy, excitement, and stimulation. While they can easily draw attention, they can also be jarring and intimidating. 

Cement Gray

4 Front Door Colors That Hurt Your Home's First Impression.
Photo from Pinterest

As a neutral color, gray generally looks good in interiors. But cement gray, a muted, desaturated shade similar to the color of concrete and weathered stones, is  something you should avoid for your front door. 

Its blue or green undertones lack warmth and brightness, making it recede into the background and a poor choice for a welcoming entryway. It also has a low contrast when paired with neutral or muted colors, which further contributes to its dull and uninteresting appearance. This monotonous look comes off as impersonal and prevents you from adding a complementing pop of color. 

Additionally, Zillow’s survey shows that cement gray received the lowest score when it comes to home buyer perspective. 

Pale Pastels

4 Front Door Colors That Hurt Your Home's First Impression.
Photo by Avery Evans. Source: Unsplash

Pastels are the softer and more refreshing alternatives to bolder colors. But very light shades lose depth and vibrancy necessary for front doors to be inviting. Too pale pastels such as millennial pink, creamy yellow, cloud blue, and light mint green are so diluted with white that they almost appear washed out. 

Rather than making a statement, they blend with the surrounding spaces, making the door less distinct. Similar to bright, bold colors, these light colors can cause glare that makes front doors hard to spot. Because they are less noticeable, pale front doors might be perceived as bland, giving a negative impression of the homeowner.

Colors that are too pale also show dirt, scuffs, fingerprints, and wear more readily because they’re very reflective. They’re also more susceptible to fading from sun exposure, making new doors appear aged.

White

Photo from Pinterest

White is a classic front door color, and there’s no question about its visual appeal in any home design. In fact, it’s always been among the popular choices alongside black, navy blue, and brown. It even remains one of the top choices in Zillow’s list of high-priced and most sought-after front door colors for prospective homebuyers. 

However, white presents its own set of challenges. Front doors are high-traffic areas, making them prone to dirt and stains. White front doors easily show wear and tear from constant use, and the last thing you want is a dirty, worn-out door greeting everyone entering your home. 

Additionally, white’s similarity to pale pastels results in high reflectivity, low contrast, and a subdued appearance. Although it offers versatility, it doesn’t make the door stand out from the negative spaces surrounding it. So, unless you’re committed to high maintenance, you should avoid white for your front door. 

Remember, while certain colors might be less than ideal, this isn’t a strict rule. With the right approach, you can make (almost) any color work beautifully. Your front door is your home’s first impression. The color you choose goes beyond aesthetics as it also influences perceptions, property value, and even the overall atmosphere. And by avoiding these impractical colors, you can create a more welcoming and memorable entrance to your home.

Read more: How to Hang Art in Bathrooms: Pros, Cons, and Tips

Curator Soler Santos analyzing a painting by Patrick de Veyra for "Storm in a Teacup."

‘Storm in a Teacup’ Explores Abstraction in Printed Images

Artist Patrick de Veyra has always been obsessed with the idea of images and appropriation. As recently as last year, he curated two exhibits for Faculty Projects which tackle the idea of how we deal and define the images we use today. Storm in a Teacup, his most recent exhibition at West Gallery, circles around […]

Smart Home Philippines Wins Best Interior Design in Asia Pacific.

Smart Home Philippines Wins Best Interior Design in London, United Kingdom

Smart Home Philippines continues to solidify its position as a leader in smart home innovation, receiving the prestigious Best Interior Design Smart Home in Asia Pacific award at the IPAX Global Property Awards 2024-2025. Held at the Savoy Hotel in London, this recognition underscores the brand’s commitment to seamlessly integrating state-of-the-art technology with modern, functional […]

Fort Santiago, newly-cleaned with Kärcher products and personnel.

Kärcher Sponsors Fort Santiago Clean-up for Heritage Preservation

Kärcher, the German multinational company known for their cleaning machines, debuted the newest part of their 2025 Cultural Initiative as they partnered with the Intramuros Administration to clean up the walls of Fort Santiago.  A “restorative cleaning effort” done to celebrate the company’s 90th anniversary, Kärcher’s team focused on cleaning up the wall facade and […]

"The Infinite Dot" exhibit at Primex Printers.

‘The Infinite Dot’ Celebrates 45 Years of Primex Printers with New Exhibit

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Primex Printers, Chief Marketing Officer Mariel Ching and Creative Director Gio Prado put together The Infinite Dot. The exhibit functions as a showcase of the capabilities of modern-day fine art printing, giving audiences a taste of the flexibility of the form to different ideas.   The exhibit’s name comes from […]

Panasonic Brings 2 New Revolutionary Products to the Philippines.

Protected: Panasonic Brings 2 New Revolutionary Products to the Philippines

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Two porcelain statues as seen in "Breaking to Mend."

‘Breaking to Mend’: Ciane Xavier Illustrates the Fragility of Human Emotions

Seeing the spectrum of human emotions as fragile is a concept as old as time. The way emotions break and mold itself to our environment is the subject of a lot of art. What Ciane Xavier does with Breaking to Mend, however, is to capture these emotions in porcelain, literalizing the conceptual framework interplaying with […]

Download this month's BLUPRINT magazine digital copy from:
Subscribe via [email protected]