There’s something delightfully fun about mixing up the colors of your home. It’s a bit like pulling out the new wardrobe for fall, knowing for the next few months you’ll be wrapped in warm, earthy tones that somehow don’t seem to get the same amount of play for the rest of the year. The difference is, of course, permanence. As fun as it is to accent and accessorize, the effort and expense involved in updating your abode can lead to a bit of agonizing.
So how do you choose the right color for your front door?
Well, you could just go on vibes. If you give it some thought, maybe play around on Pinterest, and pick a color you like, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with something you’re happy with. However, if you’re not quite willing to play as fast and loose as all that, we’re here to offer you some guidance on how to think about choosing a door color that suits your home and style goals, so that when all is said and done, you aren’t left with buyer’s remorse.
How to Choose the Right Color
When you say you want to know how to choose, what you’re really saying is that you want rules. Rules that can help you make a thoughtful, informed decision, even if you aren’t particularly knowledgeable. And while it’s difficult to apply rules to choosing, say, a life partner, fortunately for us, there are plenty of established rules when it comes to color. If you aren’t artistically inclined, you may be surprised to learn that professional artists fall back on these rules for guidance all the time.
Now, if you’ve got a managed 401k or any other kind of investment account that involves you with stock brokers, you may be familiar with the concept of risk tolerance. Before they choose what to invest your money in, these professional managers want to know, are you the sort of person that likes high-risk, high-reward investments, or someone who prefers things a bit more stable and predictable?
The same concept can be applied to color.
Neutral Colors
If you want to play it safe, you’re best off sticking to neutral, desaturated colors—that means blacks, whites, browns and grays. The good thing about neutral colors is they go with just about anything when used the right way.
The question then becomes what look are you going for, and what are you working with? When you’re working with a limited palette, what matters most becomes contrast. High-contrast designs—think black on white, or vice versa—are going to tend to look more chic, more modern, more sophisticated, and certainly more striking.
High-contrast choices are going to appeal to those who want to stand out, while still maintaining an air of reserved dignity. Meanwhile, by lowering the contrast—think light on light, dark on dark—can offer a cohesive, planned-out vibe that’s less straining on the eye.
One thing to keep in mind is color warmth. It’s harder to see it when dealing with neutral colors, but most paints are either a little warm (think yellow or reddish) or a little cool (think blue or teal). Yes, even white. Even black, and especially grey. If it’s something you’ve never thought about before, and your house isn’t brown or beige (definitely warm), go outside and take a look at your home. Do the colors feel warm or cool? Trust your instincts. They’re probably right.
If you’ve got a warm-colored, neutral paint job, you may be better off with a warm-colored door. Iron doors are great for complementing this palette—keep in mind, you don’t always have to choose a painted finish. Finishes like oil-rubbed bronze will suit. Meanwhile, cooler-tinted homes may be better suited to metals like brushed silver or pewter.
Regardless of what you’re working with, black and white tend to go with just about everything.
Bright Colors
Here’s where we’ll have a bit more fun. The truth about risky choices is that—in spite of the fact that they could go wrong, or perhaps because of it—they just tend to be more exciting. Rich reds, deep blues, bright yellows and oranges, there’s so much you can do with color. But where to start?
If we went into all of the possible choices you could make, this article would never end. So let’s be a little more systematic than that. Let’s have a little color theory.
You may remember this from grade school. Complementary colors, remember those? If you don’t here’s a quick primer. Take a color wheel and pick a color. Say, yellow. Look at the color across from it on the wheel. In that case, it’d be purple. Yellow and purple are complementary. They’re an appealing, high-contrast combination. So are red and green. So are blue and orange.
Now if you’re imagining a blue house with an orange door and having a panic attack, don’t worry. There are different ways to use these than that. If you’re considering using complementary colors in a design, consider toning one of them down. This may have already been done for you.
Most shades of brown are somewhere in the orange range, which means they’d be set off nicely with something blue. If you’re thinking purple, consider lilac or lavender, not grape. On a white house with perhaps some buttermilk yellow splashed here and there? Pleasing on the eye. As for red and green, think Craftsman homes. The green of sage or pine needles, the reddish browns of Sequoia trees.
The other way to approach complements without blasting your neighbors’ eyes out of their heads is by using them as accents. Allow most of your dwelling to reside in neutral territory, pale browns and beiges, or dusky charcoals and grays, and set them off with splashes of bright color. A green door with red trim. A yellow door with purple flowerpots. You get the idea.
Are there other ways to use color? Certainly. I think the key think to remember is that the brighter, more vibrant colors you use, the less you want to use of them. If you want to keep it simple, pick one color you want to use a lot of, and don’t use hardly anything else. Red goes great with white. So does blue. Pick a theme and stick to it. That will help guide your decision making as you branch out and accessorize.
Colors that sit near each other on the color wheel will almost always work together. If you’re thinking of a blue door, keep in mind that green and purple sit to either side of it. This means if you’ve got a lot of plants around your property, especially ones that thrive on a lot of water, a bright blue might be just what you’re looking for. The same goes if you’ve got purple jacaranda trees, or crepe myrtle.
And remember, research is your friend. Look around for color palettes. Find the style that suits you and work backward from there.
PINKYS Colors
Did you know that PINKYS has colors? Earlier this year we announced the launch of our California Collection, our first—but far from last—foray into the world of color.
Until now, we’ve maintained a limited palette of understated colors: black for our iconic Air series steel doors and windows, with the additional option of white for interior products, and a range of the most popular metallic finishes like oil rubbed bronze, brushed silver, and pewter for our iron doors, for a more traditional, timeless look.
With the launch of the California Collection, we expanded our palette to include four colors inspired by the natural landscape of the state we call home: Montecito Mint, Angeles Green, Palm Desert Sand, and PINKYS own proprietary Sunset Pink.
As these colors were chosen especially to celebrate nature in the Golden State, it should come as no surprise that they sit well in it—and anywhere else with a similar sunny, Mediterranean climate. If you’re outfitting a Spanish-style villa or a sleek Mid Century Modern, these colors are sure to be right at home.
Be on the look out for more colors in the future, because we’ve got big plans in store.
