Best, boldest post-pandemic paint colors for front doors : Annie Elliott Design

It all started with my friend Sarah up the street. You should read her books, by the way; they (and she!) are amazing. Sarah was agonizing over a color for her front door, and she asked for my opinion.

I sauntered up the street and was greeted by this:

Front door with many paint samples on it — “The pandemic has not been conducive to the completion of my next novel,” this door is saying. Zoë the Miniature Schnauzer is simply saying, “Help.”

Oh, dear. “Well!” I said heartily. “We have options!” I made a mental note to check in with her husband later.

I thought we’d go with one of the greens. Limey, nearly chartreuse, like this one:

Green paint sample on blue door — Good, right?

But it just didn’t feel like her. She deliberated for days and finally nixed the idea of green altogether. The purplish color I recommended, though…that was speaking to her.

So Mulberry it was.

Blue house with purple front door — !!! There’s not even much door on Sarah’s front door, and still the aubergine-y purple packs a punch

I mean, we could have gone with a red, or a dark green, or even charcoal or black. But Sarah is a risk-taker, and she rejects the expected (like some other people I know). Thus, Mulberry.

Purple front door on blue house — Love it. We also painted the trim around the door off-white to accentuate the detail there

That got me to thinking. Why would anyone do the expected now, having survived a truly miserable year? Let’s surprise each other! Let’s surprise ourselves!

Why not paint your front door orange?

Contemporary house with orange front door — Orange works both with contemporary…

Blue traditional house with orange front door — …and traditional architecture.

Or light aqua?

House with very light blue front door — I love all those panes of glass, too. From Addison’s Wonderland

Brown house with light blue front door — The brown of the house really makes the door pop! From House Beautiful

Why not paint your front door yellow?

Gray house with yellow front door — I’m not usually a big fan of Craftsman, but in yellow – yes, please!

Why not paint your front door grassy — not hunter, not forest — green?

White house with kelly green door — From HomeCurbAppeal.com

Brick house with green door — This one is barely light enough to qualify as “grassy,” but I couldn’t resist that black and white floor. From Farrow & Ball, naturally

Or super light pink?

White house with light pink front door — It’s just so PRETTY! From Southern Living, of course (they corner the market on pretty)

Or, while we’re on the subject of pink, how about salmon?

White house with salmon pink front door — Again – pretty! Again – from Southern Living. Don’t you love how the salmon color works w/ the brick next door? That was no accident. From Benjamin Moore

Or bright pink?

Light green house with pink front door — Tilly welcomes you to our house! My daughters love the door so much that on their party invitations they write, “The House With the Pink Door” as the address. So far, everyone’s been able to find it

Come to think of it, the only color I DON’T like for a front door is white. It looks unfinished to me.

White front door on yellow house — I think black would have been so much better

So, facelifts all around! For your houses, I mean. Let’s wait until the next pandemic for the other kind.

For tips about painting your front door — e.g., do you paint the trim, or just the door? — please see my newly launched TikTok channel. (I know. I was hesitant. If you hate it, please don’t tell me.) Additionally, though, if you like the green front doors in this post, you might want to read about green being my color of the year for 2021.

Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, DC, with satellite offices in St. Michaels, Maryland and in Middlebury, Vermont. Annie’s design work and insights have appeared in numerous local and national publications, including HGTV Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Washingtonian Magazine.