What color should I paint my front door?

Classic red, deep navy, rich forest green, warm black, and glossy teal are the evergreen top-five front door colors. Match the color to your home's exterior palette (warm siding + warm door; cool siding + cool door) and to your existing hardware — brass and warm metals pair best with warm reds and greens; chrome and cool metals pair best with blues and blacks.

Is a red front door good luck?

The tradition has roots in both early American practicality (red meant 'welcome' to traveling preachers) and feng shui, where a south-facing red door invites prosperity. Cultural traditions aside, red remains the most-studied and highest-converting front door color for home resale — it measurably increases the memorability of a listing.

Should the front door be lighter or darker than the house?

Darker, almost always. A front door that's 2–4 shades darker or more saturated than the siding creates the contrast that draws the eye to the entry. The same rule holds in reverse for black or very dark exteriors: a lighter, saturated door (classic red, mustard, cobalt) becomes the focal point.

What finish should a front door be?

Semi-gloss or high-gloss is the standard for front doors. The higher sheen magnifies color saturation, withstands weather and hand wear, and cleans easily. Satin works as a modest-sheen alternative. Flat and eggshell finishes look dull on doors and aren't durable enough for a surface handled daily.

Paint colors by room

Best Front Door Paint Colors

The front door is the single most forgiving paint surface in the house. It's small enough that you can pick a color you'd never commit to on siding, it's the first architectural element a visitor registers, and repainting is a single-afternoon project. That's why front doors are almost always saturated, high-contrast, or both. The top-performing front door colors cluster in four camps: classic saturated reds (a welcoming signal rooted in centuries of tradition), deep blues from navy to teal, rich forest and emerald greens, and modern blacks with warm or cool undertones. The only front door colors to think twice about are pure white (it underscores any wear), pure yellow (it dates quickly), and anything that clashes with your house number and hardware metals.

60 ranked picks across 27 paint brands

Front Door with neutral-toned painted walls. AI-assisted visualization. — AI-assisted visualization. Wall color digitally rendered.

Top 60 Front Door Paint Colors

#864B40

Boston Brick

BM 2092-30

LRV 11.54 · warm

#763637

Dinner Party

BM AF-300

LRV 8.43 · warm

#004F7C

Hempel 30180

LRV 7 · cool

#0089B6

Hempel 35120

LRV 21 · cool

#016081

Adriatic Sea

SW 6790

LRV 9 · cool

#016E85

Amalfi

SW 6783

LRV 12 · cool

#946644

Antiquarian Brown

SW 0045

LRV 16 · warm

#3AA9AE

Aquarium

SW 6767

LRV 32 · cool

#C48919

Auric

SW 6692

LRV 30 · warm

#833337

Beetroot

SW 9695

LRV 7 · warm

#016EA7

Blue Chip

SW 6959

LRV 13 · cool

#01819E

Blue Mosque

SW 6789

LRV 17 · cool

#01717E

Blue Nile

SW 6776

LRV 13 · cool

#017CA7

Blue Plate

SW 6796

LRV 17 · cool

#015086

Blueblood

SW 6966

LRV 7 · cool

#72353D

Borscht

SW 7578

LRV 6 · warm

#015D75

Bosporus

SW 6503

LRV 9 · cool

#08808E

Briny

SW 6775

LRV 17 · cool

#01B0BB

Calypso

SW 6950

LRV 34 · cool

#01554F

Cape Verde

SW 6482

LRV 7 · neutral

#01A0B8

Capri

SW 6788

LRV 28 · cool

#97B3D0

Celestial

SW 6808

LRV 44 · cool

#25476A

Commodore

SW 6524

LRV 6 · cool

#175A6C

Connor's Lakefront

SW 9060

LRV 9 · cool

#A6613C

Copper Mountain

SW 6356

LRV 17 · warm

#124A42

Country Squire

SW 6475

LRV 5 · neutral

#018498

Cruising

SW 6782

LRV 19 · cool

#2377A2

Danube

SW 6803

LRV 16 · cool

#245E36

Derbyshire

SW 6741

LRV 9 · warm

#094C73

Dignity Blue

SW 6804

LRV 6 · cool

#3F8A24

Direct Green

SW 6924

LRV 19 · warm

#43718B

Down Pour

SW 6516

LRV 15 · cool

#2B4360

Dress Blues

SW 9176

LRV 5 · cool

#0192C6

Dynamic Blue

SW 6958

LRV 24 · cool

#A85E39

Earthen Jug

SW 7703

LRV 17 · warm

#946E48

El Caramelo

SW 9106

LRV 18 · warm

#9ABA25

Electric Lime

SW 6921

LRV 42 · warm

#32586E

Endless Sea

SW 9150

LRV 9 · cool

#358C3F

Envy

SW 6925

LRV 20 · warm

#7B3730

Fireweed

SW 6328

LRV 7 · warm

#8F4438

Flower Pot

SW 6334

LRV 10 · warm

#5DB3D4

Flyway

SW 6794

LRV 39 · cool

#56B5CA

Fountain

SW 6787

LRV 39 · cool

#225288

Frank Blue

SW 6967

LRV 8 · cool

#4F3426

French Roast

SW 6069

LRV 4 · warm

#4DA6B2

Freshwater

SW 6774

LRV 32 · cool

#7A8833

Gecko

SW 6719

LRV 22 · warm

#22657F

Georgian Bay

SW 6509

LRV 11 · cool

#3C797D

Grand Canal

SW 6488

LRV 16 · cool

#217786

Great Falls

SW 6495

LRV 15 · cool

#2E6864

Green Bay

SW 6481

LRV 11 · neutral

#017244

Greenbelt

SW 6927

LRV 12 · warm

#01858B

Gulfstream

SW 6768

LRV 18 · cool

#164576

Honorable Blue

SW 6811

LRV 6 · cool

#015F97

Hyper Blue

SW 6965

LRV 10 · cool

#284A70

Indigo

SW 6531

LRV 6 · cool

#017680

Intense Teal

SW 6943

LRV 14 · cool

#368976

Ionian

SW 6754

LRV 20 · neutral

#5A9EC0

Jacaranda

SW 6802

LRV 30 · cool

#34A3B6

Jamaica Bay

SW 6781

LRV 30 · cool

Best Front Door Paint Colors by Brand

Each brand’s top 5 ranked picks for front doors. The lists reflect the room-specific suitability rubric applied to every color in the brand’s full catalog.

Related Rooms

Adjacent rooms in the house often share a color palette, and browsing the neighboring room guides usually surfaces picks the front door rubric doesn’t rank as highly.

Exterior paint colors
Exterior paint colors ranked for curb appeal and weather resilience

Front Door Paint Colors — Frequently Asked

What color should I paint my front door?: Classic red, deep navy, rich forest green, warm black, and glossy teal are the evergreen top-five front door colors. Match the color to your home's exterior palette (warm siding + warm door; cool siding + cool door) and to your existing hardware — brass and warm metals pair best with warm reds and greens; chrome and cool metals pair best with blues and blacks.
Is a red front door good luck?: The tradition has roots in both early American practicality (red meant 'welcome' to traveling preachers) and feng shui, where a south-facing red door invites prosperity. Cultural traditions aside, red remains the most-studied and highest-converting front door color for home resale — it measurably increases the memorability of a listing.
Should the front door be lighter or darker than the house?: Darker, almost always. A front door that's 2–4 shades darker or more saturated than the siding creates the contrast that draws the eye to the entry. The same rule holds in reverse for black or very dark exteriors: a lighter, saturated door (classic red, mustard, cobalt) becomes the focal point.
What finish should a front door be?: Semi-gloss or high-gloss is the standard for front doors. The higher sheen magnifies color saturation, withstands weather and hand wear, and cleans easily. Satin works as a modest-sheen alternative. Flat and eggshell finishes look dull on doors and aren't durable enough for a surface handled daily.

Best Front Door Paint Colors

Top 60 Front Door Paint Colors

Best Front Door Paint Colors by Brand

Asian Paints

Behr

Benjamin Moore

Berger Paints

C2 Paint

Caparol

Crown Paints

Dulux

Dulux Australia

Dunn-Edwards

Farrow & Ball

Glidden

Hempel Decorative

Jotun

Kansai Nerolac

Kelly-Moore Paints

Little Greene

Nippon Paint

Plascon

PPG Paints

Pratt & Lambert

Resene

Sherwin-Williams

Tikkurila

Valspar

Related Rooms

Front Door Paint Colors — Frequently Asked