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A blue front door welcomes your guests in style, and it adds amazing personality and curb appeal!
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coir doormat (sold out) | navy checked rug | navy blue planters
Choosing a front door paint color is an important decision, because your front door has many jobs. First and foremost, it’s the entrance to your home. Your front door greets family and friends. A colorful door can tell your story, and it adds charm and curb appeal. A well-cared for door says you take pride in your home.
There are many popular hues for a front door, but I’m concentrating on blue. We’ve had two homes, and I chose blue front doors for both!
Sherwin Williams Naval
Many years ago, in the spring of 2011, I gave the kitchen cabinets at the Sutton Place house a fresh coat of paint, and some updated hardware. I knew I wanted a section of cabinets painted an accent color, and I knew blue would be perfect. What I didn’t know was that picking out blue paint is hard! After a great deal of thought, and a few trips to the paint store, I finally settled on Sherwin Williams Naval. When I saw it on my kitchen cabinets, I knew instantly I was going to have a blue front door as well.
The Exterior Color Palette at the Sutton Place House
- black roof
- red brick facade on the first story
- white trim
- gray siding (Sherwin Williams Morning Fog)
- darker gray shutters (Sherwin Williams Grays Harbor)
- navy blue front door (Sherwin Williams Naval)
We had already installed a new fiberglass door with sidelights, and keeping our home’s exterior color palette in mind, I knew a navy blue door would be perfect.
Wreath | Planters | Lockset
Navy plaid rug (similar) | doormat not available
Sherwin Williams Distance
When we moved to the Sugar Maple House, I had my heart set on painting the front door the same shade of blue that we had on Sutton Place. However, when we tried the paint sample, I immediately knew it was all wrong. It was too dark, and it made the door recede into the stone. It just didn’t compliment the house’s color scheme. I knew I wanted to stick with a blue door, and after trying several different samples, I settled on Sherwin Williams Distance. It literally pops from the street, and simply painting the door upped our home’s curb appeal immeasurably.
The Exterior Color Palette at The Sugar Maple House
- brown roof
- brown stone
- brown shingle siding
- white trim
- muted denim blue front door (Sherwin Williams Distance)
Lockset | White planter box
doormat (similar) | wreath
The Details
Both doors were painted with a gray primer, followed by two coats of Sherwin Williams Duration Exterior Actylic Latex in a satin finish. Both porches are shaded by roofs, so they don’t get much sun. The Naval door never faded, and the Distance door is holding up beautifully so far.
Lockset | white square planter
striped rug | personalized doormat
Painting A Front Door with Sidelights
Painting entry doors can be tricky. If you have a front door with sidelights, it’s best to paint the sidelights and trim around the door a neutral color, and then paint the door an accent color. This will give your home maximum curb appeal by providing a contrast that catches the eye. In other words, you are creating a frame around your door.
How to Choose the Perfect Paint Color
There are a ton of choices when it comes to blue paint. To choose the right one for you, simply use the process of elimination.
- Visit your paint store, and come home with several swatch strips.
- Look at the swatches outside at different times of day…because the light and shadows will change.
- Start eliminating the ones you don’t like.
- Consider the existing color palette on your home’s exterior: siding, brick, shutters, sidelights, porch railing, landscape, etc. For example if your home has a white exterior and red brick, good choices are navy blue, cobalt, gray, or black.
- When you’ve narrowed down the choices to your top 3, either order large paint samples, or physically paint swatches on your front door.
- Finally, make a decision. And remember, if you make a mistake, it’s just paint.
Adding Personality to Your Front Door
- Invest in a gorgeous lock set. This is a detail where you can add a classic touch of elegance, and compliment your home’s architectural style. They are available in many different styles and colors, and at any price range.
- Add a seasonal wreath.
- Flank the front door with matching planters. This adds symmetry and additional color.
- Add a door knocker. I love the personal touch a door knocker adds to an entry door. Make sure to check your door’s warranty before drilling.
- This doormat (a bit of a splurge but worth it) would look stunning with a navy blue door, and here is a more budget-friendly option.
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Other Blues for Entry Doors
Of course, my two favorite blue front door colors are Sherwin Williams Naval, and Sherwin Williams Distance. If you aren’t sold on those, here are more ideas for a blue door.
- Benjamin Moore Hale Navy (A super popular color.)
- Benjamin Moore Old Navy
- Benjamin Moore Blueberry Hill
- Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue
- Benjamin Moore Polo Blue (My daughter-in-law has this on her front door. It’s a gorgeous almost-black navy.)
- Sherwin-Williams Indigo
- Sherwin-Williams Salty Dog
- Sherwin Williams Faded Flaxflower (My daughter has this in her office. It’s a beautiful beachy blue.)
- Valspar Blue Coal
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Posts
- Simple Christmas Porch Ideas (the first porch design at our new home)
- An Easy Spring Porch Refresh (featuring the door painted Distance)
- New Navy Blue Summer Planters for the Porch (featuring the door painted Naval)
- Front Porch Fall Decorating Inspiration (the last Sutton Place porch design)
- 10 Front Door Paint Color Questions + Answers
- Spring and Summer Porch Decor
- Fall Front Porch Decorating Ideas
I love your blog! I had a navy blue door in my previous home (with light gray siding) which I loved. I recently moved into a new home. It is light beige, dark brown roof, and black shutters and currently has a black door which looks very nice. The problem is that almost all houses in our 27 home development have black doors with the occasional burgundy door and I would like to do something different. I was thinking of possibly doing a seaside light blue color. How do you think that would look? Do you have any other suggestions?
I have a pale cream colored house so my front door is periwinkle, a favorite color of mine.
I also like a pink door but it wouldn’t work with my house color. Love the colors you see in the south.
Does you new place have a blue door?
Yes! Our door is painted Distance from Sherwin Williams. A very pretty blue that’s not as dark as navy.
I am just curious what you mean by a “distance” door?
Hi Debbie…I’m sorry for the confusion. Distance is the name of the color on our door in our current home. I just used the color name to distinguish between the two doors.
Hi Ann,
We’re thinking of painting our front door blue. What shade of gray primer did you use under the blue exterior acrylic latex paint?
Our door faces east and is set in.
It’s surrounded with white frame sidelights, fairly light gray siding with dark brick beneath the gray wood siding. We have black wrought iron handsets all currently on a white door. Will the paint fade facing east? We live in bay area CA
Thanks so much for your advice.
I am a big fan of your amazing blog.
Hugs,
Lea
This isn’t exactly a front door paint question, but does concern the front door. Our new home has a front door like yours with the 2 sidelights. Did you use shutters, blinds, sheers, tinting, or nothing on the sidelights to keep folks from looking into the house?
We had our home painted las August. I chose an unusual palette ( IMHO)because I wanted our house to stand out and be unique. I chose BM Aegean Olive for the body, Black for the trim, and Coral for my front door. I did the door myself using Fusion paint and finishing it off with black antiquing gel. I love it.
Our previous home had a perfect blue that picked up some color from the brick. We are now in a HOA neighborhood and our current door is an orange – bc that was the color palette of our particular home. But I like it!
How do you handle the inside of the door? Does it match the outside? If the outside is blue and the inside white, where do you separate the colors?
A question I have is when the outside side of a door is painted, what color is the inside side of the door painted? Do I use the same color or a different color to go with the inside colors and if different then what color do you paint the sides?
I love your Navy Blue front door! You inspired me when we purchased our lake home in 2019 to paint my front door Navy (I used the SW Naval as well). Our siding is a very light gray with white trim, so the Navy door with black light fixtures work perfectly. That’s actually when I found you and your blog and have been following you since that time. Thank you for your simple, down to earth advice. I look forward to every OSP email.
We are having our aluminum siding painted this year. I love the indigo or navel blue. Black shutters and white trim. What color door? I am struggling with this. Yours looks beautiful.
Hi Mary Lou…so are you painting your siding navy blue?
I’m in the process of painting my house. I have brown brick, half way up in front and around the door. I have Brown clad windows. Megagriege for the house paint and incredible white for the trim. I have a door with some silver and glass inserts on top and one side insert with the same. Do you think the naval color would be appropriate or something else. Do I paint the side insert the same as door or the megagreige. Thanks for the help.
Hi Kathy! Would you be able to send me a picture? My email address is ann@onsuttonplace.com. I can answer better if I can see the entire door. Typically the side insert and trim around the door would be white to match your existing trim. Thanks!
Hi, Ann,
How do you think Sherwin Williams Naval would look on a front door in gloss? I love the color, but I’ve alas loved a gloss finish on a front door.
Sheila
Hi Ann, I just stumbled on your bed site as I was doing a search for SW Naval front doors! What a treat to find you! Your home is beautiful. We moved into our house about a year ago and I knew then that one of the first things I wanted to do was repaint the front door. I’ve had my eye on this color for a while, but I’m not sure it will work …. I really don’t want to get into repainting the trim and shutters… just the door. My house is a dark red brick (yes, I’d love to paint the brick, but HOA rules won’t allow.) The trim is a taupe color and the shutters are black. The door is red right now, and it is not a very pretty red. Do you think the Naval will work with Taupe and Black? My concern is it may not give enough contrast…. but its just the front door, so if it fails, I can always paint over it! Thanks for your input!
Hi Dana! Honestly, I don’t think navy would look good with the black and taupe. Have you considered black? That would probably be my first choice. Good luck!
Hi! Can you do the navy door with a pale yellow house, white trim, and black shutters?
Hi Michele…I’m not sure a navy door would be the best choice. I think black would be beautiful, or perhaps a contrasting color, like a dark red. Another option, would be yellow. I definitely recommend getting paint samples, but go to a slightly darker yellow than your siding. Good luck and thank you!
What color white is your trim? I plan on doing my front flipper naval and using “extra white” for trim.
Hi Dana…the white is right off the shelf at Sherwin Williams. I don’t think it’s a custom color. Extra White sounds perfect!
This colour is so beautiful. I’ve narrowed down my front door options to In the Navy and Naval. I’m glad that you mentioned the position of your house, because my home in a similar position. I was worried about the sun fading out the paint, but you’ve reassured me. Thanks!
Ann-will you please provide the silk flower names that you used in your wreath? This is the first one I’ve seen that I absolutely LOVE!! Thank you so much!
Hi Teresa…can you tell me which wreath you are referring to? Thanks!
Do you have tips for painting your front door? Did you take it off the hinges? Remove the hardware? Sand? I’m so intimidated to paint my front door! It needs it (and I want to paint mine navy as well) but I’m afraid to try! (I love yours!)
Hi Sheila! We did not take the door off, but we did remove the hardware. We didn’t sand…but it probably wouldn’t hurt. Just make sure the door is really clean. My door didn’t have cracks, but if you have any, fill them in. We used a coat of gray primer followed by two coats of the Naval. I used a satin finish and bought the best outdoor paint that Sherwin Williams sells. Good luck…you can do it!
Can you tell me the name of the red color that was on previously?
No…I’m sorry. It was so long ago and I no longer have the can.
I love to update my front porch every month, so new ideas are always so very helpful!
I LOVE the door color and ran out to get a swatch of it from a SW dealer. Unfortunately, the swatch doesn’t look like the color on my screens 😞
Hi Ann;
LOVE your blog and your navy door. I am planning on painting my front door navy too. However, the door is on the south side of my home, with two huge maple trees in the front yard, which shade the front door. I am wondering if I should go with a slightly brighter navy? Please let me know your thoughts!
Hi Cynthia…our street is very shaded. We live in a wooded area and even though I don’t have trees in my front yard, they are all around me. My porch gets a little bit of morning sun but that’s it. I think it depends on what is surrounding the door. Your siding color, trim color, is there an overhang on your porch. If your siding is light then I think it would be OK to go with the deeper navy. Good luck with your decision!
Ann, Thank you SO MUCH for your quick and detailed response to my post!!! I am happy to hear about your home and the shade, and that naval worked for you. In fact, it didn’t only “work” for you, the door is a brilliant color on your home!!! I don’t know if you are aware of it, but the naval front door color choice was affirmed on a Home Front interview with the Sherman Williams color consultant in the Washington Post. My home has almost the identical brick as yours (with perhaps a little darker charcoal in parts). My brick detail in front goes maybe 2/3 up the side of the front of the home, and there is white siding above the brick. My roof is a medium dark charcoal. However, both the roof and the brick are multi-colored which is one reason it was crucial to choose a front door color that did not add too much variation, but still stood out. When I saw your door, it seemed like the perfect choice. I got a sample pot of naval and painted a medium canvas with it. Due to all the shade, from the street it appears to be the color of the roof. Up close you can see that it is navy. With your new input, I am defiantly going to paint the door naval, as soon as the rain period in the midwest is over. Thank you SO MUCH for your input! I LOVE your blog and your photos!!! ~ Cynthia
I always enjoy your front door and porch posts because I love decorating my front porch too. Does the front of your house have shutters and if so, what color are your shutters?
Thanks for sharing, Louise
Hi Louise! I finally put all my paint colors in one post. Here’s the link: https://www.onsuttonplace.com/on-sutton-place-paint-colors/ Thank you!
Love the front door color. I am a big fan of blue too. Thanks for sharing. Jean
I love reading your blogs. Your taste is so refreshing and you can tell alot of love goes into your home projects.
I really liked reading your story about the beginning of your House. What you have done is make it into Your Home!!! As always …thank you for sharing.
I have always loved your door color! I might use that color for my front door! :)
I wish I did not have 2 dogs so I could have a nice back porch!!! But I try. Yours is so comforting.
Love the color of your door! Had a deep tan door in one house, and a fiberglass door in the last home that was stained to look like wood. I loved it – but the front door got lots of sun and it faded fast. I was always touching it up. Do you have sunlight issues with your door ? We have a similar color blue door now in our new apartment – not sure what brand or color – but we LOVE it. You can see it on my blog. And the best part is it is indoors so no sun fading it ! Was not sure about downsizing and apartment living, but we are loving it! Thanks for all your great ideas, printables, a wonderful blog!
Naval is such a great color and your door looks beautiful! Ironically, my dining room used to be red and last week we just painted it Naval! Love the color. Enjoy your week!
Shelley
Ann, your home is beautiful . . . great curb appeal!!! Just found your blog today and enjoying it.
Ann, I love your home — it’s just beautiful; and I really admire your decorating style and your imagination. Yours was one of the first “blogs” I discovered and it’s been a favorite from day one.
Thank you for allowing us to follow along.
Best to you from a fan in NC
It’s beautiful, Ann! I LOVE your door color and know you have lovingly added value and memories to your home!
I love your home. You have really done a lot of work but what a great job!
I'm in Fergus Ontario Canada. Thank you for sharing pictures of your home with us. You've inspired me to go to our local Sherwin Williams first thing tomorrow to pick up "Naval" to repaint our front doors!
Your door colour is gorgeous. I liked both but thought the newer colour is more fitting! I've got this linked to my doors post too today, well done!
Very nice Images!!! I love your Blue Door!
The front door color is beautiful!I love the wreath can you give a tutorial. I have double front doors and they are painted Benjamin Moore Essex green so I would probably need to change up the color scheme. But I absolutley love the door color and the wreath. Beautiful!!
I am in the same boat with the house sentiments, the drive and are walkway are next. My hostas are currently being attacked by moles and they are new this year. Yours looks wonderful.
Thanks for inspiring me.
I love what you have done. Everything looks so pretty.
So pretty! Love the color and LOVE the wreath. Very nice job. We also have a blue door, but yours is slightly darker. I may give the darker color a try!
Love the new door colour, looks great with the white frame. Your home is beautiful.
I am getting ready to do an outdoor redo and you are a true inspiration! Your home is beautiful!
Your front door looks great. And the wreath and planters show if off beautifully. Your whole house has great curb appeal.
Have a great day.
Sue
A labor of love, your home is gorgeous and the new blue door looks mighty pretty!
Love your wreath too…wonderfully done!
Cindy
I love houses like yours and have dreamed about having one just like it. No wonder you are so proud of your achievements: you have created a beautiful home. Congratulations.
Best wishes for a lovely week,
Natasha.
Very nice!!! I love your wreath too!
Your house is beautiful & the navy door is breathtaking! I've been itching to paint our door a striking color…but wimped out and stuck with the same old boring brown!
Great job!
Pretty door in Naval Blue, and the wreath is fabulous!
You can tell by looking at your yard and home, that it is loved and well cared for. You should be proud.
So beautiful! Your home has lots and lots of curb appeal. The landscaping is just perfect too. SO fun stopping by to visit!
Kindly, Lorraine
I do love the new color. My front door is red and I have been think of a new color, too.
Ann, I love the blue on your front door. What a great job on the house everything looks so welcoming!
I love it Ann!!! Looks so pretty. I love the wreath and the plants too – very nice update!
you know,,, i love a red door,, but this blue is so classy, really elegant looking, your home is just lovely,, all work hard work was worth it I'm sure,
You have really done an amazing job! It looks wonderful!!
My age? Oh well, at least my kids know the song from my singing it. I guess that I should change the title of that post!
I hope that your painting arrived and that it is what you expected.
Have a great weekend,
Barb