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Front Door Color Meanings: What Impression Do You Want to Give?
Your front door represents many things. When you enter, it becomes a safe barrier between you and the world, it brings you into a welcoming space of security and familiarity. Let’s discuss the world of symbolism with front door color meanings.
I will always think of Monsters Inc when choosing a door. The doors represented crossing from one world into the other with both worlds fearful of each other.
Unless you are in the movie business, setting a stage with the correct music playing in the background, I assume you do not want people to be afraid when they come upon your front door. While we might prefer to avoid a few opinionated family members or critical neighbors, overall, we want our homes to appear welcoming and friendly. We also want them to reflect our personality and style.
Let’s explore the meanings behind front door colors and how they affect the way your guests feel when they walk up to your house.
What front door colors mean
A lot goes into choosing the perfect front door color. No pressure here! Not only do you want to take into consideration the meaning of the color you choose, but it needs to fit into your overall design. Before we launch into front door color meanings, let’s talk a bit about style.
We can list the style of our homes, such as farmhouse, Cape Cod, Mediterranean, and cabin, and these will all come into play when choosing a front door color. This post is supposed to be about front door color meanings so I don’t want to spend too much time on style, but it is important to take into consideration. Here are a few popular styles.
If you are looking to create a modern feel choose one of these colors for your front door:
- lime
- turquoise
- black
- eggplant
- taxi yellow
- bright orange
If you are wishing to complete a traditional feel to your home choose one of these colors:
- white
- dark green
- black
- classic red
- slate blue
- emerald green
Do you have a brick home? Choose one of these colors for your front door:
- sage
- navy
- black
- light gray
Ok, now onto front door color meanings!
Purple front door meaning
Did you know that in the 1500s BCE fabric traders used to extract purple dye from mollusks in the Mediterranean Sea? This was a long, drawn-out process. Because of that, the color purple became a color that was reserved for the imperial class. It became a trend, so much to the point that Queen Elizabeth I passed a law that said only the royal family could wear the color purple.
Because of this purple is often associated with honor, royalty, and wealth.
The powerful meaning of the purple front door was actually so interesting that we have an entire post dedicated to it.
What does a red front door mean?
What does a red front door mean? Traditionally it means a hospitable home. Early on in America, we painted our doors red as a huge welcome sign. According to some, if you have a red door it means you love attention and entertaining.
I must confess that I have a red door and I love entertaining. I do NOT enjoy being the center of attention so I might be an exception to the rule.
The color red has significance around the world. For Chinese, red is the color that will fight away evil. It brings luck and health. Many years ago it was a tradition with Catholics to paint the doors of the church red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Tradition says that in Scotland, a family would paint their door red upon paying off their debt.
Who knew adorning your front door in the color red could carry such a variety of meanings?
Pink front door meaning
Paint your front door pink and people will think you a helpless romantic. Nothing wrong with that. Pink is also linked to a thoughtful, cheerful, and generous disposition.
Have you ever heard the expression “looking through rose-colored glass”? Your pink front door tells people you are this type.
Do you have a pink front door? If so, leave a comment below! I’d love for you tell us if this fits your personality.
What does a blue door mean?
If I paint my front door blue, what does that say about me?
Blue is one of tranquility and peace. People who are striving for a comfortable, peaceful impression may wish to paint their front door blue.
If you choose a royal blue, you may give the impression of prosperity and positivity. A powder blue shows you are friendly and sincere. A light blue also leans itself to being a good listener.
Black front door meaning
Black front door meaning brings you into a world of elegance with an emphasis on control and order.
Did you know that a black or charcoal gray door can actually increase the value of your home by $6,000? Good to know if your are a flipper or plan on selling your home in the future.
Meaning of a white front door
Similar to black, a white front door invites you into a world of organization and order. A white front door gives the impression of simplicity and a serene atmosphere.
Are you the type who needs a tidy environment and immediately cleans up messes? White is the color for your front door!
When embracing front door color meanings, there is a lot to take into consideration as well as a lot to simply smile at. As the owner of an old farm house as well as a neat freak, I have to admit that white is my favorite color for a door. My red door may be going soon (however, if you keep reading, you will find that red is a popular choice if you are going for a farmhouse style).
Yellow front door meaning
If you are looking for impactful curb appeal, you can’t choose better than a yellow front door. Yellow front doors are unusual and will probably spark the curiosity of neighbors.
The color yellow brings on a feeling of positivity, creativity, humor, and confidence.
Meaning of an orange front door
I have never considered painting a door orange, but as far as front door color meanings go, you can’t go wrong.
An orange front door tells the world that a social butterfly lives here and immediately helps visitors feel welcome and invited.
What does a green front door mean?
How about green? What does it mean if you paint your front door green?
The color green brings one to the thoughts of health, community, and security. If you choose a brighter green it might give the impression that you have an exciting life. Not sure what kind of exciting life the green implies, but if you like a bright green, go for it!
Some say that if you have a green front door than you most likely have a green thumb to go with it. If you decide on a green front door, put landscaping on your list!
The Legends Behind Dublin’s Painted Doors
While we are chatting about front door color meanings, the brightly colored doors of Dublin’s townhouses come to mind. They are a perfect example of how you can make your own home unique and tailored to your own personality simply by changing the color of your door.
While Ireland is known for its beautiful, lush green landscape, the rows of dull brick townhouses, cookie cutter fashion, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries might create a stark contrast with one exception. The brightly painted doors.
There are two (maybe more) legends behind the reason the doors are painted different colors. The first comes from the period of Queen Elizabeth. In Ireland, she was known as the “famine queen” and the Irish were resentful of English rule. When she died, the Irish were instructed to paint their door black as a sign of mourning. Instead, they painted their door a variety of bright colors out of rebellion.
A second theory is a bit less political and just as hard to prove, but goes like this. George Moore and Oliver St. John Gogarty were neighbors. Gogarty would frequent the pub and late at night would return drunk. Rather than knocking on his own door, Gogarty would bang on Moore’s door causing an annoyance. Moore finally paints his door a bright green so that Gogarty could tell the difference even when drunk.
A variation of this tradition is that a man once returned home from the pub after drinking too much, walks into his home and crawls into bed with his wife. Only it wasn’t his home or his wife! He had mistaken his neighbor’s home for his own and created quite an uproar. His wife was going to make sure that mistake never happened again and painted their door a bright color. Other house wives did the same and thus Dublin’s long rows of similar townhouses are unique by the color of their doors.
What is the most popular front door color?
I searched long and hard to answer the question to what is the most popular front door color and you know what? I couldn’t find a concrete answer! It all depends on what impression you want to leave and what style you are trying to achieve.
If you are going for a farmhouse look, you can’t go wrong with white or black. Red is another popular farmhouse door color and of course wood.
Wood is natural, authentic, and traditional. Be sure to check out this awesome farmhouse light fixture to give your door some additional charm.
Earlier we mentioned great color choices for traditional front doors. How about increasing your desired impression with wooden planters or classic wall lamp?
For a modern look, choose one of the above-listed colors and add this awesome planter to your steps or porch.
Another option outside of paint color is style. How about a Victorian style front door or a Spanish style? This gives you even more ideas to give your home the best curb appeal.
Front Door Color Meanings Recapped
In the end, front door color meanings are fun and you could take them seriously, but my best advice to you is to be yourself. Choose the color you like best and own it. We all appreciate the freedom to be ourselves, am I right?!
I would love to hear what color your front door is and if it rings true to the meanings listed here. I hope you share in the comments below!
And, while we are talking about front door color meanings, I want to direct you to some fun wreath posts to make that door even more amazing! Be sure to check out these posts!
