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Door Colors Offer Window to Home’s Vibe

Monday, August 6, 2012

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Residential spaces and their exteriors say a lot about the dwellers within.

For example, a home’s front door may pack a stronger message than most homeowners realize, says Debbie Zimmer, color expert at the Paint Quality Institute.

Zimmer says the hues that homeowners choose for their front doors often communicate their emotions and personalities. She notes that the front door is the “focal point” of a home; much like a necktie is the focal point of a suit.

Color Expert at Your Door

Front-door colors also provide insight into how the homeowner views his or her home.

Paint Quality Institute (red and blue), The Glass Smith (brown), Planet Ware (green), frontdoors.com (black)

A blue door suggests the homeowner sees his house as a refuge, while a red door says the home is vibrant and exciting. Other colors make different statements.

Color psychologists would say that the owner of the home with the blue door thinks of her home as a refuge, while the homeowner with the red door is projecting his home as an exciting place to live, PQI reports.

Here’s what a color psychologist might say about some of the most common front-door colors, according to PQI: 

Blue: Many studies indicate that blue is the most popular color. A blue front door signals that the homeowner views his or her home as a place of refuge—calm, serene, and relaxing, the perfect retreat from an often harsh and demanding world.

Green: This hue connotes health, safety, tranquility, and harmony—all highly desirable attributes for the home environment.

Black:  A black front door projects strength, sophistication, power, and authority, indicating to all who enter or pass by that the home is a serious place inhabited by a person of substance.    
         
Red:  Regarded as a powerful “punch” color, red is the color of passion. By painting the front door red, the homeowner is saying that the home within is a vibrant place, full of life, energy, and excitement.

Brown:  Whether painted or stained, a brown front door looks natural and organic but can send mixed messages in terms of color psychology. On the one hand, brown conveys warmth, stability, and reliability—positive attributes, all—but darker shades of brown signal a desire for privacy, even isolation.