Small details often reveal a great deal about someone’s personality. “I heard the other day that you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes,” says Katie Yost, an architectural designer at Newport Beach, California-based Bassenian | Lagoni. “And you can tell a lot about a person by their front door, too. The front door is something that can make the home exciting or inviting or unique in a neighborhood — and it really says a lot about the homeowner.”
But that’s not the only reason Yost pays so much attention to the door as an architectural element. “The front door is our first physical, tactile experience as we walk into a home,” she says. “So the size, the shape, and of course the finish or color of the material and whether it’s translucent or whether it’s solid is a big design element for us.”
One with nature
In most cases, Seattle-based interior designer Charlie Hellstern looks to the environment for design cues when choosing the color for an exterior door. “So, if we’re working on something in Seattle where we’re right on the waterfront and on level with the sea — and our light is filtered by the gray clouds, the foggy air, the marine layer — colors need to be more subtle. You see a lot of grays and browns and greens and blues in palettes here in the Pacific Northwest.” But she tailors her take to each and every place. “If you go to California or, let’s say, to Denver, where you’re a mile up and so much closer to the sun, you need to look at color and material palettes differently — how they react to the light,” she says.
Pops of color
In some places, architects and designers have permission to use brighter colors. Bassenian | Lagoni’s designs in desert regions — where bright sunshine is the norm and a home’s exterior style and color tend toward muted tones to blend in with the environment — provide a good example. “Here, there’s an interest in more vibrant colors for doors,” says architectural designer Hans Anderle. “So I’m thinking of subdued yellows, some greens, some reds, and certainly blues.”
Hellstern often appreciates a colorful approach, too, which she traces back to when she worked at Seattle architectural firm Kundig Olson, with principal Tom Kundig. “I think a colorful door works best when you have a really restrained palette, and that’s something that Tom likes to do,” she says. “You have concrete and steel and white walls, and the more restrained the rest of the palette is, the more exciting that color can be. If you want to add color in a small way, like with a front door, it’s best to make sure everything else is calm.”
Colorful personalities sometimes prefer to keep their options simple, and Washington, D.C.-based interior designer Mariella Cruzado of Splendor Styling swears by her stance. “I’m always an advocate for timelessness in design, and my go-to and favorite color for a front door is definitely black,” she says. “It’s timeless, it’s elegant, and it goes with everything.”
A world of options
Whether it’s a neutral color for a minimalist look or calm home environment, a bright color for a fun pop, or a natural wood grain look, a wide range of options are available to architects and designers today, says Lindsay Tinnell, doors marketing manager for JELD-WEN. Her team stays on top of color and wood-tone trends in a number of ways, including regular meetings with the color trends team at Sherwin-Williams. “They present us with the most recent trends, and we review our color palette with them every year to make sure we’re reflecting not only the trends but also the tried-and-true colors that we want to continue offering year after year,” she says.
Because doors are a lasting investment, Tinnell’s team also looks at architectural trends — what’s happening in siding, hardware, and even decking. “We want to make sure the colors and styles we’re putting out there reflect the trends but are also going to give homeowners timeless looks,” she says.
For more
From authentic wood and wood-look composites to fiberglass and steel options, JELD-WEN exterior doors offer a broad range of options that come in a myriad of colors and styles that suit any home.
