Should Front Door Sidelights Match the Door Or Trim?
Not that you’ve chosen the best paint color for your front door, you might be wondering what color the sidelights should be – should they be the same as the door, or should they match the trim color?
There’s no easy answer. In my experience (consulting on hundreds of front doors), it depends on many factors, including whether you have a sill plate, the overall style, the amount of trim, and more. And by the way, if you haven’t chosen your color yet, this might help: 8 Best Front Door Paint Colors.
Now, the best way for us to figure out what works is via examples. Seeing homes that might be similar to your set-up makes it easier to figure out which paint color and layout you want.
BUT (a Kim Kardashian-sized one, so it’s BIG) in many of my blog posts, there’s clear, straightforward advice. Not this one – there are so many variations and exceptions when it comes to front doors and sidelights. Instead, we’re looking at examples and why they do and don’t work.
Find the doors that are most similar to your set-up and see what I suggest!
FULL-GLASS FRONT DOOR SIDELIGHTS
When I say ‘full glass’, it rarely goes top to bottom – there’s usually about 12″ of panel on the bottom. These sidelights are most commonly found on newer homes or those renovated in the last 10 years or so, like this door, with its mild Craftsman style…
In this example, the sidelights match the door, and the trim is trim color. Here’s why it works…
- You can see other white trim nearby, so there’s a nice visual connection there.
- The trim is consistent in size and proportional.
- The wee trim bits that separate the panels from the glass are also painted (and always should be).
- While there isn’t a white sill plate for the vertical trims to connect with, at least they don’t run right into the concrete.
But just for shart n’ giggles, let’s look at an ugly, quick rendering. This is what it might look like if the side lights were painted the same color as the door – blur your eyes if you don’t love the edited fugliness of it (or drink more wine)…
- While this works, it’s a heavier look.
- It can look more modern on some homes, but modern isn’t always a good thing.
- The door doesn’t look as tall.
- The Craftsman style of the door isn’t as obvious or accented without white trim.
Here’s another door with full glass sidelights, but this time, it’s from the inside…
The classic look of the white door is pretty. However, for a bit more drama and moodiness, we went with Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze, and painted the sidelights and trims to match the front door…
Why it works…
- It could’ve looked a bit too chopped up/busy if the trim stayed white, especially with the vaulted ceiling and transom window- this entryway can handle a bit more impact.
- This ‘all-in’ look is a more modern, simple approach.
This next style of front door and sidelight is different, and it ain’t workin’…
This isn’t the end product, I did a quick render to show what it WOULD look like.
Why?
Notice how the side light’s window has muntins (grilles). On older wood doors/windows, these often sit ON the glass. However, on most doors, the grilles are sandwiched between 2 panes of glass and are next to impossible to paint.
And here it is, looking gorgeous and much more at ease with itself…
Because this sidelight’s muntins are inside the glass, it makes more sense to match the sidelight to the trim, which is low-contrast with the muntins, so they don’t stand out.
If your muntins or grilles are inside the glass, you’re best to keep your sidelight white or off-white, regardless of your front door color.
Here’s another gorgeous example…
Many traditional or colonial-style homes have extensive moldings and trim around the front door. On this home, notice how thin the actual sidelights are. In this case, making them blend with the surrounding trim is often the best choice.
Now, let’s move along to some halfies.
HALF-GLASS OR PANELLED FRONT DOOR SIDELIGHTS
Many of these doors are some of my all-time favorite client projects – there’s just something about the perfect front door color that hits my happy place. But don’t tell Tim, he’s been trying to hit my happy place for years (wink wink).
This first door is pretty typical of the modern farmhouse look – 4 panels of glass in the door, with 2-panel 1/2 sidelights…MAD LOVE…
Why this works…
- This front step gets a reasonable amount of natural light, whereas some super dark doorways need white trim to contrast with the door, helping it ‘show up’ a bit more.
- With the white kick, soffits, and surrounding trims, I kind of feel like MORE white trim and/or white sidelights would be too much white on the large scale. The dark black paint color really grounds the front door.
COULD they do the trims around the sidelights white, or even the sidelights themselves, to match the trim?
I wouldn’t. Some of the beauty of this door (other than the amazeballs color palette we chose) is the continuity of the glass panels/style from left to right. To break them up with white/dark seems a shame.
Oooooo, look at this next bad boy…
The 8 Best Front Door Paint Colors | The Best Off-White Exterior Colors
SO STINKIN’ GORGEOUS – I can’t even.
Why this works…
- With the off-white painted brick, white or off-white sidelights would blend in too much, and you’d lose the beauty of these ornate moldings and the gorgeous curve of the transom and its trims.
- The muntins are outside the glass, so easy to paint (let’s be honest, they’re still not fun to paint, but at least they’re accessible).
Now, check out this next door…
The Best Blue Front Door Paint Colors
Food for thought…
- This entryway looks a bit darker.
- I feel like the 1 vertical trim that separates the sidelight could’ve been white if there were a white bottom step/sill plate to connect them. HOWEVER, because the trim runs straight into the concrete, and the door is so dark, it could be too graphic and linear – kinda stripey.
Could they paint the trim AND the sidelight white?
Yeaaah, I’d like that more than JUST the 1 vertical trim.
Here’s a front door and sidelight setup of a standard 2000s front porch with stone veneer…
The Best Red & Burgundy Front Door Colors
Previously, the red door didn’t coordinate well with the stone’s colors (orange and purple). I suggested a range of colors that matched the stone’s hues, and they ended up choosing a beautiful, dark, grounded purple…
The above looks pretty, but do you find the sidelights and moldings a bit OVERPOWERING compared to the door? I do.
Here’s another quick ugly mockup (I can’t do shading, so you get what you get and you don’t get upset)…
I think it looks a ton better (if I do say so myself). In this case, we kept the actual trims white, as they’re in keeping with this home’s more traditional vibe.
Why it works…
- Notice how the white sill plate connects the white vertical trims and moldings.
- The dark sidelights show off the windows, but ONLY because there are white drapes on them. If the sidelights were white, it would all blend.
- While there are grilles/muntins, I made them the same color as the door. Otherwise, it’s a super hard no.
What’s interesting is that this next full-glass sidelight has similarly bulky moldings. But whereas the previous house looked a bit overwhelmed, this one looks good with the sidelights and trims matching, with only the door being the feature…
However, notice one BIG difference…this last door also has a transom window. If the sidelights matched the door, the transom would look weirdly out of place. Yet, painting the WHOLE SHEBANG (not just half the shebang – I’m talking door, sidelights, and trims) would be too much. Especially since the muntin bars are INSIDE the glass.
Non-exposed muntins/grilles could make your decision for you, as they can’t be painted. Exposed muntin bars make it much easier to match the door and sidelights.
On the other hand…look at these magical muntins…
Full exposure. These muntins are in it to win it. All of this is like door porn for me – seriously. IN this case, I love how the trim and sidelights match, but are DARK. This lets the door handle the visual heavy lifting.
As for these next sidelights, I’d paint them to match the door – end of story…
Here’s the inside of a front door with half-glass sidelights and inner grilles…
The Best Green-Gray Paint Colors
Because of the grilles being between the glass panes, if they painted this door, they’d paint ONLY the door, not the sidelights or trims.
Look at this next red brick exterior. Mmmmmm, COME TO MOMMA!
The Best Door Colors With Red Brick Houses
Why do I love this SO MUCH?
The red-orange brick, crisp white trim, and black shutters and front door are such a classic combo. Right off the hop, they’re on the right foot. Also, with no glass in the door itself, I kind of like how the non-matching sidelights sit apart.
Now, this is a generalization, as there are definitely exceptions, but there are a few consistencies you might notice…
- When the sidelights have glass/windows, but the door has none, the sidelights often look better when matched to the trim, not the door.
- If the sidelights have the same continuous glass layout as the front door, OFTEN, they look best painted the same color.
- When there’s a white sillplate, it’s much easier to paint the sidelights to match the door, while keeping the trim, trim color.
- Again, if there are muntins within 2 panes of glass, the sidelight should be white or off-white.
Remember, there are always exceptions; these are just some good places to start when looking at your own front door sitch.
Get the best paint color & home update advice with Kylie M’s Online Color Consulting.
FRONT DOORS WITH TRANSOM WINDOWS – WHAT COLOR SHOULD THEIR TRIMS BE?
Just when you thought you had it allllll figured out, your door has a transom window.
The great thing about transoms is that there aren’t any ‘panels’ to consider – you’re just dealing with trim. That said, there’s still no quick and easy answer
EXAMPLE 1: This front door and skookum transom is good as-is.
Perfect as-is, thanks to the encased grilles / The Best Dark Greige Paint Colors
Why? As you’ve now learned, if your sidelights/windows have muntins encased in glass and can’t be painted, it should all stay white or off-white to keep the contrast between grille and panel low.
EXAMPLE 2: When it’s all integrated, like this glooorious door in the UK (Scotland)…
The Best Sage Green Paint Colors
If your front door and transom look anything like this, a) I’m desperately jealous, and b) you would wrap the door and transom in the same color.
EXAMPLE 3: This or that…
This front door doesn’t have sidelights; it only has the transom. Given the style and intention of this entryway, if they were to paint the front door, I’d suggest they paint the whole thing. This foyer can clearly handle some drama and impact.
TO SUM IT UP: If you only have a transom window and no sidelights, painting the front door and trims all the same color could be a fab idea, as it brings it all together – SO LONG AS any muntins/grilles can be painted, too.
If you have sidelights, too, you might think twice, as it could be overwhelming to paint all those surfaces the same color.
FRONT DOORS, SIDELIGHTS, TRIMS, & MORE
Rather than diving deep all day (sans bathing suit, naturally), let’s touch on a few more examples. It can be helpful to see a set-up that’s similar to your own, to help decide what to do…
EXAMPLE 1: I’d paint these sidelights to match the door, for sure, but leave all the trims white…
The Best Blue & Teal Front Door Colors
Why? This front facade is too large and impressive for just the blue door to handle – it needs more visual support.
One thing I love about painting front doors is that you can do it in steps.
- Paint your door first. If you like the final product, sweet (feel free to send me images at this point if you want my opinion on whether to do the side lights).
- If you love it, cool beans. If you feel like it’s missing something, paint the sidelights. Worst case, you don’t like it, and paint them white again.
- Then, if you want a little more, do half the trim and see how it feels.
Anyways – MORE EXAMPLES, PLEASE!
EXAMPLE 2: This is perfect…
Why? Because the door and trim colors are low-contrast with the brick, interestingly enough, the white ties into the white windows and helps the door ‘show up’ more; it would blend in too much.
EXAMPLE 3: This is an interesting one and awesome as-is…
The Best Dark Blue Paint Colors
Why? Notice that the sidelights don’t have any ‘side’ to them – just trim. In this case, it’s either ALLLLL or nothin’. Nothin’ but the door is absolutely perfect.
EXAMPLE 4: I’m moving in…
Why? Again, have a lady boner for a classic brick exterior. Also, if these sidelights were black, because the trim separating them from the door is so wee trim, the trim would need to be done. The whole door would disappear in a pit of darkness.
EXAMPLE 5: I’d probably paint these sidelights…
The Best Paint Colors for Shutters for Brick Exteriors
Why? I like the big chonky trim that separates the door/sidelights and would keep that white. This door’s supporting structure would also pop a bit more with the sidelights matching the door. Really, I don’t think there’s a WRONG answer for this door, but I lean into matching.
EXAMPLE 6: Don’t change a thing (okay, maybe straighten that 1 solar light)…
Why? Notice how the shutters are close to the door and the same color. If the sidelights matched the door, that would be WAAAAAY too much of a good thing. As-is, the door coordinates with the exterior palette, but it’s still nicely defined.
EXAMPLE 7: While you don’t see this often, here’s a front door with sidelights with no lights – these are hereby known as sidedarks…
In this case, painting these moldings the same color as the door makes the most sense; otherwise, not only do they lack windows, but they’re visually disconnected from the door.
SHLONG STORY SHORT (SUMMARY)
There’s no perfect, final answer, just food for thought…
- Does your front door have a white or off-white sillplate? Consider keeping your trim that color and painting the side lights to match the door.
- Is the trim between your sidelights and front door super narrow? Consider keeping the sidelights the same as the trim, to give them more visual bulk.
- If your sidelights have the same window layout as your front door (e.g., modern farmhouse 4, 6, or 9 pane), they often look best painted the same color.
- Consider the scale of your front entryway. If it’s large, think about whether your front door is up to the challenge on its own, or if it needs a bit more visual support.
- If you want a modern look, consider painting your door, trims, and sidelights all the same color.
READ MORE
The 8 Best Front Door Paint Colors
The Best Shutter Colors for Brick Homes
