The 6 Top Front Door Paint Colors (That Even Your HOA Will Love)

THE 6 MOST POPULAR FRONT DOOR PAINT COLORS (ALSO HOA-FRIENDLY)

Choosing the best paint color for your front door is hard enough, never mind having to make the HOA happy, too! Seriously, HOA might stand for Home Owners Association, but if you ask me, it stands for ‘Handing Out Abuse’ daily to INNOCENT FREAKIN’ PEOPLE.

Don’t get me wrong, HOAs uphold a standard in the neighborhood and keep out the crazies (which is why I don’t live in one). However, they can be unnecessarily fussy regarding exterior paint colors, considering they don’t own your home.

Even if you don’t have an HOA to satisfy, you might be looking for some CLASSIC front door colors – ones that aren’t wild and wonderful but are still beautiful in their own right.

This is why today, we’re checking out front door paint colors that SHOULD make your HOA happy. If they don’t, they must be a real special bunch.

1. THE MOST POPULAR BLACK FRONT DOOR PAINT COLORS

Black front doors are the most CLASSIC approach, but they can be fussy about the home they’re partnered with. Black front doors often suit homes with black or dark charcoal gray roofs, black windows, and/or black fixtures (i.e., lights, address numbers, etc…). Not every home can pull off a black door, so make sure your home has the bones in place to support it.

In the wild world of blacks, not all are created equal; there are various depths, temperatures, and undertones. As it relates to front doors, there are five shades I guide my Online Color Consulting clients to repeatedly…

• Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black
• Sherwin Williams Iron Ore
• Benjamin Moore Black 2132-10
• Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron
• Sherwin Williams Black Magic

Click on the above links to see each color’s FULL COLOR REVIEW (excluding Black Magic, which I haven’t done yet).

Tricorn Black and Black 2132-10 are really similar and almost always in the running. Why? They’re two of the darkest and blackest blacks, known for their DEPTH and commitment. As for Iron Ore, it’s a SOFT black that can grab a very (ahem, VERY) minor green undertone. Iron Ore is popular when you want black, but worry about it being a bit stark or harsh.

Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron – a slightly softer, blue-inspired shade

Wrought Iron is a soft black-blue. In low light and without any other black finishes against it, Wrought Iron acts like black. However, get it in the natural light and that blue can pop-up!

You might fall for one of these beautiful black shades based on online images alone. Don’t. Sampling and comparing these shades determines which one best suits your home’s surrounding finishes.

Sherwin Williams Iron Ore

Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams 8 Best Shades of Black

2. THE MOST POPULAR NAVY BLUE FRONT DOOR PAINT COLORS

Navy is a classic, whether on your front door, kitchen island, or feature wall. However, some navy blues take it a bit too far in the ‘color department’ for the average HOA. These next blues are safe, but still striking choices for some great curb appeal…

Sherwin Williams Charcoal Blue

• Sherwin Williams Cyberspace
• Benjamin Moore Hale Navy
• Sherwin Williams Charcoal Blue
• Sherwin Williams Naval
• Sherwin Williams Newburyport Blue (a brighter shade of navy)

Click on the above links to see each color’s FULL COLOR REVIEW (excluding Newburyport Blue and Charcoal Blue, which I haven’t done yet).

Cyberspace is the PERFECT shade of blue if you want to nod at navy without committing to it. This is because Cyberspace has a wink more gray in it than the average shade. However, if your front door is dark due to northern exposure, combined with an overhang, Cyberspace doesn’t usually have enough blue to show up to the party. If you want a color that shows up with tassels on, Hale Navy is your shade.

Hale Navy is more of a classic navy blue. While it’s similar to Cyberspace, it has less gray, making it a more legitimate approach to navy and better able to stand up to dark front door zones without being obnoxious.

Benjamin Moore Hale Navy – HAAAALE YES! 

Get a FULL PEEL & STICK SET OF MY FAVE NAVY BLUE FRONT DOOR COLORS

Sherwin Williams Naval

Charcoal Blue is a stunner. It’s definitely blue, but it has an almost smoky approach compared to some of the other shades. As for Naval, it’s a braver approach to blue and cooould push a few comfort zones, but shouldn’t step too far over the boundaries (unlike myself, who definitely has boundary issues).

Lastly, if you like navy but don’t want the visual weight of it, check out Newburyport Blue, which is similar to Hale Navy, but lighter and, therefore, a bit brighter looking.

See more beautiful blue hues: The 12 Best Navy Blue Paint Colors for Front Doors, Cabinets, & More 

3. THE MOST POPULAR GRAY FRONT DOOR PAINT COLORS

Choosing your home’s best gray isn’t easy. Warm grays, cool grays, stormy grays, dark grays, MOODY grays – the list goes on (or maybe it’s just me going on…and on…). And while gray might SOUND boring, find a gray with the right undertones, and your home’s curb appeal will go up drastically!

Benjamin Moore Gray 2121-10

Regardless of which type of gray you lean towards, figure out which gray undertones best suit your exterior finishes, especially any stone and brick, as well as roof and siding (if you don’t know, I have an affordable Front Door Paint Color package).

• Benjamin Moore Gray 2121-10
• Sherwin Williams Peppercorn
• Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Gray
• Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray
• Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal

Click on the above links to see each color’s FULL COLOR REVIEW.

Gray 2121-10 is one of my FAVE gray front door colors. It’s a med-dark charcoal gray with stormy, violet-blue undertones. Due to its depth and undertones, Gray suits a WIDE range of stonework and brick. As for Peppercorn, it’s a tricky little bugger and can pop up almost ANY of the undertones, depending on its surrounding finishes and your door’s exposure.

Gauntlet Gray is a super popular front door color thanks to its subtle warmth and SUPER passive undertones. You’ll find that Gauntlet Gray suits many exterior facades, including stone, brick, and multiple asphalt roof finishes – more so than MOST other grays.

Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Gray

As for Amherst Gray and Kendall Charcoal, these are darker charcoal grays. While they’re classified as warm, you’d hardly know it. Regarding undertones, expect to see a wink of green pop up in Amherst Gray, and ONCE in a while, you’ll see that same subtle hue in Kendall Charcoal (although it’s far more ‘neutral’ looking and darker than Amherst Gray).

If you want to learn more, click on their links in the list – TONS of info and fun to be had!

Get your PEEL & STICK set (GRAY-GREEN / GRAY-BLUE)

NOT SURE WHICH COLOR IS BEST?

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4. THE MOST POPULAR BLUE-GRAY BLEND FRONT DOOR PAINT COLORS

If navy blue is too strong for your home and personal tastes, cut things back with gray. Colors like Cheating Heart and Web Gray are popular shades for those wanting a slightly (or more) muted shade of blue.

Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart

Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart 

• Benjamin Moore Charcoal Slate
• Sherwin Williams Web Gray
• Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart (can appear blackish at times)
• Benjamin Moore Deep Space
• Benjamin Moore Anchor Gray

Click on the above links to see each color’s FULL COLOR REVIEW (excluding Anchor Gray and Deep Space, which I haven’t done yet – I’M JUST…ONE…WOMAN!).

Based on their names, it’s easy to confuse Benjamin Moore Charcoal Slate and Sherwin Williams Charcoal Blue. HOWEVER, that’s where the real similarities end. Whereas Charcoal Blue has a noticeable, but not overwhelming blue hue, Charcoal Slate is dominated by a solid dark charcoal with a reasonable blue-violet undertone.

Web Gray is great when you want some NOTICEABLE undertone with a more flexible approach to blue. Some blues cater hard to blue-violet or blue-green – not Web Gray; he’s an undertone floozy and can wink at either given the right circumstances.

Benjamin Moore Charcoal Slate

Sherwin Williams Web Gray

Cheating Heart is one of my personal faves, for my own home and my Online Color Consulting. Call it soft black, navy blue, gray-blue – whatever you call it, it’s WICKED pretty. Cheating Heart will flex itself based on its environment, looking more blackish in shaded areas and bluer in the sun.

Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart

If you like Cheating Heart, but your heart pines for just a bit…more…blue, take your lyin’ cheatin’ heart on over to Deep Space. These colors are similar, but Deep Space has a bit more navy blue popping through.

Lastly, Anchor Gray. Anchor Gray is one of the lighter gray blues (before we get into the medium depths). Again, I call it blue; my husband calls it gray – we’ll agree to disagree (but we know I’m right).

5. THE MOST POPULAR GREEN & TEAL-INSPIRED FRONT DOOR PAINT COLORS

There are many ways to approach green front doors – greige, green-gray, BRIGHT green. However, the more classic and muted your shade of green is, the better chance you have of passing it by ye ole HOA.

Benjamin Moore Kitty Gray

As for teal, if you’re hoping for a lovely shade of teal or aquamarine, you might need to find a new neighborhood, as many HOAs are teal-timid and aquamarine-averse. But don’t worry, I have a few that WINK at teal without tipping the scales…

• Benjamin Moore Kitty Gray
• Sherwin Williams Riverway
• Benjamin Moore Sioux Falls
• Sherwin Williams Thunder Gray
• Sherwin Williams Still Water

Kitty Gray is a gorgeous blend of green and gray with a touch of blue for moderation. Some people see it as gray, but if you ask me, it’s definitely green-blue; it’s just SUPER muted.

As for Riverway, I LOVE this color. Not only is it a popular teal-inspired shade for front doors, but it’s also wicked on islands, feature walls, and even entire rooms!

The 7 Best Teal Paint Colors for Front Doors

Sherwin Williams Riverway

Sioux Falls is a more modest approach to teal as it’s lighter and more gentle than most. This combination of color and saturation has most HOAs pretty darn happy. If this is your jam, you might find a few more lighter versions here.

Benjamin Moore Sioux Falls

Sherwin Williams Still Water

Still Water is similar to Riverway, but has a bit more meat on its bones with more depth. However, it shares the same beautiful blue-green blend. As for Thunder Gray, it shifts directions into a LEGIT green, moderated with some greige for warmth…

Sherwin Williams Thunder Gray – COME TO MOMMA! I love this color.

The 15 Best Medium to DARK GREEN Paint Colors

6.  MISC. POPULAR FRONT DOOR COLORS

Sometimes, there isn’t ENOUGH of one type of color to make a full category. In this case, we have a few stragglers coming in at the end that are just as beautiful and can be GREAT options for the average front door and average anal HOA.

• Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (dark greige)
• Sherwin Williams Darkroom (dark violet)

WEIRD, I was so sure I had an exterior door painted Urbane Bronze! Oh well, here it is painted on the inside of my old front door…

Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze VS. The Top Dark Greige Paint Colors

Urbane Bronze is hands-down, the BEST dark greige paint color – for front doors, island, WHATEVER! If you want subtle warmth and subtle color, put this hot shade on your list, just like I put it on my kitchen island…

Last but not least, Darkroom. If you want a hint of violet with a saturated, but grounded base, Darkroom is one of the pretty darn purples on the planet, especially for a classic, slightly traditional-looking front door.

The 9 Best Purple (Violet) Paint Colors

Compare the TOP GREIGES with PEEL & STICK! 

READ MORE

The 9 Best Front Door Paint Colors

5 Steps to Picking Your Home’s Exterior Paint Color

The Best Paint Colors for the INSIDE of Your Front Door

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Chat soon,