Front Porch Reveal + New Door Color
Is your front porch in need of an update? I’m loving our new wrought iron front door color, the refreshed pewter grey stain and pretty fall plants!
A couple weeks ago, I asked you all to weigh in on which color I should paint my front door. Thank you for the feedback! The top response was blue, with black and yellow being close contenders. Basically, it was a mixed bag, which meant I probably couldn’t go wrong with any of my considerations.
To refresh your memory, this is what our front door and porch looked like BEFORE.
How I Selected Our New Door Color
As I always do when selecting paint colors, I held my fan deck up in the location and began flagging colors that stood out to me. I then taped the larger swatches from my Benjamin Moore color kit to the door and stood back. It didn’t take long for certain colors to jump out, and I quickly had it narrowed down to (you guessed it) blue, yellow and black!
Yellow was the next color I eliminated as an option. Our house faces southwest and yellow was far too bright with the sun shining on it. I could also tell by my husband’s less than stellar reaction and my son’s shoulder shrug that it wasn’t their favorite color (although they usually defer to me when it comes to decorating decisions). Blue and black, however, were capturing my attention equally. I decided to sleep on it (all this over a door color!).
The next day, I considered our landscaping colors which made my decision much easier. Not only do we have a large tree with plum foliage on it throughout the summer, but most of the perennials in our front yard have purple or yellow blooms. I felt that adding blue would just be too much color. In addition, I’ve always loved the sophisticated and classic look of a black door.
Front Porch Reveal
After looking at several blacks, I decided on Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron. It has a blue undertone, which seems to complement our siding and trim.
Wrought Iron looks more charcoal or navy in the direct sun, especially with the semi-gloss finish, but I love the richness it brings to our front porch.
I typically like to change the decorating seasonally, and this new door color serves as a nice backdrop to my fall planter.
This year, I went with something a little different. After visiting a local garden center, I was immediately smitten with this ornamental kale for its vibrant color and texture. For height and added color, I also picked up this green mountain boxwood.
The small thyme plant was transplanted from my small kitchen container garden I created in the spring.
To freshen up the rest of the front porch, I re-stained everything similar to the existing light grey and charcoal colors. I then applied a clear coat to the deck surface to keep it low maintenance.
I’d like to add an outdoor rug if I can find one the right size, as well as a chair on the left hand side to make the space more inviting. Perhaps I’ll wait until spring.
To soften the rock (and replace our evergreens that were not-so-evergreen), I planted two ornamental grasses (prairie dropseed and moor flame) and an atomic lilac. They look small right now, but they will fill in eventually (fingers crossed they survive the winter).
I’m relieved that we’ve had such a beautiful fall and I’ve been able to get all of this completed before the snow flies. To me our house feels so much more welcoming and I find myself using the front door a little more than necessary!
Outdoor Paint and Stain Details
- Front door paint color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron 2124-10 (exterior)
- Trim, railing and risers: Pewter by Behr (solid stain)
- Column and skirting: Light Lead by Behr (solid stain)
- Deck surface: Olympic Maximum in transparent
More Curb Appeal Ideas
Update: Check out the yellow bench I added to our front porch.
Thinking about a new door color? Take a look at some of my top exterior paint picks!
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Enjoy your day!
Beautiful choice, Shauna! Love the planter with the ornamental cabbage – one of my favorites for fall!
the new color looks great, and i so want to add some kale to my planters this year. that purple is crazy bright!
Yes, loving the kale this year. Thanks for popping by!
I absolutely love the color of your front door, the charcol color in the light is unreal. The curb appeal is so inviting!
It looks great. That’s a wonderful colour!
It looks great! Isn’t it such a relief to pick a paint color? I love the cabbage in the planter, too.
Its looks great Shauna! Love the planter as well
You definitely didn’t go wrong with your colour choice, Shauna! It’s really pretty, and I think it will look amazing in the winter light, too!
You can’t go wrong with a black door! So classic! It looks great!
Thanks Melissa! I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Your porch looks great! I’ve always wanted an ornamental kale, but then I get to the garden store and end up with another mum. One of these years I will have one! We planted an ornamental grass this past spring when we did our front landscaping over and I thought it would take a couple of years before it covered our gas meter, but it has grown so much in a couple of months that it totally filled in the space.
Angela
Great to hear about the grass. I’m hoping it survives the winter and fills in nicely next summer. Mums are really nice too. That’s what I usually buy, but I changed it up with the kale this year and people seem to really notice it. Thanks for stopping by!
I love the kale! Awesome landscape picks! XO, Aimee
Thanks Aimee! I’m crossing my fingers they’ll make it through the winter.
What a beautiful porch! Do you happen to know the name of the paint color of your door frame/window shutters? I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks
Thanks Martina! The trim color is Pewter by Behr.
what clear coat did you use on your deck (everything is lovely)? Are you pleased with how it held u? Did it yellow at all? Thanks
Hi Chris, I used Olympic Maximum in transparent. I does hold up well and didn’t seem to yellow much even though it gets a fair bit of sun.
What colour did you paint your shutters and trim? I really like that colour!!!!!!
Hi Jessica, The trim colour is Pewter by Behr (from Home Depot).
What a beautiful porch. What color stain are the deck and stairs?
Hi Ken, The dark grey solid stain is Pewter by Behr. The wood was coated in Olympic Maximum transparent. Hope this helps :)
I know you did this a long time ago but what is old becomes new again and I am loving my newly painted front door. I chose BM Kendall Charcoal and wanted to know what you chose for your garage door paint (If you have a garage door) I can’t afford a new one or I would do a wood grain door. I am always of the mindset that the garage door doesn’t get painted the same as the front door. Even as a little girl my Mom always painted her front door a different colour. Some of my favorites were a dark rose pink and a dark forest green. The garage was always a mid tone beige type colour because our brick was a dull yellow. I am thinking of putting rockport gray on my garage door. New roof is going in soon and I chose charcoal. Just wanted to know your thoughts on selecting a garage door colour to compliment your front door :)
Hi Kate, Our garage door is a tad lighter than our siding. It’s basically an off-white with a touch of grey. Our shingles are a deep charcoal too, with black light fixtures and accents. Personally, I like garage doors to blend a bit more with the siding unless they’re a feature (which it sounds like yours isn’t).
HI, what color is your window shutters?
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, The shutters are colour-matched to Behr Pewter Solid stain to go with the trim around our door and front porch railing. Hope this helps!