Kats,

Just had to respond to your post because we have traveled to Ireland several times and love all those beautiful doors. I never heard the one about the drunk husband finding his way home but it makes sense, lol. Perhaps you found the reason I'm struggling with this; part of me wants that warm welcoming look but I also want to have what will look best on the house. Thanks for your thoughts, they make sense.

We have a stained fiberglass garage entry door and it looks fabulous! My neighbors have the same doors for their front doors and they look great.

Your home looks just like a home my sister once had in Winston Salem.

My door is stained fiberglass. I don't think there was a difference in quality, we just had to request the textured kind. You asked for a pic so here it is...

Mimi, thank you. Your doors look great! What type of stain did you use? I got a reprieve since the temperature got too cold today and they caulked but didn't do any painting.

We built the house this past year so the painters did the door as well as the rest of the house. I don't know what brand or anything the stain was, I just know they kept referring to it as a "gel stain" that was special for staining fiberglass. I watched them brush it on then they put polyurethane over it. Hope that helps!

This is probably too bright for your situation, but I love my yellow door. I have an orangy-red brick, too. Before the yellow, I had a dark terra-cotta-ish, barn red. Very rich and dark.
{{gwi:680593}}

The yellow/gold shook up the neighborhood for a while, but I can live with that. GRIN. And it *glows* in the winter grayness. In the summer it blends with the foliage and flowers. It makes me very happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul

Wondering what finish the copper roof will have -- will it age naturally to a dark copper and black or are you going with a verdigris look?

Squirrel,

I told the roofer that I wanted the copper to age with the darker look. I love the verdigris but wasn't sure that would work on my house; tend to see that more on stucco and stone houses, not so much with the reddish brick. Of course, nothing's set in stone yet since the roof isn't coming on until tomorrow. I have a reprieve until after Christmas from the painters, thank goodness. I never thought I would have the problem of workers getting finished too quickly! Thanks for checking in.

Beautiful new addition to a very classic house.

My first choice would be a stained wood door.
2nd choice would be the same as shutters/black door.

Either/both with the kickplate/door knocker/ nice handset.

Smiles:)

I just saw a Hallmark commercial where the carolers are going door to door with a card. The first house looks like yours with the red brick, and curved porch roof. Looks like they have a burnish red door.

Here is my fiberglass stained door going into the garage. The stain is Minwax fast drying and stain and poly. Sorry, I don't have a can to see the color.

Newhomebuilder, that looks great! You mean you can stain a fiberglass door? I had no idea. What color was it before you started?

Maybe I'll try that on my front door. But it might be metal. Heck, I dunno what it is, but it's not wood. How can I tell since it was there when I bought the house?

newhomebuilder~ I too am wondering what that door looked like before it was stained. I had fiberglass doors priced for our new build (from a box store). They were supposed to be "stainable" doors. Perfect. I'm in a humid climate. I wanted darker doors. Well, in talking with another salesperson at the box store, they said I'd have to use a faux woodgraining kit and paint to make them look stained. What? HOw does that equal a stained door?

Anyhoo, the doors I chose were exactly like yours. So I'm hoping you'll say they were the "primed" cheapo doors from a box store. I'd be thrilled to know I could buy them and have them look like that! Please do share any info. you can on your doors. They are gorgeous!

jjam~ My vote is for shiny black with that gorgeous facade. But I know it is not in the running, so my 2nd vote is for RED.... a bright, strong red. Love the idea of the kickplate, big knocker, etc. :o)

Gorgeous home. Beautiful tree too! You're working with great features. REally, any of your mentioned choices will look good! :o)

Oceanna, try putting a magnet on your door -if it sticks, it is steel. If it doesn't, it is fiberglass.

I think a green, maybe just a bit lighter than the shutters, maybe even a lighter green, would look really great with the copper roof you describe. My second choice might be a rich black.

Don't know what style leaded glass windows you're putting in, but HTH :)

I think it's pretty flexible. (Trying to bring a little copper to the roof with those pieces.)

Love a beautiful classic home!

{{!gwi}}

Squirrel,

As the kids say, OMG!!!!

You are a magician. Wow, and I can honestly say I love all of them, which is good, since it means I almost can't make a BAD decision. Thank you so much.

You've all been so great with your ideas, what do y'all think??

BTW it's raining here this morning, so no copper roof yet...

I vote red or stained! The white doesn't do anything for me in the above pix.

To all those that wanted to know about my door. It is an unfinished (not primed)stainable, fiberglass door.

I thought I would like red and I do. LOVE it in squirrels mock ups! The others don't look bad but the red looks very classy.

I like the red(thanks for the visual squirrel!), but I think a stained dark russet red would be pretty too. I dont care for the white, its alittle flat? Lovely home!

I agree, not a red, red, but something to compliment the brick. Pick one of the deeper red bricks as a guide. Also, get your painters to help you. They might say, "oh, we just painted Mrs. So-in-so's front door a similar color and we think it would look great on your house."

The red looks fabulous! White to me looks like it's unfinished. You have a beautiful home!

I think the white is very simple and classic, it settle quietly in the neighborhood :) White doors are beautiful, the virtual door is not crisp and beautiful in its detailing.

That being said, I like them all and think you have a lot of flexibility. Just need to get the tones right. I esp love the red and also the lighter green which is a gorgeous complement to copper patinas.

The red in the virtual is actually a burgundy type red, not too blue though, which I think looks great with the brick, but I am one that does like red/orange combinations.

If there are a number of people in the neighborhood with red doors, maybe do something different?

Which would make you smile and feel good coming up the drive?

Thanks all for your great ideas. I'm also drawn to the red, and seeing it in the virtuals makes such a difference. I thought I'd love the white, or the very light green, but it doesn't seem to stand up to the size and scale of the porch in the photo. I had thought, as Les pointed out, that it would be wise to let the leaded glass and copper make their statement without a competing color, but now I think it needs a strong color to balance their impact. I hadn't thought so much about the copper roof, but can see what a difference it will make. Weather permitting, it's going to be put on tomorrow. The darker green certainly looks good but that is what I see the most in my neighborhood; that is, the door and shutters the same color, usually black. Not as many red doors as you would think, especially on red brick homes. There are quite a few stained doors and lots of white or black. I do love a warm, welcoming look to the door and the red paint or red stain would certainly do that.

Squirrel, was that red you used a specific color name? Like from a paint program??

Hmmm, it's a Squirrel-y mix, of course, but take a look at BM's Classic Burgundy. Don't have it in front of me right now, but I remember it looking somewhat like that. Not real brown, not real blue. It's been a reliable favorite on the board, I think.

The paint program colors aren't accurate anyway, so I just mix and play with the tones. Far more entertaining too :)

Do you have a picture of the glass side panels?

The panels are going to be made but will be fairly simple design as they are not very large; 36" long. Basically it will be a diamond pattern with the round bead in between, stacked vertically. Glass will be beveled. I've been looking at Classic Burgundy, so will get a sample of it and start playing. Thanks again for your wonderful virtuals. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Cottage Red is another popular here, but from the pics I've seen it's more orange and brown a red than the virtual, and maybe not as deep. Hard to say irl, as lighting makes all the difference and photographs aren't true to life anyway. I'd try both and see the difference between the two.

Maybe something in between will be what you like -- which your paint store may be able to adjust a sample for you. Or, if you don't mind mixing your own paints, you could try mixing both to adjust your own color on sample boards. Say, try half & half and see what that proportion does. After you find the right balance, then take it to the store and have the custom color read in and mixed up.

I am thinking a rich color or stain it a wood color. I had a white door when I first built (three & a half yrs. ago) and when I painted the door a color.......I was like, wow, why didn't I paint it earlier. I like a white doors but color is so much more fun!

bonnie

I love a red tone! White isn't doing anything for me either. The only other color I was thinking was navy.

Good luck and make sure you let us see the results!

Red and gold (yellow) doors say "welcome."

We had a red front door (Benjamin Moore Cottage Red) - I liked it a lot but found it limiting. I love to decorate my door with wreaths, baskets, etc....and found that red does not generally look good with spring pastels, tends to blend in or clash with other reds and generally can be limiting. We painted our door black and everything I put on that door stands out and looks good.

Wanted to get a better white and the stain on there for you, along with some leaded glass sidelights (have to squint on those :) Did the red again on the better door pic and added a bright red since a lot of people like those. HTH!

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I've seen you around here today :) .... bump!

Yikes, Squirrel, I thought this thread was slipping away...thanks for the bump!!! and oh my goodness, the plot thickens. I was ready for a can of BM classic burgundy mixed with some cottage red, and now I still love that but also love the stained option. You did a fabulous job on the sidelights; although they are not full length; will be halfway up; lining up with the panels of the door. The ones that are in place are too small and the contractor goofed on the size. The glass pattern looks very similar.

There is a thread here devoted to decorating mistakes, and I may be ready to add one after seeing these photos...I already have an antique brass handleset on the door and now I am wishing for a polished brass one. The reason I went that route in the first place is that our polished brass stuff hasn't aged well. Maybe we just didn't buy good quality (it was 15 years ago, and we were pretty busy with our kids then) but wonder if anyone has had good luck with theirs. I like the brass to age naturally, without the artificial shiny look. In any case, if I find something I like there may be an antique brass lockset on craigslist in the near future!

Squirrel, your photoshop skills are amazing. I think you have successfully narrowed down the three best options for my door; stained, red, or a lighter grey/green. I can't thank you enough for showing them so beautifully. I was The copper roof is on and it looks great; just like the one in your photos. My heart is saying red and my head is saying stained or light green, so I may let DH decide. Further comments are always welcome... and have a wonderful Holiday season.

P.S. Painters really do come the day after Christmas..(!)

Painters really do come the day after Christmas..(!)

lol! Torture them for me, will ya :)

You're welcome and glad it helped! The stain does look very nice.

Absolutely. Getting known for that around here!! Luckily I have very patient painters and a contractor sent straight from heaven. Thanks again...

Then they're worth their weight in gold!

Good luck! I guess it'll be a surprise for us all out here come Wednesday. -- Maybe for you too!

I vote for the dark red, but I agree that red, green, and stain all look good in the mockups. Tough decision!

I didn't think I would like the red, but now that I've seen squirrel's mockups, that's my favorite.

Laurie

Me, too. The dark red is beautiful.

Did the painters come?

Nothing yet; it poured rain here all day yesterday (hooray, we need it) so they are supposed to be here today. Might be too cold to paint, though! I guess I've waited this long, another day or two won't matter.

Good Morning, I just wanted to mention that I watched Home Alone this week(didnt everyone?)and their house is remarkably similar to yours,even the arch entry. They have dark shutters and the door is black. Just a thought,I know alot of people use that house for decorating inspiration(read that somewhere)Good Luck!

snagd, thanks for your thoughts. Having my house compared to the Home Alone House is reason enough to feel that adding the arched portico was well worth the investment. I may check it out today as no sign of painters yet and I think they may be staying away since it's still pretty damp and cold here. And we may not be able to be here tomorrow so who knows when this thing will finally be done!

You have such a beautiful home. Just classic.

RED! I vote for red. It is striking and welcoming all at the same time.

If the wood in the door is stain grade then I vote for the stained..........simply because mine are stained! ;)
But, IMO, it seems to give your home a more 'stately' appearance.

The painters would be wise to stay away until the weather is accommodating. You will have a better outcome and a much prettier front entrance.

Ath this point I think it may be awhile. After balmy temperatures for so long things have turned cold and damp, not a good combination for painting. I'm waiting for the new sidelights to come in and may just wait for them to complete the whole thing at once. In the meantime, I have the luxury of more time to make a decision that is pretty much guaranteed to look good no matter what I do, thanks to squirrel's mockups. No lost sleep over this one!

You're right, whatever you do will look great!

Perhaps, a blessing in disguise as it gives you time to contemplate your decision.

I really like the red! Stain would be my second choice.

Now that you have some time, you might buy a few pieces of foam core or posterboard and get some craft paints that are close to the colors you are considering. Paint them and tape them up on the door and take a look up close, from the street, etc. It isn't a perfect way, of course, as the paint colors will be richer, etc. But it might help you narrow down the choices.