Dawn, thank you for agreeing on the color!! I'm so excited to see how it looks when the new door is installed. Is it crazy to be excited about a door?? Hopefully it will be all complete by early next week. I will definitely ask about using a darker primer before painting. The door I purchased is pre-primed white. I painted my kitchen red and it took 6 coats. I don't blame your painter for being ill after 4 coats, but he/she should have known better :)...umm that is if the painter was a hired professional and not your DH or BF.

judi1051... thanks for your good wishes. We also went with cobblestone hardiplank ,with some hardi shake thrown in sparingly, and white trim :) We stained the door, sidelights & transom in a medium colored stain - I can't remember the mix exactly. It came out beautifully! It's hard to tell from the original picture, but we specified 18" wide sidelights & had the transom custom made by Simpson to line up with the door beneath. It didn't cost us much more & I think it added substantially to the overall look. Good luck with your door quest & new home!

You get morning sun and no screen door to create an oven-like airspace to bake your door which means there's no technical reason why you couldn't go darker. Of course, a darker stain color is typically higher maintenance but other than that it seems it's really about design and aesthetics. Which stain color goes with the Dryvit gray best? Is the doorway inset and would the shaded inset plus the darker stain color on the door make it look like a black hole? In other words, do you need the lighter color on the door so it can be seen easier/better from the curb?

Your entrance has great bones and I love the stone work. Take away the tiny rug and if you want a rug it should be of a much more substantial size, rectangular. The pots on either side need to go, they are too small and neutral. If you want to have pots they should be much larger, dark cast iron. such a low light area means plants don't belong there so fill with dried element s if you like that look. Maybe lighting needs to be improved by installing pot lights that would illuminate the area beautifully. A brighter paint on the front door night also help spruce up the area and bring focus to the home entrance.