Here is Polaris

show us the entire front of the house! can't pick a color only seeing a close up shot.

Is it a tudor? Normally they kept the wood doors. If you use a good Marine Varnish, with UV blockers, the wood will last a lot longer.

I'd prob think about redoing the brown siding to something lighter.

and, is the storm door on most of the year? if so, you could paint it barney purple and no one would see it.

is the glass low e? maybe that's what's retaining the heat.

BTW, this color is hardly a 'daring' pick! It's only paint, so stop fretting about it! if you really don't like it, paint it another color.

I like this color w/the stone, not sure about all of that brown. but until we can see the entire house, it's hard to say

Here’s the whole house

The storm door is kept on all year. I don’t think the glass in the door is low e, so that could contribute greatly to the problem.

Storm doors are almost a necessity in PA, especially if there is no overhang above the door. I would consider something a little brighter than the Polaris. I think the brown siding and trim is handsome.

I’d be happy with a brighter color than Polaris, maybe in that same family?

I’ve been sanding the door lightly to get ready for priming; we recently had a carpenter rehang the door lower as the threshold was extremely high, and that started this whole process. The door was also sticking and very hard to close in summer. Now that it’s closing beautifully, I hesitate to even paint the side of the door.

This is Polaris by Benjamin Moore, you could probably go a little brighter than this, too.

nice looking door, and house.

You could strip it down to raw wood and do a lighter stain.

something like this.

Then the marne varnish. A marine varnish is imperitive for any wood that gets sunlight. It will protect it.

I've used both of these products and can attest to their effectiveness. (this is what is applied to ship decks made of wood)

Or you could try something like Penofin stain/sealer.

What are you plans for the shutters? Leaving them as is? I think you should paint those or remove them.

Here's a quick photoshop w/them removed, a blue gray front door, and the style garage door I think you need.

The more generic looking door you have really doesn't fit the tudor style of your home. What you need is a Carriage garage door style. With the iron hardware and some glass.

At the minimum, you could alter your own garage doo and a row w/grid windows.

Would look Like this: (with a natural wood door. No shutters. new address/light)

I love this front door because it has the diamond beveled glass to match your windows.

this one is great too.

Here's another garage door w/the iron hardware. can you see the difference it and the row of windows could make on your home?

I photoshopped a red door since I think it looks nice w/your brick and the brown. Those shutters, however, need a diff color. Or just remove them and make it like the lower level window.

if you want to paint, you will still need to give that door a good sanding and apply a wood sealer. sand it with 100,150, 220 grits, wiping clean with mineral spirits. now do the wood sealer. You could also spray w/an oil based primer like Zinsser, but the clear wood sealer closes off the grain and allows the paint to go on just like a primer would. the diff is, if you ever wanted to take the door back to wood, it's much easier to get there w/out having white primer stuck in the grain.

If you still want to paint the door, use a good oil base paint if possible. using a latex paint meant for drywall isn't good for the door or the sun its going to get. Do not use a poly clear either. it will crack.

Modern Masters has strictly door paint. Hollandlac has THE best paint. If you have to use the PPG, get the wood trim version and use a varnish over the paint when you're done.

Here are some other photoshop colors. see what you like

I actually like this style door w/this door hardware. (not so much the color blue

This one is close to your PPG color

few other shades

The blue you chose will work, but the shutters on top should be removed. The rest of the house doesn’t have them and they are creating a visual distraction. I also liked the red Beth photoshopped for you. .

I’ve wondered about those shutters. It looks like there were more on the house at one time. Including on the LR leaded glass window.

Your stairway is so lovely, the door it leads to should be equally lovely. If it were my house, I wouid sand the door and stain it with a white color oil stain to get an antique white door that brightens things up and still shows off the pretty woodgrain. Finish with an exterior poly acrylic that won’t yellow. Your home is earth toned, so a color or a paint doesn’t enhance what is there, to my eye. Paint the storm door antique white as well. A soft white or even a brushed metallic gold or bronze paint on the railings would further enhance the pretty entry and balcony.

Thank you Beth for all the information! I had originally intended to sand and stain the door as someone who lived here previously had tried to stain parts of the door with a reddish tinted stain and I wanted to return it to more of its original oak color. The inside of the door is still in perfect (albeit, sort of dark) condition.

Also, I love the thought of doors in the orangey red family but didn’t think it would reflect light as much.

Just playing with some thoughts.

No shutters may leave the home a bit devoid of interest

Could add trim instead of shutters = I like this better

I also thought the brown doors and windows may stand out better if the siding on the front matched the stone.

I think the last one is my favorite, but I may flip the trim on the front to be dark like the windows/doors, back siding.

I really like seeing these ideas, none of which ever occurred to me. The tan siding would really look good if it was in the “plan” right now. And placed on the front peak, it really does allow the door to draw more attention.
I plan to definitely remove the shutters, which I dislike anyway, but you’re correct that the windows kind of disappear. The house has nice Pella wood windows, but no trim around them on the outside, which I think is pretty bland.

Try some different green paint colors.

A brick red color on the door will look great as it will add brightness and will help to incorporate the brick siding into the overall design.

I understand all that's involved here is finding a paint colour for your door, you do not have plans on painting or replacing anything else. With that in mind, here are my suggestions. A blue paint colour would complement the dark brown nicely. However I would remove the shutters on the 2 floor windows above the entrance as there seems to be no shutters elsewhere. I would suggest however that you replace the sconce at the front door with a larger one and plant taller flower arrangements in your pots on the porch so that they are visible. You can also plant flowering perennials in your flowerbed for more curb appeal and contrast with all the dark colours..

PS Just noticed you have a lamp post next to the stairs so you can change the top part to match the sconce.

I would consider Cherokee Red as that would echo the brick and brighten the front without being to bold.

Sometimes the least expensive small changes can make a world of difference.

My last home - before and after changing trim color and the color on the peak over the garage.

exterior · More Info

exterior · More Info

The stain failure, a lot can be blamed on the storm door. That and the west light could start a fire. Be careful with wreaths.

A front door looks best when the frame of the storm is the same color.

“That and the west light could start a fire. Be careful with wreaths.”

Have never heard of this ever happening. the glass could shatter, but I seriously doubt it will catch anything on fire.

If that could happen^^, there would be curtains on west facing windows combusting all over the world.

Just wanted to thank everyone so much for all the ideas and informative conversation. The door is done and the shutters will be coming down. My husband had originally suggested a celery green for the door to give it some pop and lighten it up, but you all helped cinch the idea. When I had the wreath on the door, it was impossible to see the pretty detail of the glass with a diamond shape to match the windows, so I’ll keep the door bare or hand a lower wreath.

Great color!

And one last pic to show how the green door brightens things up

Now I need to get busy with the pressure washing!

So welcoming!

Looks great! That green is perfect!