Doors are as much a statement about you as the clothes you choose to wear. Christy, what are you talking about? Yes, it’s true. The front door is the first thing guests see upon entering your home. Inside the house, the interior doors also matter, and it’s important that they blend nicely with the rest of the room design. Let’s talk about the psychology behind color today, as it relates to the doors of your residence.
Unfinished doors
When most people think of door colors, they think of the front door. There are also interior doors, which can come in any color.
Unfinished doors are wooden doors that come without varnish or paint. They’re available from Online Door Store.
Doors can be tricky to paint, but worth it if you really want to add your personality to your home. They need to be laid flat to prevent drips and leave a smooth finish.
They also require drying time in between and often multiple coats. Unfinished doors allow each side to be painted a different shade, if you want, for a neat effect.
If you want to do that, then match the hue to each side facing a hallway. If that sounds like too much effort, finished doors come in a large variety of light and dark finishes to suit each personality.
On the psychology behind color
Generally speaking, different colors have different feelings associated with them and can even impact people’s moods. That’s why it’s something that interior designers consider when doing big and small projects for their clients.
A black and red room may make some people feel claustrophobic, for example. The hidden meanings are on a spectrum going from positive to negative.
Red can vary from lust, power, and excitement to anger. Yellow can relate to competence and happiness to cheapness and low quality at the negative end. As for blue, it is traditionally associated with boys (although I like to think that is changing), and it can also bring relaxation.
Pink is traditionally associated with girls and femininity, although I want to say that I love when guys wear pink and that I’m not a fan of associating certain colors with gender! As for purple, it relates to sophistication and power.
Green can relate to both envy and health but when combined with brown and other earth tones, can be relaxing. Then there is orange, which correlates with warmth and excitement.
Here I’m including black and white, although that’s up for discussion as they are not technically physical colors. Black is diverse, associated with grief and death at one end and sophistication at the other. White has a simplicity and elegance about it.
Door colors
Door hues aren’t going to venture very far from these basic meanings that happen at a very primitive level. As long you stay away from gaudy shades and the door complements its surroundings, most people seeing the door are going to see it in a positive spectrum. Unless that is, the individual tends to look at things negatively or has a bad association with a particular color.
While many people choose neutral shades for their front door, you don’t have to! Last night, we saw a home with a yellow front door and I loved it.
Or, what about purple to make your home look sophisticated from the outside? Orange, when done right, looks exciting and unique.
As for blue, it signifies trustworthiness, which is why a lot of businesses incorporate it into their business logo, website, and other branding materials. Green is lackluster, usually, unless you go vivid. Black is a serious one but has great dramatic flair when accented by the right trim color.
You could always go with plain wood instead. That has a natural look about it.
Red is exciting, for sure. Brown is plain but can have warmth when it’s a light shade.
Final words on the psychology behind color
To find the best hue for the exterior and interior doors of your residence, think about the surroundings, such as the color and style of the rest of the house. To put it simply, consider the surroundings when painting a door as well as your personality.
What shade is your home’s front door, and does knowing more about the psychology of colors make you want to change it or keep it the same?
Hi there. I don’t have the courage to use an eye-popping color for my front door, or for any part of my house. But I wish I did!
Oh yes! At one point my parents had a cotton candy pink door ;)
Ours is a burnt orange on the exterior and I love it! My husband keeps threatening to paint it but I won’t let him :)
Haha! You know what, I love burnt orange (had it in my condo) and my hubby loathes it. He had to paint over it 3 coats in the living room of my condo when I sold it! He loves to tell the story ;) Haha we have that color in common!
Our front door is the original farmhouse door and is wooden. Like all South African homes, it is covered by heavy barred gates because of all the crime. Our security gate is very ornate so we are lucky.
At least you’ve made the security feature a nice-looking one, Robbie. A farmhouse door sounds nice.
Lobe this and it made me feel glad on my choices of colors before knowing any of this. Thank you for sharing.
There’s so many shades to choose from!
Yes! I agree.
Fascinating article about colors and the image they might project in your mind. Hope you are doing well, Christy.
Thank you, Linnea. I’m keeping myself busy, and hope you’re staying healthy too xx Wishing you all the best