There’s nothing more welcoming than a front porch. Whether you’re seated outside with a morning cup of coffee or taking a “porchtrait” with your family, this outdoor haven gets a lot of attention. Give your porch a colorful update with these three ideas.

Featured Color: Clary Sage SW 6178
Refresh Your Door
Creating a warm and welcoming look starts with giving your front door a fresh coat of paint or stain. Whether you go bold with color or keep it neutral, this simple DIY takes less than a day to complete and gives your porch an instant facelift.

Featured Colors: Urbane Bronze SW 7048 & Tricorn Black SW 6258
Accent the Ceiling
Adding a pop of color to your porch’s ceiling is an easy way to add a little bit of personality. Pull color inspiration from your shutters to create a seamless look or stick with light and airy hues to create a space that feels open and inviting.

Featured Color: White Flour SW 7102
Accessorize
Ready to add the final touches? It’s all in the details. Creating a lived-in look is the secret to DIYing a picture-perfect front porch. Whether it’s rattan seating or a potted fiddle leaf tree, accessorizing allows you to create a space you’ll enjoy using day after day.
Feeling inspired to freshen up your front porch? Let’s make your inspiration a reality. Book a FREE Virtual Color Consultation with one of our color experts to bring your color to life. And be sure to share your front porches and porchtraits with us by tagging your social media posts with #SWColorLove for a chance to be featured in our gallery.
I’m anticipating painting the exterior of my home. I have some wood siding and garage doors and wood front doors that I am thinking of doing in the peppercorn Sw7674 that you featured awhile ago. I have bright white eaves but am looking for a little lighter shade of gray for the stucco. Any suggestions?
Hi Debbie, Some grays that would look great with Peppercorn are:
Earl Grey SW 7660
African Gray SW 9162
Gray Shingle SW 7670
I wish we could post pictures of our house with the great color of SW Salty Dog on my shutters and entrance door.
So glad we went with this color.
Fantastic color!
Hi Keith! You can upload your project to our #SWColorLove gallery here: #SWColorLove Gallery
Would like to paint our front door but screen door a chocolate, and would love paint it peppercorn would it look OK thanks for your help. Ken
Hello Ken! We agree, chocolate would look great. Peppercorn is more of a black. For more of a chocolate, look at:
Rookwood Dark Brown SW 2808
Plantation Shutters SW 7520
Sable SW 6083
Would like some help with picking colors to update my front porch. The vinyl exterior of the house is sort of a robin blue color maybe a lottle deeper; shutters are white with black accents; front door is white; kind of boring; also hand rails along stairs are black wrought iron; what do you think
Hello Linda! Your home sounds lovely- a classic combo. What exactly are you painting? The porch floor, ceiling, what other items are included on the porch?
I’m looking for a standout out blue of some sort for my front door. My house is a Cape Cod style, color gray, about a medium gray, definitely not dark. Trim white. Any ideas?
Hi Charleen! As you know, grays have been popular for quite some time no with no sign of disappearing anytime soon. One reason for this is how many color families look great with gray. For instance, on your home, we could see your door being a yellow, green or navy blue. Any of those three color families would work. Which color family appeals to you the most? Let us know and we can give you some specific colors.
Great blοg you hɑve here but I was wondering if you knew of any dіscuѕsion boards that cover
the same toρics discussed in this article? I’ԁ really lօve to be a part of online cߋmmunity where
I cɑn get commеnts from other experienced people that ѕһare tһe same interest.
If you have any recommendations, pleaѕe let me know. Thank you!
looking for inspiration for my front door. exterior walls are escape grey 6185 and trim color around windows is classical white 2829, those are approved HOA colors for our community. I like Poolhouse 7603, Jazz Age coral 0058, and peppercorn 7674. afraid coral is too bold and the others too dark, any other suggestions for a pop of color that would go well with grey and white?
Hi Karen, gray and white make for a timeless palette and a pop of color on the door will make your house look “young and fun”. Neither Poolhouse nor Peppercorn have enough “pop” to make them work. If Jazz Age Coral is too bold for you, consider using a pretty yellow like Butter Up SW 6681 or Cupola Yellow SW 7692 for a zippy pop to your home.
we are painting our small house alpaca with pure white trim. i want a bold door but not too crazy. leaning toward teal, any suggestions? i like lazy dog but i also like splashy or loch blue…?
Hi Lisa, a teal door would look great. Stick with a teal on the blue side – the Splashy is too green. Take a look at Loch Blue SW 6502 or Teal Stencil SW 0018 or Peacock Plume SW 0020.
Just bought a house with a ton of yellow pine cabinets what’s the best color blue to tone down the yellow
Hello there, any of these blues would look fantastic with the honey tones of yellow pine. Take a look at Niebla Azul SW 9137, Lakeside SW 9683 or Upward SW 6239.
We are looking to repaint our trim. Our exterior home is dovetail and the trim is an off white but we want to go darker. What colors would recommend to go with dovetail and something for the front door.
Hi Candy! Two trim colors that would complement Dovetail beautifully are Shoji White SW 7042 and Natural Choice SW 7011, either of those would look great. Now, on to your front door. Did you want a color or did you want to stay in the Dovetail family and go darker on your door? If you are open to a color, yellow and green would work, do you prefer one over the other?
My house has Cedar Green siding and darker shade of Cedar green on shutters. My front door is deep red but storm door is white. I want to paint the storm doors. Should I go with the Red or the Green to match shutters? or possibly Black to match lanterns and mailbox on the house? Help?
Hi Cindy! Your storm door should be the same color as your front door, they are one unit.
Hi Leah! The door color is Salty Dog SW 9177.
Hi. I need some help with exterior paint colors for my home. My outside siding color is SW3004 Summerhouse Beige and my windows are trimmed in white. I need color ideas for my shutters and front door. Thanks!
Hi Karmy! Consider painting your front door and shutters the same color to create an intentional, cohesive palette. Look at using either a charcoal gray or navy blue. Check out these options:
Navy Blue Charcoal Gray
SW 2740 Mineral Gray SW 7068 Grizzle Gray
SW 9177 Salty Dog SW 2849 Westchester Gray
I am looking for a color for my three outdoor Berkeley Forge Benches. I am repainting my home in Pavilion Beige (SW 7512) with a Stucco (SW 7569) trim. The front door will be Fired Brick (SW 6335) and I am wondering what color I should use for the bench slats. The metal supports for the bench will be in black. One of the benches will be next to the front door and the other two will be in the rear of my home in the yard. Is red too bold for these type of benches?
Hello Eleanor, the red in Fired Brick SW 6335 would be a fantastic choice for all three of your benches. Repetition of color creates a cohesive, intentional palette, painting the benches in the back yard Fired Brick will create a curated look for your home.
Our house is brick which has a hint of pink in the brick, with white trim. What would be a nice color for our front door? It is currently white.
Hello Melanie, I think a French blue color would look stunning on your home. Check out:
SW 9146 Faded Flaxflower
SW 6241 Aleutian
SW 9147 Favorite Jeans
It is always best to look at color in your lighting. Order some free sample chips from our website to determine which color will work best for you.
We live in a brick house and the brick has a pink hue to it. There are no shutters but all the trim is white and the roof is black. The front of the house in lined with pink Crepe Myrtle tree’s. What is a good color for our front door? It is currently white.
Hello Melanie, I think a French blue color would look stunning on your home. Check out:
SW 9146 Faded Flaxflower
SW 6241 Aleutian
SW 9147 Favorite Jeans
It is always best to look at color in your lighting. Order some free sample chips from our website to determine which color will work best for you.
I want to paint my front door an attention-getting color that will harmonize with pink flowers in the landscape. My steel roof is a medium green; siding is beige, shutters are black (but could also be painted).
We’d like to get a better sense of your space before making a recommendation. Sign up for a free Virtual Color Consultation here: https://www.sherwinwilliams.com/homeowners/color/lead-cs
I am looking for a color to paint my white front door. My home is a deep variegated red brick with black shutters, white trim and a black roof. The door is set back on the porch and I want it to “pop” more. Any suggestions? Should I also paint my white 2 car garage door and shutters to match the front door?
Hello Marie, Consider using one of these pretty blues with subtle purple undertone for your door and shutters – leave garage white:
SW 6537 Luxe Blue
SW 6543 Soulful Blue
SW 9072 Dried Lavender
It is always best to look at color in your lighting. Order some free sample chips from our website to determine which color will work best for you.
Trying to decide on front door color. House is Thunder Gray with Origami White trim. Thanks
Consider using a striking teal color to pop against the saturated color of your home – look at SW 9059 Silken Peacock or SW 0018 Teal Stencil. It is always best to look at color in your lighting. Order some free sample chips from our website to determine which color will work best for you.
The body of my house is Cardboard with Pure White trim, shutters are black. I’d like to paint the porch ceiling but not sure what would look good for a subtle pop of color. Can you give me any ideas?
Hello Deborah, are you interested in a “haint” blue for your porch ceiling? It is a light blue used to ward off spider and wasp nests (and ghosts). Let us know if you want that or what color family you are interested in. Thanks again.