Should you paint your garage door and front door the same color?

The colors chosen for the exterior of a home are an important factor in its aesthetic appeal. Whether you should match hues or not is one of the questions you’ll need to consider, so should you paint your garage door and front door the same color?

Creating curb appeal means considering elements like front yard landscaping, but the exterior color palette for the house itself is equally crucial, and both the garage door and the front door make a significant impact.

To assist in your decision-making we asked the experts to share their opinions on matching – or complementing – the two features when creating a great exterior and this is their advice.

Should the garage door and the front door match?

The front porch and the front door can create a great first impression of your home. But equally important is the garage door, whose size ensures it’s a prominent feature.

While garage door replacement is possible, paint can give it an instant upgrade and color counts, so we asked design pros whether the same shade or a different one from that of the front door is preferable.

Match then contrast

Matching the garage door and front door while creating contrast with the façade of the house is a good strategy, according to Margine Biswas, principal of Archiphy Architects and Interiors.

‘To achieve a harmonious appearance, it is a good idea to select the same colors for both the entrance and garage doors,’ she recommends. ‘Opting for a contrasting color from the façade will make these doors stand out as focal points.

‘In this home, above, the front door and the garage door are the focal point, and choosing a bold hue creates a striking contrast against the lighter tones of the exterior walls,’ she says.

‘This choice adds a sense of sophistication and personality to the façade while drawing attention to the entries. Choosing a lighter shade for the walls, such as crisp white or soft beige, creates balance and harmony with the darker tones of the doors, resulting in a cohesive and eye-catching exterior.

‘This interplay of dark and light colors enhances the home's architectural features and lends it a contemporary and inviting allure, making a memorable statement to visitors and passersby.’

Let the front door stand out

Choosing different colors for the two doors is the best strategy for Trina Rogers, certified color consultant, Five Star Painting, a Neighborly company.

‘Since in most cases the front door is the main entrance for guests to enter your home, I prefer to let it stand out with a unique accent color,’ she says. ‘For the garage door, keeping it either the body color or trim color will allow it to blend into the home for a more cohesive look. The garage door is a large surface area that could end up stealing the attention from the front door if they are both the same color.

‘If you prefer an overall more subdued color scheme for your home, try painting the front door a few shades lighter or darker than the body color to help it stand out a bit more while keeping the garage door the same as the body color.’

Consider the overall impression

The decision on whether the garage door and the front door should be painted the same color depends on the effect you want to create, says Rick Berres, owner of remodeling specialists Honey-Doers.

‘If you’re going for a low key kind of exterior design – say, white on white – then yeah, you want both doors to be the same color, because you’re not having a lot of other accent colors,’ he advises. ‘Same if you’re painting the home white or light gray or sage green or something, and you’re painting the doors and windows black or charcoal. You want them all to be the same, for a seamless cohesive design.

‘Now, if you’re going for a different, more cottagey look, perhaps – a red door, a yellow house? – then you can paint your garage door white, or navy, and it won’t be distracting, because it fits. What would be distracting is if you painted the garage door red, as well, just because your front door is red. That’s a... bold choice.’

Think about the exterior design

Whether to match or not is the right strategy depends on the exterior design and the overall look of the home you are trying to achieve, according to Jeff Akerman, strategic construction advisor at Real Estate Bees.

‘Typically, we match the front door, garage door, and window trim for uniformity and cohesiveness,’ he explains. ‘However, in our more modern designs, it may depend on the field color around each area and the style of the doors themselves.

‘Some homeowners prefer one singular bright pop of color, which can be a red or yellow front door with the typical white, black, or glass garage doors. In this example, it would be too much to match the color of both.

‘Bear in mind that using the exact same color is certainly not a necessity in any case. Matching can mean complementing colors or just a similar color family.

‘Interestingly enough, many of our recent clients prefer the modern look in which the garage is tucked to the side of the house with the doors not visible from the street.’

Keep it cohesive

There are ways to make both the option of painting the garage door and the front door the same color, and that of choosing contrasting shades for them work, says Andre Kazimierski, CEO, Improovy Painters of North Shore, but overall the exterior should be cohesive.

‘I do think having your front door and garage door match can create a great, cohesive look for your home’s exterior, especially if the color you choose for these two doors is a contrasting or complementary color to the general exterior color of your home,’ he says.

‘However, it’s definitely also possible to pull off a look with two different colors – in this case, I would recommend keeping your garage door color the same as the rest of your trim, and then picking a color for your front door that's different enough for it to really pop.’

A new paint finish for the front door and the garage door can show the rest of a home’s exterior is in need of a refresh via front yard walkway ideas and porch paint ideas. Think added value, too, with the curb appeal ideas that could help make a profit when you sell.