The Best Color for your Window or Door

Choosing the best color for your window or door is an art. When it’s done well, your house can be the gem of your neighborhood. When it’s done poorly, well, your windows and doors will color people’s attitudes – just not in the way you may have intended!

We interviewed James Martin of The Color People™ in Denver, Colorado to get his advice on how to choose colors for the outside of a house.

James has been instrumental in creating an industry specialty in color analysis and consulting. He’s written extensively on the subject of color. He’s consulted on residential and commercial projects — from single-family homes to high-rise buildings — in all fifty states and several foreign countries.

Basics on Choosing Window and Door Colors

Egret Windows: If you had to summarize your color philosophy for windows, what would it be?

James Martin: Soften where you can. Stay away from bright white, if you can soften it. Avoid dark colors that will define and darken. Go for a warm and comfortable feel.

Why Good Color Choices Matter for Windows – Some Historical Context

Egret Windows: Why does it matter what color the windows frames are on the outside of your house?

James Martin: Consider the Victorian house. In past eras, house interiors were dark. The windows were small to prevent the sun from fading things. Having lighter-colored window frames on a Victorian helped open up the window, making it feel larger than it was.

Nowadays, dwellings have large windows − even patio doors − with large expanses of glass. Having a sunny, cheery interior is the goal. Light is very important. How we color our windows is important.

Windows are a focal point. From their coloring, we find the colors of the complimentary building materials around them.

Choosing Window Colors

Egret Windows: Today, more homes are equipped with white, vinyl windows. Do you see opportunities to move away from white vinyl and make more remarkable statements with color?

James Martin: It drives me nuts to see cold, hard white used in windows and doors. It’s glaring. White windows and doors jump off the house, and make the openings look like postage stamps.

Egret Windows: We have one manufacturer that has 50 standard colors. What color would be better than white?

James Martin: Off white. Light cream. Look for light colors that don’t frame in the window, making it look small and dark.

Use colors that blend in with the surrounding building materials. For most people, it’s about feel. They want to feel warm, cozy, and comfortable in their homes.

Egret Windows: What if a homeowner already has trim, siding, brick, or materials that are permanently colored?

James Martin: I advise folks to always use colors around their windows that will mitigate unchangeable colors. Matching makes more sense than introducing an opposing color or tone.

Egret Windows: So if your starting color is off-white, stick with off-white or fall back to brighter whites?

James Martin: Yes. And dark colors come in last.

Remember, dark colors frame a window, making it look small and dark. The same goes for the inside too. We paint a drywall return a creamy color to blend in the cold, white color of the new window frame.

Overcoming HOA Color Trends with Windows

Egret Windows: What kind of influence have Home Owner’s Association rules had on color?

James Martin: The HOA tendency is to lock in colors in hopes of maintaining home and property values in the neighborhood.

In the 1980s, we saw drops in housing prices. Yet unfortunately, today we still have houses with the brown or bronze windows that were in vogue then, and HOAs that aren’t updating their community’s color palate.

Five to 10 years ago, forest green clad windows were popular. Now that color is out of fashion. Homeowners are stuck with a tired and out-of-date window color.

We have to look at the adverse impact of these decisions. It’s safest to stay with the givens − the neutral and natural colors − and colors that already exist in the building veneers.

Curb appeal drives resale value. Curb appeal sells the house.

Choosing the Best Color for an Entry Door

Egret Windows: Speaking of curb appeal, are there trends or guidelines our customers should observe with entry doors?

James Martin: The front door is where you add your personality to your house. The door provides the punch color.

The front door to a house is the tie to a suit. A door’s demeanor changes how you perceive the house, just as the tie changes how you feel wearing the suit.

If you want a green front door, you may choose an old English green. The door will have a formal feel. If you go with a bright yellow-green, you’ll get a contemporary and hip feel.

The house helps determine this too. For example, a simple house probably looks better with a painted door, than with a richly-stained wood door.

Where to Get More Information from our Color Expert

Egret Windows: James, it’s been wonderful talking with you.

Folks, if you need help making color choices in your home, we invite you to contact the finest architectural color expert in the country.

James Martin and his staff of color consultants are with The Color People™. They consult on residential and commercial projects in all 50 states and several foreign countries. And they have offices in the Santa Fe Art District right here in Denver, Colorado.

Contact James at:

The Color People
920 Inca Street, Denver, Colorado 80204
303-308-0220
THE COLOR PEOPLE Website