What color should I paint my front door?

Bet you thought of a red door first!

Breaking out of the norm is always such a challenge. For some reason, when it comes to choosing a color for the front door, red is usually first color that comes to mind.

Red is a great accent color for the home but it's so overused already, much like the red dining room. For some reason if your dining room needs to be painted, it's red! Looks beautiful but just so typical.

I understand that you have to be really careful when choosing a color for your front door. It has to match or coordinate with your home, your neighbors will have to look at it, your HOA may not like it and you have to be in love with it because you'll be seeing it every single day. How do you choose just one color for your front door when there are so many to choose from? There's a lot to consider. 

Roofing - what color is your roof? You can always pull a color from the tile to have a nice coordination.

Siding - do you have vinyl, stone, wood or brick? Your door color has to make sense with the largest part of your home which is your siding.

Neighbors - what colors do your neighbors have? I'm guessing either red, black, white or green. Go with a color that they don't have.

Shutters - Your door can either be the same as your shutters or coordinate with them.

Age - try to keep the color appropriate for the age and style of your home. Perhaps a yellow door may look ridiculous on a historic, older home.

COLOR TIP: When you finally do decide on a color, and you know it's going to be a semi gloss, paint out a sample board and see how it look in the SUN before you paint your door. The sun will really bring out the true undertone in your color. 

For example. My front door is Antique Burgundy by Valspar. When dry and in the shade, the color looks very much like the color chip did as shown here in the top photo. However, look at the bottom photo. The paint looks TOTALLY different when it's wet and in the sun. I didn't paint a board first because I knew how it was going to turn out but I must admit, when I saw that purple, I did get just a wee bit nervous. So - sample first!!!!

Here are so other colors to consider. Have fun with your front door. Make it an exciting color and if you happen to choose a color that's just not the right choice, paint over it! It's only a quart of paint and 30 minutes of your time. Here are doors colors I'd love to see more of.

Please contact me if you need help choosing your front door color.

What is Contractor's Beige? Why is it bad?

What is Contractor's Beige?

Contractor's Beige is the color that the Builder uses as a generic wall color. Sometimes you see it beige like in this photo and sometimes it's white, Contractor's white.

Is Contractor's Beige a bad thing?

Yes and no. The builder has to put some type of “paint” on the wall but yes, there is sooooooo much that I don't like about this “paint” and I'll get to that in a minute.

The homes where I work (and live) in South Charlotte are very large. For the most part, the majority of the the homes have this beige color in them. Can you imagine walking into 4,000 square feet of white walls? Hello hospital! Anyway, it's at least nice to see that there is a neutral yellow beige on the wall. Once in a while, you see it a pinky beige which is a total nightmare and very difficult to tie in the rest of your color scheme with. You WILL have to paint your entire home.

Do I have to paint my home if it has Contractor's Beige on it?

I say YES of course you do but I've seen people who have been living in the home for YEARS and STILL have Contractor's Beige on the wall. That is frightening to me and gross.

Gross? Why is it bad to keep Contractor's Beige in your home?

Well, in defense of CB, it is a good basic beige to put in your home for the people who are pigmently challenged. But the thing that I really don't like about CB is the way it feels. Run your hand across a home that just has CB on it and tell me it doesn't feel like an emery board.

When I first moved into my home five years ago this week, it too had CB on the walls. Of course I had it painted within the first week of moving in but let me tell you what happen before I painted it. 

Since it was Spring time and the doors were open most of the day from the move, some undesirable flying insects had gotten in the house. I was able to smash a few flies that were slow enough for me to swat. Here's the problem. Like I just said a minute ago, CB feels like an emery board.  What makes it so rough? I guess because they spray it on and it's really just a contractors level of paint, doesn't have a sheen and contains a fair amount of primer in it. What does this all mean? It feels like sandpaper, looks like a sponge and it's a bear to clean! Needless to say, I was unable to get all the bug smash out of the nooks and crannies of the surface and wound up just painting right over it, sealing in it's fate forever.

Tell me again why I don't want Contractor's Beige on my walls?

1. It's not really a paint. It's a sprayed on primer based pigment just to cover the walls.

2. It's VERY porous making it impossible to keep clean.

3. It's VERY porous and feels really gross to the touch.

4. It's boring to keep your 4000 square foot home all the same color.

5. When you do decide to paint your home, CB will suck up the entire first coat of paint that you apply. It's imperative that you use a primer first to seal the wall before you apply your paint.

I don't want to paint my large home. Contractor's Beige looks fine.

Ok. So you want to live with a beige home - that's fine. I had clients that really like the neutral, monochromatic look of just beige. However - think about this. It may change your mind.

For your bathroom: Do you really want a porous, non cleanable surface by your toilet area? Think about that for a minute.

For your kitchen: Cook a lot? Not every home has a back splash. Try getting oil based sauces off your wall. Now if you try to paint over it, your latex paint may not stick to the oily sections of your wall.

For the kids rooms: I almost don't want to go here but I need to finish my point. We all know what kids put on their walls. From nose contents to other stinky stains that may be lurking behind that chair in the room.

Have pets?: Mud. Dirt. Fur. Slobber. These are all everyday assurances for those of us who have pets. It you have CB beige on your walls, these “grossities” will NOT come off your walls!

Isn't flat paint the same surface as Contractor's Beige?

Good point! It can be - somewhat. If you use a poor quality flat or matte paint, yes - it will be similar. However, there are washable flat/matte paints that will be sheen less but you will be able to wash or scrub the surface. Just about every paint company will have this type of paint.

I have Contractor's Beige on my walls. Can we set up an appointment to choose color for my home?

Yes!! My name is Donna Frasca and I'm a Color Specialist in Charlotte. I also know a TON about paint and paint products. If you'd like to set up a Color Consultation with me, you can email me at DecoratingbyDonna@mac.com  - only if you live in South Charlotte otherwise we can talk about a virtual color consultation.

How to use coastal colors in your home

A soft blue gray on the living room wall goes with most home furnishings.

This green was pulled out from the area rug that is under the table. There's usually several colors in an area rug, choose one to tie in the look of your room. Try not to make your dining room red - that's just such a typical color to choose. Pick the color in your rug that is NOT the dominant color. You'll see how it'll change the look of your room.

Use a soft purple has become a new consideration for bedroom color. It's not the typical blue or green and it's very relaxing - like the coastal sky at dusk. I've seen this hue painted dozens of time and it's very striking. Try it.

Gray is the hue to have now. This gray is cool and clean but look how modern it looks when used with black, white and silver! This room is crazy beautiful!

Like these soft coastal colors? Call me, I'm a Color Specialist in the Charlotte area and would love to help you!

Can dark colors go in small bathroom?

YES!!!! Dark colors CAN go in small bathrooms!

Wilderness Cabin, a beautiful Benjamin Moore color, can really make a small bathroom cozy if you use it on all the walls. Want to keep it lighter? Just use it as an accent feature like it did here.

Self Priming Paint - really?

I'm not a big fan of the primer and paint in one. Hopefully I can make my point without writing a small novel. I'll use Valspar paint as an example.

My thoughts: Primer is primer. Paint is paint. Primer is less expensive than paint and has a completely different chemical composition and function than paint does. Mixing the two has it's disadvantages.

When you combine the two, I find that more paint has to be used verses using the products separately. For instance. Valspar has a tinted primer for $20. Great product, used it a million times. You tint it 10-20% to the desired color you need so less paint is required to complete the job.

Valspar has a paint, Signature , self priming at $32 a gallon. Here's the problem. Since you're using your paint as a primer, you actually wind up using twice as much paint needed to cover your walls and doing so, this obviously costs more.

Buy the tinted primer at $20 a gallon. Buy Ultra Premium Paint for $28 a gallon. Total cost? $48. If you use a tinted primer, you don't need the extra thickness of self primers. Besides, the first coat of "paint" gets soaked up anyway - that is why you need a primer! Don't use paint as a primer I say.

So, if you use your tinted primer you don't need their more expensive Signature paint. I used Signature in my small office and it barely covered 3 walls. I had to go out and get another gallon. It cost me $64 to buy 2 gallons of their self priming paint. If I had used a tinted primer, and went with their regular Ultra Premium paint, I would have spent just $48.

* prices will vary on the sheen that you are using. These prices are for an eggshell finish.


What are you thoughts?

When Colorless is Best

As a Color Specialist in Charlotte, you'll find me writing about color schemes and how to incorporate the colors you want into your home. 

Today, I'll be talking briefly on one of the most important “colorless” purchases you'll make in your life - choosing the right wedding bands.

Am I an expert in diamonds? Certainly not, however, don't we all have an eye for what's beautiful? Donald Haack, Diamonds and fine Gems in Charlotte is having a wedding band event this weekend in Charlotte so it'll be a great time to take a peek to see what's trending in wedding bands.

Back in the day, I designed my own engagement ring in a small local NY shop that's probably not even there anymore. To this day, I like my jewelry large and gold. 

My boys!
Port Jefferson Harbor, Long Island, 1990

Love how styles have changed? From color trends, fashion and even jewelry, each year there's a new “must have” which is why these wedding band events are so important. Look at some of the rings that Donald Haack has. I wonder which one I'd choose if I had to do it all again?????

Or would I go for just a splash of color?

One will never know!

Need color for your home, you can contact me at DonnaFrasca@mac.com

Need the perfect wedding band? Contact Donald Haack 704-365=4400

When Wall Color is Art

Color Bakery

Sometimes the wall color you choose is just so profound, it's really all the art you need on the wall. These beautiful glass tiles are designed by Mindy Summers of Color Bakery in the “Fueilles” series which can be found in the Organic Gallery. The splash of red is all the accent color this room needs ~ beautiful!

I'd love to see the entire room. I bet it's stunning and is the happiest place in the house - good color can do that you know :-)

Here are more tiles from her Organic Gallery using wall color as art with her tiles as accents.

Purple, pink, lavender and blue are very popular color choices for girls rooms. I just choose a purple at my last color consultation at Marvin Estates, NC for a girls playroom.

Pale Iris - Benjamin Moore

This wall color is perfect for the teenage girl. She still wants a vibrant color but is tired of pink and purple. Think blue is just for boys? Not if you add Mindy's glass tiles to really girl it up. Super pretty!

How striking is this wall color????? Don't be afraid to put this strong color in a small space. Will it make your room look small? Who cares! Your room will be gorgeous especially with the black glass tiles as a strong contrast to the gold. Trust me on this one - your neighbors will be jealous!

Here's a perfect example of how dark colors can look great in small spaces and you don't need ANY art in this room.

credit

Donna Frasca

A Color Specialist in Charlotte - choosing the RIGHT colors for you!