Painting front door - which colour?

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

I have been wanting to paint the front door since we moved in a year ago, and still can't decide on a colour!

The house is a 1970s semi, I'm pretty sure its the original door, or at least an old one. A flat wooden door (no grooves/panels or whatever they're called) with one long window down the centre. It's currently royal blue, which is nice enough but it's a bit sloppily painted. We have an open porch/awning thing too, the poles of which are the same paint.

Options:
Navy blue
Aubergine - fave idea but haven't seen any aubergine door paint
The typical duckegg, but I feel that's best on lovely old Victorian terraces etc.
Cream - would love but I feel it will get dirty - which is weird as pretty much all of our neighbours have those white PVC doors.
Black - bit harsh

And those are all my ideas so far. Some kind of grey?

We have white windows and dark brown brick walls.

Anyone have any opinions?

[PigletJohn]

Is it exposed to (a) direct sun (b) direct rain? Red and black to not stand up to sun well.

I think you mean a flush door, it is probably plywood faced. These tend to get tiny cracks on the surface, ply does that. They are easy to sand down once you remove the door furniture. Tap it and look in the letter slot to ensure it is solid, not hollow. Hollow doors are best suited to bonfires.

Please take extra care to sand and paint the top and the bottom edges. These are usually neglected as out of sight, but they are where damp gets in and causes the door to swell, crack and rot.

[glorious]

I'm thinking about F&B Pelt for our front door which is aubergine and comes in suitable paint
www.google.co.uk/search?q=farrow+and+ball+pelt+front+door&oq=farr&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j35i39l2j0.2611j0j4&client=ms-android-orange-gb&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=-yBYJlarCBj8tM%3A

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Good tips, thanks Piglet! Bought a sander today for another project so I'll be vigilant with the edges :) attached a pic of our letter box, not hollow but the door does sound hollow so who knows.

Love that colour gloria

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Oops here's the pic .

[PigletJohn]

eek

Even a person with large hands could open that lock through the letterbox using a simple tool made from commonly found household or garden items. A child with thin arms might not even need the tool.

Consider a BS nightlatch with a lockable knob, as far from the letterbox as possible.

If you decide to block up the hole, you can hide the mark using a brass or stainless fingerplate on both sides of the door,

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Ooh good idea. It's a shitty letterbox anyway as most things don't fit through it, and the hinge is at the top edge and the flap only lifts to a 45 degree so an arm couldn't kind of bend upwards to get to the lock. So I was thinking of replacing it anyway, due to its size, but thought it would be too much hassle, so thanks for the tip. May as well just get a new door I guess?

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Oh also to answer your previous question its directly south facing so gets full sun but the awning shades it, all the time I think but I'll be more observant and check!

[PigletJohn]

doors are not always very expensive. I strongly prefer wood and strongly dislike plastic. But a carpenter or joiner can hang it much better, and much quicker, including locks, than a DIY handywoman or man. Ask around for a local recommendation. Get the person to tell you if the doorframe also needs replacing (frames are even less expensive).

Specialist door companies, like window companies, can easily think of reasons to charge you a thousand or more.

If fitting a new wooden door, I strongly recommend lift-on hinges in stainless or PVD brass (depending on your other door furniture) which makes it much easier to lift off the door for repainting, repair or to get big furniture through.

But sanding and repainting is something you can do yourself fairly easily and cheaply.

There is probably a door merchant in your town. These are typical retail prices from a builders shed.

[FfionFlorist]

We've just used Antwerp Blue by Dulux. I'm not 100% sure about it but I've had loads of compliments from my fashionista friends.

[JohnMGonzalez]

recently used Antwerp Blue by Dulux, and I loved it. hope you do too