The Front Entry: Choosing Paint

In my other post this week, I forgot to say that I hope all of my American readers had a nice Thanksgiving. We spent ours in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the in-laws. I was so focused on The Year of the Window that I put Thanksgiving out of my head too quickly. I can be single-focused at times.

Now that we have new wallpaper in the front entry, that green paint is bothering me more than ever. The more I dislike it, the more readers seem to double down on their love for it. Even so, I enjoy that everyone is so invested in the outcome of our projects.

Last night, I picked up a few Sherwin-Williams samples and painted some scrap boards from the basement. This morning, I looked at the choices under natural light.

I think I want to paint the door a gold color, but the trim color is up in the air.

My iPhone is terrible for reading colors, so the Tricorn Black looks way off. However, in real life, it matches perfectly.

I like them both just fine, but neither of them scream just right to me. There’s no doubt in my mind that the black will photograph better, but taking a photo of a room vs. living in it are two very different scenarios.

Just for kicks, I moved the Gold Coast sample into the kitchen to see what it would look like next to the basic white we use often.

Not bad.

Since I still couldn’t picture everything on a larger scale, I popped the colors into the Sherwin-Williams Visualizer and went to town fake painting the entry. It turns out that I am terrible at on-line coloring. If I paint the real entry this poorly, I will never forgive myself.

Here are the basic renderings:

1)

2)

3)

And because I know someone is going to want to see this combo:

4)

Except for the exterior door, I want to strip and seal all of the doors. So, that factors into my decision too. Most of the doors will not be painted any color at all.

After completing this exercise, I eliminated the Tricorn Black and Gold Coast trim right away. The black is too much drama for this house. BHH was built as a summer house, and I try to maintain a lighter, airier feel. An entryway cave isn’t for me.

Even though the Gold Coast trim looks pretty, I know I would tire of it in a hot minute. By the way, I looked into Feng Shui, and a north-facing black door is a positive, not a negative. BHH faces north. Coincidentally, yellow and red are bad. Oops! Too late.

Right now, I am partial to the Gold Coast door with Tres Naturale trim. However, I’m not quite ready to commit. Choosing the right paint color feels like a huge decision.

Feel free to weigh in.