First and foremost, I’m a Realtor®. But, like most people, I have worn many hats, and still do. I’m a student of Feng Shui. It’s a lifelong study that only a few will master, and I am as novice as they get. I’m also a Certified HomeStaging Professional, and for that I learned from the best. With that being said, I believe that a homeowners front door should make a statement. If it had a voice, your door should excitedly announce, “You’re here! We’ve been waiting for you! Come on in!” Of course, we do expect visitors to ring the doorbell first…
As a habit, when driving around, I’ll pick a home feature and look at that same feature in many houses. One feature I always look at is the mailbox. Bad mailboxes are a pet peeve and other periodic blogs. Sometimes I observe house numbers, porch lights, and things like that. So, for a time, I looked at front door colors. Not the style, just the color.
Many cultures attach great meanings to the colors chosen for their doors. The front door is often considered the “mouth” of the home, the entry point where energy, abundance and opportunities may find us. Every opening, including windows, is a portal but the front door is where we “invite” that good energy (Chi) to flow into our home.
As I first mentioned, Feng Shui is an art, a belief, and a way of life for many. It would be too elaborate of an explanation in this blog to explain in any amount of depth. But here you will get the idea.
The right Feng Shui color is very dependent on the direction in which the house faces, specifically which direction the front door looks toward. Each direction brings an ‘element’. For instance, for a front door that faces the north (water element) paint it blue, or white. East (wood element) might be painted in colors that give rise to wood: blue for water and green are excellent but a mix of blue & green might be better. South facing doors (fire element) might be painted in red, purple, or orange. West facing doors (Metal element) may be best in those colors (grey, soft gold) or colors from which metal arises: earth colors and white.
Here is a little more about specific colors:
Red. In Feng Shui, and our own American tradition, a red front door means “welcome.” In early America, if a home had a red front door, tired travelers would know the home was a place where they would be welcomed to stop and spend the night or rest. Much the same tradition exists with the lighted candle in the window.
In Scotland, homeowners paint their front door red to signify that they’ve paid off their mortgage. Red is always a great color to paint your front door if you are trying to sell your house (as long as it goes with color theme of the rest of the house). It is an eye catching and strong color that often commands a second look. I always like to repeat the statement that “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”, but little things like that may create a first chance to make a second impression!
Blue . The color blue represents water, sky and abundance. Blue is a great Feng Shui color. The energy around your home would suggest abundance and prosperity if painted a medium or warm blue. Blue brings a positive energy into a space.
Now, a dark blue door is believed to create peace and serenity in your home. It brings positive energy into the portal of your home and passes that feeling to those who enter the home through that door.
Yellow. This is a color that inspires perception, wisdom, understanding, and mental clarity. It also conveys curiosity, humor and enjoyment. Green. Green represents balance and peace. It conveys the kind of growth and renewal we might feel in the spring and summer. There is a balanced and peaceful harmony in the color green.
Purple. Don’t be surprised. It’s actually a popular color for door. But, symbolically, it brings energy and is thought to invite new opportunities or improved opportunities into your home. It’s the “wishbone” of colors.
There are many other colors and color blends and I can go on for a very long time. If you are thinking of selling your home, give me a call and let me tell you how I work and what I can do for you, and we’ll talk about your front door. If you are interested in buying, I can help you find your dream home and one with a great door, too.
We’ll also take a look at back doors and side doors. Yes, they are also portals!
Visit my website at http://www.NormaSellsNJHomes.com.