The dark door with a dark path in a dark corner definitely gives it a black hole feel!
The door colour & trim definitely needs to be lighter & should match the trim of the windows either side of the doorway.
Are you wanting to leave the gutter etc purple?

Thanks Sian. No, we plan on painting the whole external (walls and gutters) cos am also not a fan of purple gutters! Do u have any suggestions on what colours to choose for the door/trimmings etc? I think I agree that a dark door makes it feel like a black hole!

Honestly I not great on colours, I think it's really personal choice but you could definitely go a little darker on the walls & much lighter trim.
If you could post an overall house picture taken from back at the rd I'm sure someone on here would be able to give you a good guidance!
Also search on here houses that have light coloured tin roofs for inspiration to figure out what you do & don't like against that.

I'd go either lighter or brighter, depending on your personal preference - either will breakup the black hole effect. I also agree about plants - some pots on the wall to the right of the door as you look at it would make the entry feel different. Although that only applies if you can keep them alive! If not consider some sort of subtle ornament.

Thank you for all your comments!! I think I will start with some plants and once I settle on colours for the whole house, I can also figure out what bright colour to paint the door. Can't wait!

Lime green would be nice for your door, white for the surrounding timber to bring the garden into the area. Hire or borrow a power washer to clean your concrete and brickwork too, that will make a huge difference.

Just a word on that pony tail palm - the base of it will grow very big and will eventually dislodge your path. I had one that grew to 1.5 m in diameter when I had to remove it to stop it knocking my fence down. Grab some mates and try transplanting it before it grows any bigger.

I visited a friend's freshly renovated house yesterday, and their exterior was gray and white, but with a fantastic yellow door. Another friend has a neutral colour scheme on her house, and is planning on painting her front door Tiffany blue. I will definitely use this idea as well, when we repaint. I think it is such a great way to highlight the front door as an entryway, and add a pop of colour that is not over the top.

I agree about the entrance paint colours.
I would choose a vibrant yellow for the door and sides leaving the rest as a contrast.
A colourful doormat and solid, decent sized tho not too big pot for the spot on the LHS of the door. This could be a neutral colour like the house. Forget flowering plants - just work on keeping a solid green plant healthy.
Keep the whole update simple - its not necessary to go overboard.
Alison

paint the door a bright colour, red is good feng shui, so it pops. little coloured pots maybe with herbs or little ferns along the bricks walls. paint the steps a lighter colour, or smash some old plates and mosaic it. depends if you are after a quaint cottage look or something more stylish. start by painting the door and go from there.

Maybe bright red door, with white stepping stones and black rocks of the other way round

Thank you all for your comments! I'm a big fan of grey external with white trimmings, plus a bright yellow door! With this colour scheme, what colour should the gutters be? Also the wooden pattern feature on the right of the door on top of the bricks which is currently purple (sorry hope that makes sense), what colour should that be? Should it be the same colour as the door frame?

Normally the guttering is painted to blend with the roof but I note yours is Colourbond which would actually look good with grey guttering and fascia. I don't think I would use too deep a shade of grey on the house, just enough for contrast to the white woodwork, and then go slightly deeper for the guttering and fascia. I had been thinking about that feature panel, I think I would keep it white. I think yellow is a great contrast to grey.

Are you planning on painting the fence??

Thank you olldroo. I love your colour scheme ideas with the different shades of grey. And yes I agree, yellow is a great contrast with grey! I would like to paint the fence eventually. Any ideas on what colour?

Also, what are people's opinions on bright coloured doors...do you think the colours will date as opposed to a more neutral colour? Also, do u think a more neutral colour will appeal to more buyers if I was to sell in future? Do u think bright colours is too personal and will limit buyers?

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of brightly coloured doors. Would it be possible to buy a new, timber door and to remove the paint and stain the timber around the sidelight entry window? I think that timber doors add colour and interest to the front door without being "colourful" (if that makes any sense).

I'd echo the other suggestions about an appropriately sized pot and tall, narrow plant on the LHS of the front door (in front of the sidelight) and some complimentary pots (only a few, not too many) on the white, brick "steps" on the RHS of the path leading to the front door. I'd also consider getting rid of the triangular "screen" in order to open up the area around the front door as much as possible (provided that it isn't structural/supporting of course).

hechan - the door is only a coat of paint - not a big fix if you decide to sell or even if trends change - it is one thing that can be changed easily.

The only thing that does worry me a bit is that fixed glass panel with the divisions in it. That is going to stand out a lot more when painted and is quite a dated look. Just wondering if you could replace it with a single sheet of glass and do away with the divisions. If you are thinking of selling in the near future, then maybe replacing the whole door as haephestus suggests would be a good option and in that case I would keep to a stain and not paint it. There are coloured stains coming on the market now too.

As far as the fence goes, a lot depends on the condition of it. Try giving it a power wash to see how it comes up and then maybe stain it - when it is at the front of the house, it will look more loved. I used a stain on a fence once, cannot remember the name now, but it was a grey/blue colour, gave a nice finish to the fence and was a nice backdrop for plants. If it is not in good condition, then a darker finish might be necessary to hide any flaws.

haephestus - thank you for your comments. You have given me a different perspective to think about.
I do like the idea of a timber door as well. I was thinking perhaps something with a nice window/glass feature of some sort. I think this may appeal to more people.
olldroo - you are right about the fixed glass panel. I am wanting to update it to something more modern and I think a single sheet would be nice.

So I was thinking a bit more about the grey and white colour pallette for external walls, and my concern is, will grey make the house look like concrete, considering the whole house is rendered and flat? What I mean is that i think grey on whetherboard houses look fantastic because it has texture, but I'm worried all grey on flat walls will make it look cold and too much like concrete. Any thoughts?

hechan - there are greys and there are greys with tones of every other colour - blue, brown, purple, yellow, pink you name it. Take a trip to Bunnings and pick up every colour grey sample you can find - get a couple actually to join them together. Check them out in light and shade and at different times of the day to see how they perform.

If you do replace your door you might even find something more imposing like a double door and do away with the glass altogether, as long as it doesn't make the inside too dark. You might also find a more central door with narrower glass panels each side. Have a good search around before you decide.

In England, its common place to have door accessories such as a big door knocker, number, letter box - brass on gloss black for example. Maybe you could use door hardware to add interest?

We've just begun to paint our red cedar house in this sort of grey palette, the first photo is mine, the second a photo I used for inspo. I'm using Windspray on walls and shale grey half strength on windows and trims with ironstone gutters and plinth boards etc. we're also going to have a lot of merbau and redgum timber to add warmth, ours won't be as cottage looking as the sample photo. I think a timber stained door would look great for you, you could even tile over the concrete stairs, or clad in timber deck! Then add greenery for colour. What we were told, and found ourselves, is that any exterior wall colour can look up to 3 shades lighter in sunlight, so we opted for the Windspray that I thought was way too dark

The inspiration photo looks really good Lavish but I do share Hechan's thoughts on the way grey can look on weatherboard compared to concrete, I just feel this grey would be wrong.

Lavish Abode - thanks for your comments. I never even thought about doing anything with the stairs (except cleaning them!), but to clad in timber sounds like a good idea. I'm not sure about tiling the stairs though just cos I'd be concerned about them getting slippery when wet.
Does anyone have any other ideas on how to improve the steps/concrete path?

I love tiles and I think a number of these South American inspired beauties, along with a fresh paint scheme, may make all the difference to the front of your home? In between steps, or strategically placed along walls would be great.

Hechan - there are non slip tiles now that are used around swimming pools - I would be inclined to use them, tiles always scare me outdoors for that reason. Give all your concrete and the fence a pressure wash and see how it looks then. Unfortunately paths are necessities and need to be practical so unless you are prepared to spend money on them, they can be pretty pain and boring. Pavers could go over the concrete for a nicer look, you could even continue them to the door in lieu of tiles. However if you are going to spend money on the path, I would transplant the pony tail palm first and then widen the path to the outer edger of the brickwork. Widening the path would also allow you to add some vertical garden to the fence to soften it.

Can we see the rest of your garden to see what could be done and integrated in any work you do now? You do realise with houses, you don't just do one project, the flow on can be huge :)

I love the dove grey with white, Natural timber for the door, if you can widen the path then lots of potted greenery, do tile the steps Eliot Koey is on the mark with his tile pics, but you do need non slip...........then go with Olldroo pavers to the gate, Oh and if your not keen on Dove grey, Lavender, pale green even a darker blue would all make the white look good and the door stand out a bit more! post a pic when your done!

have you done anything? I have the same problem with my front entrance, long and dark to the front door. Curious what you have done...........after photo?

Hi sorry for the late response but we have only recently made some small changes and here they are so far...see photo.
The house itself has been painted grey and the window and door frames white.
We changed the glass on the window beside the door to a full length one panel frosted glass.
I've added a pot plant but I think I'd like to get a different colour pot.
And lastly we've painted the door green just as a test to see what it would look like.
My opinion is that it's an improvement but the colour feels a bit cold so I'd like to change it to a timber door..which I think would add some warmth with the warm timber colour.
I'm interested to know what people think of the door and overall look?

I like the green door and if you tile or paint the steps either a darker charcoal or a stone tile like basalt it would improve the look. Even a bright new welcome mat maybe?

A warm or rust red pot for the plant could be a nice contrast with the green or a red leaf plant in the current pot.

Wow, hechan, thanks for posting, job well done. Love the green but it is my favourite shade of my favourite colour so naturally I would not change a thing. I am not a grey person but I really like that green with grey and overall, I don't think it is cold at all, just very smart and very fresh and clean looking. I would leave the pot black - a spot of black sharpens other colours but I would possibly look for a plant with a brighter green leaf.

Any ideas on the concrete yet? I would get a pressure washer and do all your concrete first, it could bring it up nicely, otherwise I think with the green door you have given yourself options to bring a really nice tile into that area. I like the Moroccan tile idea and I think you could bring more colour into the area if you wished or just keep to a black and white.

Oh what a difference already!
Your greys are on point & it is definitely no longer a black hole!!!
I'd leave the door as is for awhile longer until you've finished the steps/ pathway & are happy with the pot etc.
Personally I think the pot needs to be bigger or on a funky pot stand (like the wire ones you can get from Kmart or Target).
You should be very impressed with yourself though!

Thank you for all your positive feedback! We are very proud of what we have done so far. Yes, the next steps will be to pressure hose the concrete to clean it up and then consider painting it a charcoal colour as LouieT suggested.

If we change the door to a timber one I will be sure to post another picture up!

I prefer the current green to a timber door - it looks great as is but I would use a red plant pot as suggested by LouisT.

Grey paint on concrete would help too, or tiles. My thoughts on seeing your initial pic were that the path was too narrow! You talked about a feeling of welcome, and that path does not give that, as it appears to run you in towards the left hand wall. I would give some thought to replacing the path (would prob involve moving the Ponytail! Unfortunately, as I think that gives great emphasis to the entry!)

Also refreshing the wooden fence with a clean and a pale grey stain would help. Maybe a well trimmed climber would look good!

Good luck - I think you are nearly there with your new paint; just needs a little more effort to finish the job.

Hi just wanted to post a pic of the latest update to our entrance way. We have painted the ground a charcoal grey as some people suggested and this is the result. Slowly but surely!

Looks soooo much better!
I painted my front door turquoise and it makes me feel good every time I walk thru it! Amazing the effect colour can have on mood.

You have done very well - what an improvement. What about a low hedge along the edge of the path to keep the the border tidy - something like buxus or similar?

Not a fan of painting concrete walkways or driveways - will be interested to see how long it lasts.

Replace the front door and joining window with a set of double doors - either solid oak or just classic glossy black. They will add value to your home, personality and will make life easier when it comes to moving in or out large sized pieces of furniture that can be a headache if you tried to fit through a single door. The path to the front door can either be painted a colour of your own choice or even paved, while I would also add a border of either pebbles or flowers (e.g. Lavender, Geraniums, Agapanthus, what ever suits your fancy ) down the right hand side of the path to add colour and a visual aspect to your front yard. Make sure your whole front yard looks neat, clean and tidy. If possible, employ the services of a landscape artist. Though highly expensive, he or she may give some quality advice in how to capitalise on your existing garden.

Paint the door red!

Poor guy has just painted the door green!!!!

oooops!

doing well Hechan!

I love soft mossy green for doorways! On the bricks to the side of the steps a wooden top might look nice.