Date Published 12 December 2017
If you want to give visitors a warm welcome to your home – paint your front door red, say Leeds Building Society members.
Red was the top choice when the Society asked members which colour was the most welcoming for the main entrance to a property.
Almost one in five (19%) plumped for that red, but white wasn't far behind, scoring 18% of the vote.
Blue was in third place, with 12%, just ahead of a natural wood finish, which was the most popular non-colour choice.
In descending order of appeal, green, black and yellow brought up the rear in the vote, with 7%, 4% and 2% respectively.
Stephen Westland, Professor of Colour Science at the University of Leeds, said the results showed how colours can become associated with positive and negative emotions.
Stephen said: 'The Leeds Building Society study shows the most welcoming door colour is red and the least welcoming door colour is yellow.
The findings are somewhat in line with existing research into colour preference - many studies throughout the world have revealed the public's least favourite colour is yellow and their most favourite colour is blue. It's therefore no surprise that yellow doors scored poorly in terms of how welcoming they are, while blue doors scored well.
It was interesting that in this study red and white both score highly as welcoming colours for doors and that black, as well as yellow, scores poorly.
I've been puzzling over why red is the most popular choice – as it's such a warm colour, it literally might communicate that the interior or the owners are warm and welcoming. Black is often associated with concepts such as formality and this is one reason why few respondents selected black as a welcoming colour.
Colour is important for several reasons, not least because it can convey meaning, not just in an abstract sense but also in real-world applications, depending on context and culture.'
As well as welcoming to their friends and loved ones.
The front door colour choice was a light-hearted question for members but it's interesting to get the expert insight into how this decision affects how you and your visitors may feel about your home.'
