7 Exterior Door Trim Ideas for Home Upgrades

The front door of a home is typically where a homeowner's style shines. Whether it's through a unique door color or decorations that welcome others in, this space is a prime chance for them to make a statement with their home's curb appeal.

As a builder, you can work with your clients to suggest how the materials they choose can impact design. Here, we’ll focus on exterior door trim with the expert advice of Kyle Miller, Marketing and Sales Director at All Around Construction. Check out these ideas for exterior door trim as well as suggestions for materials that can help you offer your homeowners endless possibilities.

What Is the Trim Around an Exterior Door Called?

There are several parts to the trim around an exterior door. The door casing refers to the interior trim of the door. Brickmould is the standard exterior trim that can be removed to install more decorative trim per the client's request. Trim detail across the top of the door is sometimes referred to as a header, but the header is more commonly a structural framing component that is unseen and does not contribute to the exterior door's style.

One potential design option involves additional components, including pilasters. These are typically extra wide, fluted trim pieces that go together with crossheads and upper pediments. This approach takes design to the next level and allows the client to achieve a very specific look for their home.

Ideas for Exterior Door Trim

Typically, your clients will have an idea of what they'd like their exterior door trim to look like. "The builder's role is to help them dial in their ideas to exact applications," Miller says. "In some cases, our team will show the client past examples of siding projects, and they will see the trim applications they want to add to their homes." You can also use the following ideas from Miller as a starting point for inspiration with your clients, along with exterior home design trends:

1. Timeless Looks: “Consistency is key, first and foremost,” says Miller. “Having the same profile, color and thickness of trim around all your home’s windows and doors will offer a timeless and uniform look.” If your clients are looking to save costs, trimming only the doors that face the street is an option that wouldn’t detract from the home’s curb appeal. When in doubt, encourage your clients to achieve a basic clean look with the same type of trim around each door, window or garage space.

2. Bright Colors: Especially with the front door, some homeowners may opt to draw the eye in with brightly colored trim. When your clients choose a bold color, help them ensure it matches the overall color palette of the home before you install.

3. Neutral Colors: White, brown and gray are neutral colors that appear often on homes’ traditional lap siding and trim. These align in some way with nearly every color palette and represent a good way for your clients to add a crisp, clean look to their homes without calling attention to any particular part of its façade. Modern farmhouse style trim serves as a good example of using neutrals throughout a home’s exterior.

4. Complementary Colors: A home’s color palette can include more colors than you may think. If your clients are interested in choosing an additional color that isn’t the same color as the home’s siding, look for a complementary color for any accents on the home. Check out several palette options in LP® SmartSide® ExpertFinish® colors here.

5. Removing Brickmould: “Most exterior doors come with a factory-installed brickmould,” Miller adds, “but if I’m completing a remodeling project with LP SmartSide trim, for example, my team may opt to remove the brickmould.” This is an important decision to note with your clients—removing the brickmould allows them to match the door trim to the window trim they’ve chosen for their exterior home upgrades.

6. Varying Widths: Around doors, your clients may not want to use the same width of trim they’ve chosen for windows or their garage. To accommodate, be sure to pay attention to the proportions between doors and windows to ensure the overall look of the home appears balanced. “LP SmartSide trim comes in a variety of widths,” Miller adds, “so it is very customizable to get the right look for your clients’ decorative exterior door trim.”

7. Unique Headers: When it comes to exterior door header trim ideas, your clients may want to add a bit of flair to this area of the home. The door header is an easy way to use the front door in particular to signal a main entrance and set the tone for the home’s overall exterior look. Explore options that include intricate woodwork or a keystone for a unique approach.

“Exterior door trim, especially from LP SmartSide Trim & Siding, will add a substantial amount of appeal to the exterior of the home,” Miller says. “About 80% of my company’s siding remodels have some form of trim being applied around windows and doors, and it creates some nice contrast or complement to the siding.”

When it comes to how to create curb appeal, exterior door trim plays a role in bringing a home’s entire look together, from siding textures and colors to trim widths. Interested in one (or more) of these exterior door trim trends? Try them out with our siding visualizer tool today!