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July 20, 2017

White Trim, Dark Paint -> Why I’m Going Dark With My Doors

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When we were buying our new house, there was so much that I loved about it – the very open floor plan, architectural features like rounded walls, floor to ceiling windows in the living room, giant kitchen island, tall ceilings ranch, mostly. But, everything was blah. Same orangey-beige everywhere, boring light fixtures, cheap-looking fixtures … there was so much unused potential in this house! Slowly, very slowly, I’m updating things to slowly flesh out the beauty that this home could be. We’ve already made a lot of progress, but there is a lot more to go.

One of those things standing in my way are the doors. They are mammoths. The tallest interior doors I’ve seen in a home. Roughly 8’+ tall. And they are the color the trim used to be (something else I’m also working on), which is kind of like beige/pink vomit. Obviously, I have no strong feelings at all about the gross color. The doors all HAVE TO BE painted anyway, so I might as well make them gorgeous.

The dark door trend is still going strong, and I’m seeing it in enough up-scale places to think it is going to stay around for a while. Either way, I love dark doors surrounded by white trim. I love the way it makes a design statement without being bold/tacky. Dark colors can be neutral too! Think: navy, black, dark gray, deep brown … totally neutral.

When I was nervous about my choice, I searched for pictures of dark doors online and it was very clear to me that I made the right decision for me.

(Checkout my Pinterest Board: Decor | Dark Interior Doors)

Here are some of the doors that helped convince me … Please click on the source below each image to learn more about the blog/website this image came from.

(via Home Bunch)

(via Brooke Wagner Design)

(via The Gathered Home)

(via Dear Lillie)

(via Sherwin Williams)

(via The Decor Chick)

(via Thrifty Decor Chick)

(via Honey We’re Home)

(via From the Carriage House)

(via The Inspired Room)

(via Remodalaholic)

(via 320 Sycamore)

(via Focal Point Styling)

SNEAK PEEK

I’m still in the middle of painting all my doors … so here is a sneak peek of a few doors I’ve painted into the laundry room. I can’t wait to show you the easy way I figured out how to do this, because it was taking me FOREVER to paint them, and I have 29 doors to paint. Yikes. (Hint: it is similar to how I’m painting my trim.)


 

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Comments

  1. Kerry says

    January 25, 2019 at 8:21 am

    Very classy Mary. Youโ€™re right itโ€™ll be around awhile. Reminds me of old areas in Boston for some reason. Itโ€™s a classic design. Please, for the love of all thatโ€™s holy and good, say โ€œNOโ€ to the turquoise doors. โ˜บ๏ธ. Thanks for sharing!
    Kerry

    Reply
    • Mary says

      January 26, 2019 at 1:46 pm

      I think it’s classic too, thanks for validating. ๐Ÿ™‚ And I have the same worry as you, turquoise doors may be just a trend. Luckily, one easily solved with a new can of paint!

      Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 23, 2020 at 8:31 pm

      My front door was a gross red color when we bought the house. Grey paint, black shutters, reddish door. I hated it. I tested out several colors and settled on “Sophisticated Teal” from Behr. It looks amazing!
      I’m working on some closet doors now and decided to go dark. I tested out 4 colors, all of which seemed too light when actually painted, and finally settled on one that I couldn’t get a sample of and had to go with a quart. I’m struggling now with whether I want to do the trim in the same color or refresh the white. Then also, do I want to do the bathroom door, which is technically in the same room, in the same color.

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 19, 2020 at 11:42 pm

        I’m a fan of fresh white trim, but go with what makes you happy! There is no technical right or wrong, just different opinions from different “expert decorators.”

        Reply
  2. Linda says

    May 7, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    I’m ready to stain my interior doors black. Will l have to put a polyurethane to make them a glossy finish? Or should I just get a glossy finished paint? I’m nervous ๐Ÿ˜ฐ

    Reply
    • Mary says

      May 8, 2019 at 12:17 am

      I’d say use a high-gloss paint instead of having to do a poly coat! I think that will be easier to touch up too.

      Reply
  3. Lori says

    November 14, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    Mary Iโ€™m going with Navy door also. Did you use a semi-gloss paint? That is what Iโ€™m doing and it is taking forever and multiple coats over the primer to get a nice finish. Was this your experience as well?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      November 14, 2019 at 9:36 pm

      I really wish I could say otherwise, but yes, painting the doors is a terrible terrible pain. Spraying the paint certainly helps, but was still a lot of work. It will be so worth it, though! They’re so gorgeous!

      Reply
  4. Rachel Scheaffer says

    February 9, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    Hi Mary,
    This looks really nice. Do some people paint the trim darker as well or is that not quite as appealing? And should all the interior doors be the same dark color or can they vary from grays to black and still look cohesive?
    Thanks, Rachel

    Reply
    • Mary says

      February 10, 2020 at 11:32 am

      I’ve seen it every way. I just went through a model home a few weeks ago, where only a few doors were chosen to be dark and they did paint the trim around them dark as well. It’s the wild west out there, no specific rules – you get to do what makes sense for your home and tastes.

      Reply
  5. Melinda says

    April 22, 2020 at 10:28 pm

    The hexagon tile… where can I find that ?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 22, 2020 at 10:49 pm

      That wasn’t my tile. If you click the link right below that picture, you can go to the person’s blog and ask them. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  6. Aida says

    August 22, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    Hi Mary, Thank you so much for sharing this. My hubby and want to go dark door white trim. With have sampled a few colors but struggle to make a choice. We have a dark glossy mohogamy cherrywood floor. Do you recommend dark chocolate brown or black doors? Should the paint be semi-gloss or glossy? Thanks again.

    Aida from Toronto

    Reply
    • Mary says

      September 8, 2020 at 2:20 pm

      I don’t think you could go wrong with brown or black. I’d love to know what you chose and how it went! We’re in a new house from the one in this post and I’m just approaching the idea of dark doors again (it’s a big job). I believe I’ll be going with a black-ish brown. SW has a color called Black Fox that I’m considering, but I haven’t tested it out yet.

      Reply
      • Jackie says

        September 20, 2020 at 2:58 pm

        Iโ€™m thinking the same thing with repose grey walls. These both have black undertones ! Iโ€™m thinking of the trim either same as walls or a shade lighter than repose grey. I hope it looks good. This is In a new construction home.

        Reply
        • Mary says

          October 19, 2020 at 11:41 pm

          I’m sure it will be beautiful! Feel free to email me pictures ๐Ÿ™‚

          Reply
  7. Rachel Little says

    August 25, 2020 at 1:51 pm

    This is something i never considered but looks so beautiful here

    Reply
    • Mary says

      September 8, 2020 at 2:21 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  8. Rebekah says

    September 19, 2020 at 9:22 am

    Beautiful color! What color did you use for the doors? Wondering so I could find it ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Mary says

      October 19, 2020 at 11:37 pm

      Naval Academy, I believe.

      Reply
  9. Traci says

    October 28, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    We are building a lake house. Struggling with trim and door ideas. Front door is espresso aspen style door. Would you suggest espresso color on doors with white trim or do you think dark gray is safer with lake house theme? Looking at either Repose Gray or Agreeable Gray for walls.

    Reply
    • Mary says

      November 15, 2020 at 5:22 pm

      Honestly, I don’t think you’ll regret dark gray or espresso on the doors. I think the gray may be a bit more “lake house” but they both sound lovely.

      Reply

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