Consider every apartment or home you have lived in. What percentage of those homes had white doors? We think most of them had white doors. It is rare to find a door painted in bold colours, subtle neutrals, or with a rich wood stain.
It doesn’t need to be this way. Doors don’t need to be just a functional part of a space. They can be much more than that. You can use a door to add a splash of colour and draw people into your room. Or, you can surprise them with a bright and colourful surprise when you close it. A door can add a finishing touch to a room if it feels stale or unfinished. It can also be the ideal space for working in a favourite colour.
Below are experts in interior design who share their top colours and projects that have used them. We did include one designer who chose the right colour for interior doors if white is not right.
Always paint it black
Dominique Gebru is an interior stylist and content creator and has recently completed a massive home renovation that included drywall, tile and painting of her interior doors. The black contrasts well with her white walls, vintage rugs, and colourful books.
Gebru describes her experience with interior doors and the process of trial and error. Just finished the One Room Challenge in our home and decided to paint all the interior doors with the same black paint. It was a game-changer. My grandma was a great cook, and she used to say that you should “paint it black”, whatever “it” was.
Black doors can bring out the elegance of a space and make it look modern. Black is a timeless colour.
Go Green to Instill a Feeling of Nature
Giana Caputo, the decorator behind Indie Boho Nest, knew white would not pop in her bright white space, so she used a soothing, warm colour.
Caputo states, “I wasn’t sure I was going green. And you can bet I got some funny looks by my family and our painter. But I knew it when I got that little green sample and held it up to doors, it was perfect!”
She couldn’t resist incorporating the green colour into her other doors. She says, “When I started the closet door DIY projects, I didn’t feel that white would look good with the other whites in the room, and I felt black, or grey would be too dark, or boring, for me.” This shade was my favourite, so I tried out deep greens.
As an architectural element, use a rich hue to draw out the door
It doesn’t need to be an afterthought. Marie Flanigan, Marie Flanigan Interieurs, has more than just a few saturated doors in her collection. She says that doors can be an architectural feature that draws attention to a space. These doors are often the first thing you see when you enter a space, and they deserve special attention. They are honoured by unique silhouettes that I paint in deep, rich colours.
The alluring peacock-blue-green colour adds sophistication to a farmhouse-style dutch door and classic, white kitchen. But she has also used it in monochromatic spaces, where trim and walls are all bathed with this rich hue.
Keep it white to let the room shine
White is the most common colour in homes. It’s timeless and allows the room to shine. It’s important to choose the right colour, white.
