Interiors, What to paint where
What colour do I paint my internal doors?
What colour do I paint my internal doors is a question that I am frequently asked. I can't give a definitive answer though as it will depend on a number of factors but I do have some ideas to show you here to help you make the right choice for your home.
Firstly you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I like my internal doors?
- Should I disguise them or make them a feature?
- How many of them do I have together – just one in a room or are there wardrobe doors that match?
- Should I even be painting them?
Should I paint my internal doors the same colour as my trim?
The whole process of which parts of your room to paint can be overwhelming if you don't do it that often. Sometimes questions are so obvious to me but I know that clients spend a lot of time considering their options.
If you do decide to paint your internal door a different colour to the trim then you need to ensure that you like the door. By treating it this way you are drawing attention to it. This is often a colour treatment if your door is natural timber and you don't want to paint it. The architraves (trim) can still be white or of course they can remain timber and it often depends on how much timber you want to bring into the scheme and also whether or not they are in good condition.
So, consider the door. Is it beautiful in its own right? If so, leave it as timber but if you feel that too much timber makes your scheme too classic, just leave the door and paint all the trim. By doing this you frame the timber door making it into a feature.
Another trend that is gaining traction is to paint the interior doors a feature colour – often black or grey. This is a good way to introduce some colour into your room without just selecting a random wall and painting it. Again, rather than also painting the feature colour on the architraves and skirting boards, if you just paint the door then it is not overwhelming.
Never forget the designer's mantra that less is more!
HOWEVER if you have a beautiful colour – perhaps a gorgeous grey – and you want to really provide an impact then you can paint the internal door, architrave and skirting board all in this colour. Just ensure you love it and that it suits the room. I also tend to confine this to well crafted architraves and skirting boards.
Should I paint my internal doors the same colour as the wall?
Looking at this from another point of view, you may prefer to disguise the internal doors. If they are of no architectural merit or if you are looking for a very streamlined and contemporary look, you may just want to paint them the same colour as the walls.
If you are opting for a clean crisp white throughout there is absolutely no reason to paint your skirting boards, architraves and internal doors another colour or different strength of white. Even if your walls are a soft grey, by painting your doors the same colour you maintain a calm, serene environment that has a good flow.
Even with a very classic look, you can paint everything in one colour. The soft green in the image below has been used on the door, trim and bookcase which is very effective when you are using colour as it maintains some simplicity to the look.
Sometimes though a slight contrast is desirable, particularly for a more classic scheme. In this case you can paint the trim and internal doors in a quarter or half strength of the white or neutral you are using on the walls. Or if you have opted for a soft grey or colour on the walls then a suitable white will work.
When you are emulating a Hamptons style you may also have wainscoting which should be the same as the trim and doors.
Consider how many doors are together in a space
This is very important because if you have wardrobe doors adjacent to the main room door you will find that there is a lot of repetition and this may help you to decide whether you keep the doors the same as the walls or make a feature of them. Clearly the more doors there are, the more they will impact on the space.
The designer in the image below has opted to paint the wardrobe doors in the same grey as the upholstered bedhead. This unifies the room and I think is a winner.
If you opt for a deep strong colour on the walls of a room you need to decide carefully on the trim and door colour. These doors in white would have given quite a different feel to the room. It would look great but it would become a very fresh and coastal look. The trim is still white here and probably the internal door to the room but rather than just replicate that white on the wardrobe doors, the designer has taken a more subtle approach.
This can often be a design question for hallways where you have the main entrance doors and then several doors in quick succession leading into rooms.
In this case, I often like to treat the entrance door differently. If you have a beautiful timber door then of course the inside of it should remain timber. But if you have painted your front door then you may like to consider painting both sides of the door in the same colour.
Related: What should you paint on the inside of your front door
Always remember too when you are selecting a colour for your internal doors that it should relate to the overall colour palette for the home. By linking the door colour to an accent that is being used throughout the space, the look becomes more cohesive.
Related: What colour should I paint my skirting boards and architraves
Don't forget to consider your internal doors in relation to the kitchen joinery. Often pantry doors will be close to internal doors throughout an open plan space so you need to think about this too when deciding on a colour.
I hope that this makes sense and has given you some ideas on how to treat your internal doors. Remember that wardrobe doors can be a different colour or tone and that you can link to the architraves or make a feature of the door. Sometimes you will have beautiful statement doors in one area – perhaps a really great barn door – and these can be treated differently to your other doors.
A mood board can help you to pull all of your ideas together. In fact, you really shouldn't embark on any renovation or decorating project without one. I have a FREE e-book for you to download to help you to put a mood board together here.
Don't forget that I love to hear from you to in the comments section below.
re: painting interior doors…I’m working to create a “British Colonial” theme in my 1500 sq ft Florida home. I have several furniture pieces in my living room/dining area that are black/ebony painted wood. The entire house is painted a light grey and doors and trim are white. I love the look of shutters and doors painted either dark wood color or black and I see that in a lot of examples of British Colonial decor. Entryway doors to bedrooms and bathrooms are molded. Closet doors are shutter doors and windows are plantation shutters. Interior living space has a lot of natural light coming in.
Is my square footage too small to paint interior doors?
Do I paint the room entry doors only and skip the closets and plantation shutters?
Would leaving the doors as is and adding new door hardware and hinges help to create the look I”m going for–black or bronze?
Hi Joy For your size of home I like the compromise that you are suggesting with just painting the molded doors into rooms dark and then keeping the closet shutter doors in white to match the shutters on your windows. This gives you a softer and lighter palette whilst still giving a nod to the British Colonial style. Your furniture also helps to create this look. I like the sound of door hardware in a dark bronze – some of these appear almost off black but are not as heavy as solid black and therefore work well on white as well as black. I like to buy one set of hardware to try to see if I like the overall effect before committing to an entire purchase. Don’t forget to consider your hinges too. I hope this has helped and that you love the end result. Samantha
I’m in the process of painting my interior doors in the hallway. They are all 6-panel doors that were painted white. I chose a very light, warm gray. I really like the effect, but think maybe I should have gone a bit darker. Maybe something like photo number 4 in your post. Thanks for the beautiful photos and inspiration!
Thanks Carrie – I love your house – I am sure the light, warm gray is perfect xx
Hi Samantha .. Thanks for your blog pieces – they have been very helpful! I’ve started to paint our tall french bifold doors and windows which head off our kitchen open plan area to the garden in Dulux Klavier but now realise that it’s too purple especially in certain light! These doors and windows take up the best part of two walls .. the other walls are vivid white, with floor boards and old wooden table in this area – so the black certainly pops which is lovely heading out to our courtyard and garden but Klavier is not the right colour. Which softer black would you recommend? (with no purple or blue undertones) Black Caviar or Monument perhaps? Any guidance is very appreciated! I will be painting the outside of the doors/windows in the same colour. The black doors in your third photo look nice. Thanks again.
Hi Karen you can’t go wrong with Monument as it is a lovely off black neutral and works well inside and outside. This would be my choice for you – hope this helps Samantha
Hi Samantha dose ur entry door to ur home have to be the same color on both sides
Hi Kimberley your entry door can be painted different colours inside and outside. I have a blog post on this – what to paint on the inside of your front door – which you will find useful to answer this question. Hope this helps Samantha
Hi Samantha, I decided to paint my interior doors Wrought Iron which is beautiful and adds a really nice contrast to all the very light gray walls and white trim in my home. My question is do I need to paint both sided of the doors. Right now I’ve just started painting the side that leads into the main part of the house but not any of the back sides. And if it is ok to leave the back sides the original white trim color do I paint all the edges Wrought Iron or leave them white. To me the white looks fine because the frame of the door is white but maybe I’m just being lazy. 🙂 Thanks in advance.
Hi Stacy Yes – that is fine to just paint one side and you do leave the edges in white. If you decide it doesn’t suit you can always change it but that’s OK. Glad you like the effect Samantha
Hi Samantha, I’ve just gone ahead and painted the majority of my interior a soft green, and now of course i’m at a loss as to what colour to paint the doors. The problem is that there is quite a lot of timber trim in the house, which my other half absolutely loves. If he would let me paint the trim (and the doors) white, all my problems would be over. I’m not sure whether i should paint the doors the same soft green as the walls, with the timber trim around it, or paint them white, but then only the ceiling and the doors would be white, or paint them a different colour entirely. There are plenty of other colours that might tie in – the rest of the furnishings in the main rooms have a sort of industrial-bohemian thing going on (kind of sounds terrible, but it works on a few levels) with black hardware and pops of colour everywhere, but i worry that i’d be turning the place into a fun house if i vary too much on the colours.. Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Stacey I think as a compromise you could leave the internal doors in timber and just paint all the trim white – skirting boards and architraves. This gives you some nice fresh relief against your soft green and also makes the door a lovely feature – less is more so getting rid of some of the timber makes the remainder look really nice. Perhaps give that a try? Samantha
Hi Samantha, our interior walls are a soft creamy grey off white. The windows/ ledges and all doors are painted tea, which I loathe. We also have a wooden staircase leading upstairs off the hall.
1. I was thinking of painting the window frames and doors the same colour as the walls. Would this be ok or should I go a tad darker than the walls?
2. Should I also paint the staircase in the same colour as the walls, and do the cap in say a warm black?
The house is quite large and open plan.
Thanks for your advice.
Margaret
Hi Margaret you can go either way – a slight contrast is more of a classic look while trim and doors the same as the walls is more contemporary. I do like the idea of bringing in the black for the handrail as this will provide some definition to the staircase. Hope this helps Samantha
Can I paint the inside of my solid front door black, leaving the side lights white that match the trim on the foyer? I am concerned about the flat surface of the door being black, all the pictures I have seen have some dimension. Would a dark gray/black be a better choice or just staying white?
Hi Mary Ellen you can certainly just paint the door rather than the architraves too – in fact this is often the case with a feature door colour. In terms of whether you use black or a dark grey, consider the other elements in the space – do you have any artworks? If so are they framed in black or something else? Lighting, furniture, hat rack etc. Consider all those elements and then decide. A matt finish will absorb more light and this may work better for you if you do opt for black. Good luck Samantha
Hi Samantha, I was wanting to painted my front door Tricorn Black, but I have two other adjacent doors in that area that are white. Do I need to paint all the doors or can I just paint the one door? I have a timeless look color scheme in that area. It’s an entryway, with my din ing room enclosed in that same area. Greatly for your advice, I personally thinking I have to many doors in that area if I’m not planning on painting all the following doors white.
Warmest Regards
Hi Lydia My advice would be to just paint the front door in black and paint the other doors to tie in with the internal doors throughout your home. Cheers Samantha
Thanks for sharing such great information, it is really helpful. Keep up the work.
Hi Samantha I’m a bit stuck on what fireplace to put in lounge. In fact I think I keep trying bits out and changing my mind as I don’t like it when I’ve do e it eg painting fireplace instead of keeping it wood. How do u overcome that?
Hi Sarah you need to consider whether you want the fireplace to be a feature or just blend into the surrounding area. I tend to like a feature the best as it is naturally a focal point in the room. I hope that this answers your question Samantha
I want to paint my interior doors. We have quite a few. Should I match them to the window frames ? Or should I treat the exterior doors and window frames as a separate entity.
Thanks in advance
Hi Pamela unless you are making a feature of your doors, they should be painted the same as the architraves and skirting boards (architraves for doors and windows). You can choose to use a feature colour for the doors but you need to consider this carefully as you have so many. Sometimes you can just paint double feature doors or the inside of the front door etc. Generally though I would say to match them to the trim throughout the home. Hope this makes sense! thanks Samantha
I have just decorated my bedroom 2 walls navy/silver wallpaper 2 walls silver/grey paper. I have bedroom door and one cupboard door on navy wall and one cupboard door on silver/grey wall. What colour should I paint my doors/skirting? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Hi Joanne If the silver in the wallpaper is the same on all four walls then I would pick out this colour for the doors, perhaps just a similar pale grey. You need to find a link between the two different colour schemes and then perhaps either use a colour that matches or something a little lighter. Hope this helps Samantha
HI Samantha,
nice information provided by you
Hi Samantha,
I’m in the process of repainting my kitchen and bathroom cabinets and also replacing and painting the interior doors. My dilemma is can I paint the main living area doors a different color from the rest of the house? Such as the hallway and. Bedrooms? Both colors are very pretty and neutral and do not clash. The walls throughout the house are white so I am also thinking of painting the door trim the same color as the doors.
Thank you!
Nina
Hi Nina I find that you need a link with a colour scheme throughout a house but I think you could get away with painting the doors differently if you feel they work together but I would keep the architraves and skirting boards the same – presumably a white – to create a link and a seemless flow. Hope this helps Samantha
Have open floor plan – Sage green walls, white mantel, and dark Andiron green front exterior door. What is yr opinion on painting mantel sage green and interior doors dark Andiron green?
Thank you!
Hi Lorraine I love dark interior doors but it will completely change the look and mood of your home. I think if the walls are sage green the mantel should be a contrast, either dark or leave it as white. You need to consider your architraves and skirting boards too – the mood will be much fresher if these are in white against the dark doors. It can certainly work but just consider the overall mood of the house and how you want it to feel. Let us know how you go! Good luck Samantha
Do all the doors in the house need to be painted the same colour. I was thinking black on one floor but another colour for the other floors?
Hi Emma internal doors and trim create a good flow through the house and link the colour schemes nicely. I like to paint feature doors a different colour sometimes – perhaps double doors into a living room or the inside of the front door, but I wouldn’t recommend painting different colours on each floor of the house – it could look like a hotel or nursing home!!! Samantha
Hi Samantha
I have a similar dilemma with a previous reader. My husband loves all the wooden trims and architraves. The internals doors are wooden but cheap. Could I just paint the wooden doors and trim around them but leave the rest of the trims around windows and architraves wooden. Also this would be a more simple job for me to tackle!
Hi Annie yes – absolutely! This will lift the scheme and also hide the doors if they’re not great quality but still leave a touch of timber to keep your husband happy! Good luck Samantha
Hi Samantha,
Great article.
My partner and I are renovating a 1920s Australian Federation house with dark wooden floors and need to decide on door colour.
We are going to have white walls and trim with shaker style doors which would either be white or light coloured oak veneer.
The existing original doors are pine (very tired) and though we like lighter coloured wood for furniture, we are a little hesitant with regards to going with lighter wooden doors with darker floors for fear that it would lack cohesion with the floors.
We have considered whether we should bleach floors lighter or stain floors black but both are a bit of a departure to the roots of the house which is in a heritage listed area where all the original floors in the area are dark brown (the natural colour of old growth Jarrah – an West Australian timber). Some houses did have a Japanese Black treatment historically which leaves floors very dark but not sure whether this would loose to much of the warmth that the floors natural grain brings.
White would still work and look great but the oak might feel even better and though you can always paint the timber but not do the reverse with a cheaper white door it’s an expensive way to end up with a white door.
Love to hear your perspective of this.
Hi Mark your house sounds fabulous and there is no way that I would change the floors – just restore them as they are. My feeling is that white doors will work the best as I feel the light oak is out of keeping with the Federation style and also makes introducing furniture difficult too. Hope this helps with your thinking Samantha
We had a similar issue on the paints! I saw an interior designer who gave me some advice I have stuck by through a DIY. When in doubt – choose an off white or a grey.
Hii!! Thank you for this post, it has helped me think outside the box haha. I am excited decorating my baby girl’s nursery. The space will be almost like cotton candy, very pastel colors, furniture will be white, with 3 light gray walls and 1 light pink. And light gray curtains over the pink wall. But the room has a built-in closet with 3 doors plus 2 doors (bathroom and entrance) all in walnut. I am afraid of painting them white since the entrance to the room is in a hallway with 2 other walnut doors. What would you recommend?
Hi Marie I would keep the doors in walnut and see how you go once it is all finished. You could look at a compromise and paint the built in closet but leave the main doors in walnut? Hope this helps Samantha
Hii!! Yes I think that would be the best option! Do you think I should paint all 3 trims in gray too? Leaving the closet white and doors walnut?
My 1978 ranch home has fruitwood stained baseboards and trim and of course the dreaded stained lauan doors. I want to change out the doors in my house, but I would prefer to have them painted instead of stained. Is it acceptable to paint the doors a neutral color with the fruitwood stained trim/baseboards?
Hi Teresa Yes, I think you can get away with the doors being different. You quite often see doors that are different to their architrave and this is just the same idea. Hope this helps Samantha
We are repainting our house a light blue/grey colour. We have oak trim around all doors and windows and baseboards which we will not paint over.
Space is about 1400 sq ft with 6 doors and one set of closet bifold doors.
Question is do we paint doors same as walls or a darker colour?
Do we paint the two exterior doors or leave them white?
Hi Charlene I think that a slightly darker tone of the wall colour will work well to bring some definition to the doors. With exterior doors, you don’t have to paint them the same each side so my feeling as you have so many doors in the space, is to paint them the same as the others. Hope this helps Samantha
Hi Samantha, excellent advice on blending/contrasting interior wall colours with architraves, skirting & doors. We have installed select blackbutt flooring, taken down walls between kitchen/dining & lounge/dining to really open up the house & make it contemporary. Kitchen, dining & lounge room all have high cathedral ceilings. We have chosen lexicon 1/4 for walls & kitchen cabinets which are gloss shadowline with quantum quartz Michaelangelo countertops & splashbacks. I love the look but am stuck on what colour to paint architraves, skirtings & doors. We find lexicon half too blue in our house, just wondering if lexicon 1/4 in a semi gloss or gloss in Aqua enamel would be good for doors & trims or will it be too little contrast?
Hi Linda my advice would be to use Lexicon Quarter for the trims if you don’t like the blue undertone of the half strength – you will see some definition because of the change in paint finish. Hope this helps Samantha
Hi Sam
Need your help please. We are in Australia.
We moved into a 80’s federation style house with bullnose verandahs. The exterior of the house looks lovely and graceful and we don’t intend to change much, maybe replace the front paving to travertine as we have done for the back.
The interior had a lot of brick walls and beige bathrooms which made the place very dark. We put plasterboard over the brick walls. There is waistcoating in timber which we painted off white and it really lifted the place up. The architraves are timber and a few of the internal doors have lead light inserts.
We are starting the planning of our renovation of the kitchen and bathrooms and want your advice:-
1. We want to lean towards the Hampton’s style to make the place more light and bright – does this clash with the wooden architraves and lead light doors?
2. We love marble and want to redo the en-suite in black and white marble look, with a free standing tub. And plantation shutters. The central bathroom we want to do in a light grey and white theme with wall hung Hampton’s style vanity. Would this work?
3. We are thinking of replacing the carpet in the bedrooms with either timber floor or timber look tiles. Should we go for a dark floor or a light floor? Should we paint the internal doors and architraves off white?
Sorry about the long note and questions but feeling a tad overwhelmed. Especially after the visit to the tile shop ???. Thank you for your help.
Hi Jackie The Hamptons style can clash a little with the timber architraves mainly because the soft greys look so lovely with fresh white but can sometimes look a little flat next to natural timber. As you loved the look of the white wainscoting you may want to think about carrying this through. Hamptons homes generally have darker floors but again this isn’t always the case. I think you should also look at my articles on Hamptons Style https://www.makingyourhomebeautiful.com/hamptons-style-7-steps-to-achieve-this-look/ and on British Colonial Style https://www.makingyourhomebeautiful.com/british-colonial-style-7-steps-achieve-look/. Your house may be more suited to a British Colonial Style and these posts may help you to decide which way you want to go. Hope this helps Samantha
Hi Samantha, Great article – food for thought! We have Dulux natural white walls, vivid white doors/picture rails/skirting boards etc and patterned curtains that are beige/rust colours. We are getting wardrobes across one whole wall and can pick any colour for the doors. Would matching the walls or the doors be better? Or would it be worth looking at bringing a new darker colour in….
Hi Jen with a full wall of wardrobes, they can be overwhelming in Vivid White as they are essentially an entire wall of the bedroom. My feeling would be to match the Dulux Natural White walls – remember the paint finish will be slightly different so it will read a little different to the walls. Hope this helps Samantha
Hi Samantha, really interesting article thank you. I live in quite a small flat with white walls and mainly grey furniture. The doors are currently a very orange wood, and I think painting them will be easier than staining given my small living area! I’m at a loss deciding what colour to paint them – white would help with the flow but could be a bit too ‘samey’ whilst also getting marked and dirty more easily. A light grey could be a good alternative but I do have a lot of cold toned greys in the flat. A darker grey could make the flat look even smaller. What do you think could look good – I’m open to suggestions other than white or grey but I prefer a more neutral look! Many thanks
Hi Hannah my feeling would be to paint the doors in white as the area is small but then add other colours and layers of texture to the grey furniture. Some white throws or perhaps a lovely deep navy or duck egg blue would work well with the grey. Also consider adding some interesting artworks, even just simple framed posters, can give so much personality to the space and detract from the whiteness of the walls. I would prefer this approach to introducing another tone on the doors. Ensure though that when painting timber doors you get some good advice from your local paint store as they will need a good undercoat/primer before you start painting over with white paint. Good luck Samantha
Thank you! Great advice I’ll be taking into account for the repainting process.
Hi Samantha! Great article. I moved into a 1000+ sq ft one floor condo and have natural maple hardwood floors and have painted the walls in BM Simply White. Currently, all interior doors have been painted a gray color – close to SW Dovetail. All interior doors (bathroom pocket doors, closets doors, hallway door, etc.) have to be repainted because the paint is pealing which means I can select any color I want. If I am going for a clean, contemporary vibe, am I better off painting the doors BM Simply White to match the walls and trim or should I go with a light gray such as SW Acier or SW Light French Gray for contrast? I would love your design sense here – I am afraid off too much white.
Hi Amanda there is no doubt that an all white scheme is very contemporary but if you are scared of this you need to consider what other colours and textures that you have in your apartment to offset this. Any decision about the grey for the internal doors would have to tie in very much with the colour scheme of your rugs, sofas, chairs etc. My pick of the two greys would be SW Light French Gray as it is not such a strong contrast with the white however you need to look at the undertones of whichever grey you select and ensure it works with everything else. This is why all white schemes can be so popular!! Hope this helps Samantha
I am considering repainting my hall with six doors and would like to change the colour scheme. I have a light brown carpet which I don’t want to change. What colours would you recommend that would match doors and walls to bring the decoration up to the 2021 style?
Hi Samuel as you have a light brown carpet, I think you should consider a soft greige colour which is blend of beige and grey. These are great neutrals which are contemporary but should have enough beige in them to work with the carpet. You will need to look at samples next to the carpet to double check. I have a post all about greige which you should find useful https://www.makingyourhomebeautiful.com/what-is-greige-find-out-how-to-use-it-in-your-home/
You know where to buy that wood door (2nd photo?) Gorgeous.
Hi Cindi this is the Moda White Oak door from Corinthian https://www.corinthian.com.au/products/doors/interior/moda-white-oak/amod1
Hi Samantha.
Great information.
We just painted the interior walls in the dining, living room areas.
We chose a colour that looks like a mix between soft grey and soft blue (Porter’s Half Wood Smoke) for the walls and we have feature walls, at the entrance of the house and dining area in a red wine colour (Porter’s Dragon’s eye). We have painted the architraves and windows frames in dark green (Porter’s River Stone), for me looks close to black and it looks really good, very contemporary. We are stuck now what colour to paint the internal doors.
We have painted our main bedroom in a blue/grey colour (Porter’s Newport Blue), with the architraves and frames (inside the bedroom) in white (Porter’s popcorn).
Could you please advise which colour should we paint the internal doors?
Your advice will be greatly appreciated. 🙂
Have a great day!
Hi Ana your colour scheme sounds lovely and rich. I usually recommend to use the skirting/architrave colour as a link through the home but you have different ones in different rooms which makes choosing an internal door colour tricky. I’m sorry but this needs quite a bit of consideration which I can’t do in this forum. I’m sorry I can’t give you some definitive help Samantha