Jayson Bradshaw
Probably thanks to the wild popularity of white paint colors, I have been spotting black doors everywhere lately, and I don’t mean from the street! In this post we will take a look at some gutsy homeowners who took the plunge into darkness with their interior doors.
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You might be wondering if you should commit to painting every door in your house, but that can also be scary!
The good news is that a lot of people actually don’t paint every single interior door when they take on this project. Some have chosen to stick to a single level, they paint either all of their downstairs or all of their upstairs doors black.
Every single person that I spoke to had white doors painted, either existing or new. Black doors won’t make a regular sized room look smaller. In small areas with limited natural light, black doors may make the space feel closed in.
Hallways are generally okay because there is still a lot of wall where you can introduce a light color. In general though, homeowners and designers have said that black doors create the illusion of higher ceilings. I would love to say that black doors are timeless, but it probably isn’t the case.
Particularly in bedrooms, many homeowners opt to paint the outside of their interior doors black and leave the inside white. Just make sure you do paint around the sides of the doors, because sometimes they can show a little bit.
If you are going for a very clean and minimal aesthetic, consider painting your walls and trim in the same shade of white.
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace is a true white with just a hint of softness, that can be used for both.
They chose Sherwin Williams Whitetail for the wall color in this room, and Iron Ore for the black. (Full warning: Iron Ore is more of a charcoal, it just looks black in this basement, and Whitetail is quite a warm white.)
GMD Painting created a color block black-and-white moment in this entryway, by painting the inside of the front door, all of the trim, and the wall, solid black: For a totally streamlined look, choose black for your knobs and hinges.
I wouldn’t personally choose chrome or nickel hardware, because it lacks a little oomph, but that’s the trend lover in me.
Rachael from First House on Finn, has used Tricorn Black on accents throughout her home, including the inside of her front door!
This next black front door is nestled into a shiplap wall painted in Sherwin Williams Cyberspace. For the white in here, Debra used Sherwin Williams Greek Villa.
This custom arched glass door provides just a hint of black: Here is another black door, this time a sliding glass one leading out to the patio:
Madison (@withmadisonaz) also painted the doors black throughout his house, so you will be seeing more from him.
In a departure from the norm, this custom home features white trim around the black door, and wood through the rest of the room.
The halls of Jessica’s house are a great place to peep black doors with snazzy gold hardware! The bathroom is one popular place to put black doors!
Obviously black doors are still very much on trend, because several of the photos in this article are from John Askew (@johnaskewcustomhomes) who is a custom home builder. Back to Debra’s house again for this black and white moment: If you love Madison’s house too, you will want to check out my post about Sherwin Williams Clary Sage, which features pictures of his super fun kitchen!
Just like bathrooms, the pantry is a great one-off door to dabble in black paint.
She later frosted the glass herself, using an adhesive film, but she did mention that the bubbles were hard to get out. I have used the frosted glass spray paint before but can’t seem to find it on Amazon to link for you.
Madison had a chuckle on his instagram over the “sheriff” door that came with the house. You might think that black doors will hide dirt and grubby little fingerprints, but the opposite is true. Black doors – particularly ones with any bevels or edges – need to be cleaned frequently
In very small spaces black will suck the light out of the room.
Consider testing your idea by painting craft paper and tacking it up. Black doors only work with a limited amount of wall colors.
If you see someone slapping black paint all over their house, 9 times out of 10 it will be Tricorn. (Bear in mind that Sherwin Williams does round their LRV numbers, so Tricorn could actually be 2.8 etc.) Limousine Leather is the darkest black that they offer, and it has an LRV of 5!
That being said, I’m sure on a small surface like doors, Limousine Leather would look dark enough. Good news if you are on a budget: You can head to Lowe’s to pick up one of the blackest blacks available! Test out all of these black paint colors the fast and easy way, by ordering peel-and-stick samples!
Samplize will ship you a large “sticker” made of actual paint. It really does end up being cheaper than buying the test pots and sampling the old fashioned way.
Satin finish would be my choice for painting doors in general, but especially dark ones. I’ve learned from being a professional painter, that paint isn’t as picky as you might think.
If you are dealing with previously DIY painted doors, you will probably see some areas that could be smoother. If you are tackling this project alone, taking the doors down isn’t the easiest task.
I really don’t mind being extra careful painting if it means less prep. That being said, door knobs aren’t typically that hard to take off. Unfortunately it isn’t super eco-friendly, but poly drop cloths are better for painting doors because they can slide underneath even when there is little clearance.
Poly drop cloths also double as a way to keep your paint supplies from drying out between coats.
I have done a lot of painting over the years, so I generally don’t tape anything. Rather than trust my tape job (and spend time doing it), I carry these baby wipes and clean up when I goof.
For cabinets, doors, or anything else that needs a super smooth finish, I always use a foam paint roller. The tiny little pores in a foam roller produce a super even texture.
A kit is the best way to go because you get your handle, rollers, tray, and a disposable liner. I’m going to assume that you want the easier DIY solution of rolling, so that’s what I’m going to talk about.
Use your paint brush to cut carefully around any hardware you left on, and over any design features that the roller will miss. For bevelled edges I like to use the rounded end of a foam roller to squish paint into the tricky areas.
It helps give a more uniform finish than doing large areas with a brush. To be honest, leaving the door handles on helps a little when painting, because you have something to hang on to for leverage. Don’t be shy about really loading up your roller to get good thick coats on. I have used a number of stains (dark ones included), but I wasn’t impressed with the black that I tried before. This Minwax “Charred Black” stain has excellent reviews (for that specific color, weathered gray not so much!) To get ready for a stain I would use a palm sander, because hand sanding a previous finish completely off is a real chore!
After the stain has been applied liberally with a brush, wipe off with painter’s rags and tidy up any messes on the hardware. It’s a good idea to test a small square of the stain inside a closet door, or somewhere else inconspicuous, to get the hang of it.
I typically leave stain on for longer than the directions (even twice as long) to get a better color.
I hope this post helped you decide if you are going to the dark side!
