Indoors or Out
Indoors or out, painting a door with color, subtle or vivid, can add individuality and interest. Indoors, a colorful door might be just the right accent needed, or may help a door fit in with the scheme of things.
A Colorful Welcome
Sometimes a colorful entry door adds just the right welcoming touch to the main portal into a home.
From stately dark blue to punchy orange and bright red to lively bright aqua, these entry doors voice their unique first impressions:
A dark blue door accents an entry designed with Greek Revival columns and a Geogian/Federal fanlight. (From Southern Accents at MyHomeIdeas; photo: J. Savage Gibson.)
A bright orange-red door pops in contrast with the stone façade.
A red front door contrasts with white trim and accents. (Source for the above two images: Better Home and Gardens.)
This bright aqua door is painted Valspar 5008-10A Simply Aqua. (Photo by David Hillegas.)
A New England coastal home sports a bright red entry door. (Photo by Tria Giovan.) (Above two images from Coastal Living.)
On the Caribbean isle of St. Barts…
Designer Barry Dixon has used a bright turquoise for the entry doors of a cottage on the French island of St. Barts. The turquoise of the master bedroom doors offer transition from the pool terrace into the room. (From Coastal Living. Photos by Tria Giovan.)
Come On In…
When opened, colorful doors add visual transition into the home’s interior. The other side of the door might be painted the same color, as is sometimes the case.
Cherry red is the warm and cheery entry into this home. (From Sunset magazine.)
A blue-gray entry door provides additional contrast, along with the hot pink sofa, in this foyer designed by Ned Marshall. The luscious wall color: Benjamin Moore’s Bittersweet Chocolate. (Photo: Kerri McCaffety.)
Black is the color of the glass-paned French doors in a fresh and breezy foyer by Jonathan Adler. Black on white works for crisp contrast – and a touch of drama. Black is echoed in the console, lamp, and accent pillow. (Photo: Ngoc Mihn Ngo.)
Subdued gray French doors add subtle contrast in this traditionally styled foyer by designer J. Randall Powers. (Photo: Luca Trovato.)
Leading from an airy foyer to an enclosed porch, a yellow door adds a punch of color to the all white space designed by Albert Hadley. (Photo: Simon Watson.) (The above four images are from House Beautiful.)
Interior Doors – Add Accent or Harmonizing Color
Using color on an interior door isn’t frequently seen, but the designers below have incorporated painted doors into the color scheme of an interior. Or they’ve used the door color as an accent. The examples may open doors for thinking about colorful door possibilities.
In a dining room with pale gray patterned walls, dark wood, and otherwise all white elements, designer Melanie Elston has used dark blue for the door, adding contrast and interest.
In another dining area (or game room?) by Melanie Elston, the two doors on one wall become interesting features in the room, sporting their subtly contrasting gray color.
Emerald green glass doors add shimmery color to a dining area by designer Frank Roop.
This foyer area by designer Julio Quiñones is painted a pale orange-yellow color. The bluish-black of the door is a complementary color to the wall color. The bluish cast also picks up the blue in the rug. (A tip: most all black paints have a color leaning, for instance green, blue, or purple, so pick a black that works with the rooms color scheme.)
The painted door in this elegant living room by designer Alessandra Branca coordinates gracefully with the color scheme.
Cleanly-defined blue-green doors add an element of rich color in a room with a serene color palette. The refined interior is by Andrew Brown. (Photographer: Tria Giovan; source: Interiors magazine.)
Red speaks volumes in this nearly all white bedroom of a home in Colombia. The red door adds punch and flair among the rustic wood beams and ebony furniture pieces. (From Veranda. Photo: Carlos Domenech.)
The criss-cross ebony-colored door plays its part in the style mix of a bedroom by famed designer Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.
Designer Thad Hayes has used bright yellow on two identical doors, contrasting the intense color with the deep gray of the wall. The yellow of the doors and the bright red of the lamps are pops of color in the otherwise neutral scheme.
The pale blue color of the door in a living room by Jays Jeffers matches the color of the painted cabinets. The color scheme is a complementary scheme of blue and orange.
With the exception of the white floor, all surfaces in the bathroom of a Bahamas “salt box”, designed by Tom Scheerer, including the bead-board door, are painted the same pale blue. The approach creates a soothing, harmonious small space. (Photo by William Waldron.)
And lastly, a classic door and a novel door…
Color specialist and designer David Oliver, based in London, shared ideas about color and doorways with Veranda magazine. His preference is for doorways to be darker than the walls. “Doorways,” he says, “mark the transitional zones of the house, so when you define them in this way, it helps you navigate your way through the house.”
This door has an air of history with its glossy dark green paint over a worn surface. The fine panel delineation gives it a sense of grandness. Contrasting with the salmon-toned walls heightens the door’s affect. The image may suggest door ideas for those living in period homes. (Shown in Veranda magazine courtesy of Rizzoli; Photo: Fritz von Der Schulenburg.)
For a Spanish style home, a decoratively painted door can add an individual touch.
Custom closet doors were hand-painted by artist Jean Horihata in Spanish style home in Bel Air. Madeline Stuart was the interior designer for the home. (Photo by Art Strieber.)
So, I’ll close the door on this post…
A Bit More…
You might like some of the ideas on a post about painting interior doors at Apartment Therapy.
Tips
• Decide if want the door to stand out or harmonize within the room.
• As mentioned above, black paint colors have a hue cast, so when choosing black for a door make sure those undertones fit with the room’s color scheme.
• If a decoratively or faux painted door seems the right way to go, and you don’t feel up to the task, you can do an online search for faux painters in your area.
If your painted door is a DIY project:
• When using a bright or dark paint color you’ll get better coverage if you use a tinted primer. Paint retailers can add matching tint to off-the-shelf primer.
• A door is a comparatively easy item to paint, so if you decide your not entirely pleased with your color selection, paint it again.
• You’ll find tips on painting a door at Better Homes and Gardens: “How to Paint a Door“. (Although, personally I found I prefer to use a regular roller pad designated for flat surfaces rather than a foam pad. But, then again, I didn’t finish off with a brush. Maybe best to follow a real painter’s advice.)
Publication sources for the images in this post
Better Homes & Gardens. Coastal Living. House Beautiful. Interiors magazine. MyHomeIdeas, which includes Southern Accents. Sunset magazine. Veranda.
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