Simple Tips for Painting Interior Doors

Today’s post is all about simple tips for painting interior doors!

I can honestly say for most of my life the doors inside all our homes have matched. They’ve all been painted white too. The only exception is the wooden front door at Bliss Barracks which my dad refinished and stained oak.

It never occurred to me to paint interior doors any other color than white – until I started really researching farmhouse style this summer. Then I realized so many gorgeous modern farmhouses have crisp white walls with contrasting trim and contrasting doors colors.

That contrast, usually black meets white, looks so fresh.

You guys may even remember from this breakfast nook post, I thought we were going to be able to pull that look off at Journey’s End too. But the more we tried to force it, the more it just didn’t work.

Over the weekend, I decided to try out a few colors on the interior side of our back door. I was pretty sure it was destined to be painted white again, but you know just for kicks and giggles, I thought we should give another color a shot. I only used paint samples we already had on hand so, in addition to Ultra White we also had Cathedral Stone (top), Blizzard Fog (middle), and English Tea (bottom).

To our total surprise, we loved the contrast! There was a big discussion about using Cathedral Stone vs English Tea especially given we had to consider the color variations in the stacked stones on the fireplace too.

In the end though, we settled on Cathedral Stone which was the wall color we used in one of the bedroom makeovers and on the stenciled floors as well.

Simple Tip #1 – when painting interior doors, choose a color that will complement with your home’s color palette.

Well you know once I got the back door finished, I immediately started working on the front door.

Simple Tip #2 – prep your surfaces well.

We started out by cleaning the entire door and all the trim with TSP.

You’ll need to make sure the door is completely dry before you start painting.

Simple Tip #3 – protect yourself and your surfaces while completing painting projects.

As always, use a tarp to protect surfaces while painting. You’ll also need to use painters tape around door and window trim as well as around the door hardware too. We almost always work from the outside to the inside which in this case meant painting around the windows first.

Simple Tip #4 – work in small sections using a high-quality brush.

If you have a multipaneled door, work in small sections painting the longer outside pieces first

before working your way into the inside where the molding is. That way, you’ll be able to catch any drips before finally painting the rest of the inside panel.

Simple Tip #5 – use the highest quality paint you can afford

This is the interior door after one coat of paint,

and this is after two coats of Valspar’s Cathedral Stone.

If you had a chance to check out the farmhouse inspired entry design plans, you know we’ll be installing board and batten in the entry. I started painting the top of the entry walls in Valspar’s Bistro White which is the same color we painted the breakfast nook. The bottom is painted in Valspar’s Ultra White which will be the same color we’re painting the board and batten once it’s installed. Here’s a sneak peek so far…

Such a big difference, right? I can’t wait to see how the rest of it comes together now.

See you guys back here tomorrow. It’s been a week to say the least. I’ll share an update on the breakfast nook, our unexpected trip to the vet ER and all of our favorite things from around the web.  Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Many blessings,

CoCo