Comparisons are easy when you are an interior decorator. You get to visit different homes build at different times, with different styles. One feature in home decor that rarely has much variety (at least where I live) is interior doors; most are white with raised panels and round knobs. Pretty understated, pretty boring, but it doesn't have to be like that. Let's look at some options.
Paint them dark
Paint is one of the cheapest solutions for making your doors standout and invite. If you like drama go for dark. Stick to painting the doors only and keep the trim colour neutral unless you have a very high contrast look going on. Dark trim colour outlines a room.
I love this door painted Benjamin Moore Overcoat CC 544 in Cameron MacNeil's home because it is a destination for the eye.You have no choice but pay attention to it. The four pieces of art work hung vertically add to the overall look of the space. It's easy to get away with a dark door if you have glass in it and if it is a front or back door. I prefer dark charcoal doors to black and my favourite colour is Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain (2134-30).
House and Home
Solid black doors are more imposing and double doors painted a dark colour beg to be noticed. In this room the floor colour supports the black scheme. The rectangular hardware adds interest too. There's nothing as boring as a stainless round knob.
And stencil it
Check out the other 24 ideas on this blog for black doors.
Paint them bright
I found a large number of red exterior doors, but red works equally well on interior doors as Sarah Richardson proved in one of her many makeovers.
We don't often think of purple when we are trying to come up with a hue that goes well with most wood tones, but it does.I love the splash of colour with this basically wood toned room. Can you have too much wood? Yes, in my opinion, no happens to be my husband's take on this much debated question in our home.
Paint a stripe
Emily Elizabeth Interior Design
I like the way the stripe on the wall is extended across the door and the door trim. You have to really love stripes for this application. I want to close it and see the full effect. Interesting and fresh.
Paint the detailing
Sometimes painting details can create a fussy and cluttered look. That is not the case in this room because of it's very neutral palette.
Add trim
Gauhar
This more traditional look can be created by gluing (construction adhesive) ready made trim to plain doors. All you need is a miter box and saw. You won't get the lovely curved corners, but everything else is possible.A stencil can produce the design in the middle panel.
Use wallpaper
If you have a door with a recessed panel or a plain slab (hollow core) door you have many options to use wallpaper to embellish it. The trick is to integrate the door into your decor in a seamless way. This is an idea that could go very wrong and look absolutely cheap. Keep your wallpaper colour the same as the wall colour for best effect.
Add 3 D detailing
Using upholstery tacks can create very interesting door detailing. If you like to cross stitch this is the door idea for you! I can't imagine being this repetitive but to some it's a pure form of meditation.
Nail head trim can be a great solution for decorating a plain door. You can make the door colour colourful or dark. Depending on the colour you choose to paint the door, this look works well in a den/ study or boy's room.
That's a quick roundup of great DIY door solutions. Hope you found one you liked.
