Black/Gray Painted Interior Doors

Happy Monday y’all!  How awesome was that extra hour of sleep yesterday?!  I was a busy bee this weekend and got lots of stuff accomplished around the house.  You might have already seen our new door if you follow me on Instagram (@honeywerehome).  I can’t keep away from that app!  Thanks Cassie– grrrr!! 🙂
I’ve been seriously smitten with black doors since seeing them at Emily’s house (A Well Dressed Home) and around Pinterest.  Aren’t they gorgeous?!  She added decorative molding to her doors and painted all of them!
We have a half bath downstairs that is just off of the living room.  I’ve been eyeing that door for awhile now, wondering what it would look like if I painted it black.  I was buying paint for another project this weekend, and on impulse decided to buy some paint for the door too.   
I saw that Emily used Benjamin Morre’s Dragon’s Breath, which she describes as more of a dark grayish-brown, but my Sherwin Williams (it’s the closest paint store to my house) didn’t have that color.  I knew I didn’t want a cold, stark black, but something a little warmer, and so I went with Sherwin Williams Black Fox, which I thought was similar to what Emily used.
I realized the door would be easier to paint if it was laid flat on the floor.  

After three coats, I ended up with a very dark gray door.  Even though it wasn’t what I originally had in mind, I like it!  I still need to apply another thin coat on the inside panels because when the light hits it in certain spots, you can see streaks.  

I like it so much that I want to paint all the upstairs doors in our hallway too- but that would mean painting 9 more doors!  I would probably go with the same color, but add a little more black to it.  And for those who asked, we did have this table near the banquette previously.
Have you painted any doors in your house?
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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

95 Comments

  1. Good morning, Megan!
    Wow, I love the contrast of the darker door in your foyer–it really gives some extra interest. I've been contemplating whether or not to try this after seeing it on Emily Hewett's blog. Maybe I'll have to go for it!

    Have a great day,
    Nancy

  2. I'm stealing this idea!!! 🙂 It looks AMAZING! I was actually doing makeup at a clients house and she had her walls, trims and doors painted almost identical to yours… I even took pics! Love it! Your home is gorgeous!

  3. Wow! This looks great. I know you painted this yourself but I've been meaning to ask you for a painter recommendation. We need our entire house painted but it's hard finding someone when we aren't from here. I'd rather go with someone recommended. Do you have anyone that you would recommend?

    Lura
    x

  4. I think the color looks great. It goes well with your little love seat. Funny how colors look different in different homes. We bought A LOT of black fox for our home renovation and it ended up too bronze. We ended up using Gauntlet Grey. All of our doors are that color and I love it!

  5. I love black interior doors! Looks great! Our plan is to eventually…I say eventually because I think it is #98 on the DIY home improvement list…paint all or our interior doors black…xo Kristin

  6. I love to explore with color but admittedly would have been too frightened to try this. Now looking at your door….well I absolutely love it. It's simply stunning and I cannot wait to see if you move forward with additional doors.

  7. Any advice on the process? do you use a roller, brush or both? how does one not leave streaks? this is why I haven't painted a door myself, esp the front door, inside and out. So easy to spot stroke marks on front doors. I want a professional look without paying a professional, alas.

  8. I did have black doors in our old house and I am about to tackle painting ours here too , and changing out the hardware from ugly brass , big job !!! Looks great !

  9. I always thought black doors would make the room smaller and a lot darker, but the lighter trim makes all the difference. Another colour to keep in mind…
    xx

  10. So gorgeous!!!! We have beautiful wood doors throughout our house, but if they were white, you better believe I'd be painting doors this weekend after seeing this!

  11. Looks great! I would love to paint all of my doors but I think I'll just start with our pantry and go from there.

  12. its gorgeous Megan!! what a difference it made to that space! I havent convinced my hubs to jump on the black door wagon yet. 🙁

  13. It really did make a huge difference. So much warmer and rich looking. You and Cassie have me thinking! Hmmm.

  14. I love the colour. It works so well with the dark wood tones and black spindles. Doors are so much work to paint but they can make a big difference in a space.

  15. We had our doors all painted a chocolate brown, but got tired of them so we painted them white. Just by painting the doors, it creates a different mood in the room.

  16. It looks great Megan! I painted our sliding doors in our family/living room black and loved the look so much I did the same to the inside of our front door. I love how classic yet modern it looks and it doesn't hurt to hide the kiddies fingerprints either 😉 I'd love to paint all of our doors too – but I think I need to take baby steps – it's alot of work!

  17. We recently moved into a home with cream-colored trim and doors. A nice crisp white is more our style, so just the other weekend, we decided to dive into the first room. Ooooh, yes, the crisp white brightens it up! However, my husband and I both decided we are hiring the rest of the house done, no matter the expense. Our weekends as a family are too precious and our house is too big to DIY all that trim and those doors!

    But now, you have me thinking….! 🙂

  18. Congrats! It's amazing the impact a different touch of paint does. I love it when we go from "It was not what I was planning" to "I think I like it so much more the way it turned out". Dark grey gives the room sophistication, I think black would have been to harsh for the room and your floors! Love it 🙂

  19. Congrats! It's amazing the impact a different touch of paint does. I love it when we go from "It was not what I was planning" to "I think I like it so much more the way it turned out". Dark grey gives the room sophistication, I think black would have been to harsh for the room and your floors! Love it 🙂
    UNOhome

  20. Megan, I think your door looks really good, but like one of the above posters, I would like to know how to go about doing this. Do I sand and prime first? Do I use regular latex paint or an oil based paint? Did you paint both sides of the door or only the one facing the outside? Thanks in advance for any tips you can offer.

  21. Megan, can you tell us if you sanded and primed the door first? Did you use latex or an oil based paint and did you paint both sides of the door or just the outside? Thanks for the help!

  22. MEGAN! That looks fantastic. Way to hop on a project and not look back. I would have never thought it'd make such a dramatic difference, but it looks fantastic!!

  23. It looks amazing and I actually love the dark gray vs. solid black. I have wanted to do this for some time – just need to convince they husband. He clearly has no vision 😉

  24. We painted our doors a dark grey at our house with light brown walls. At first I thought they would look weird but everyone that has come to our house has raved about how much they wish they had thought of the idea!

    You should totally paint the rest of your doors! 🙂 You won't regret it!

  25. Megan- This looks incredible! I love that you just tackle projects head on. You must smile every time you walk past the door! Love it.
    Abby

  26. What a huge difference! It looks fabulous! We painted our front door black and I've been trying to decide if an inside door will get the same treatment!

  27. I agree with you, my friend. Black, grey, and white are the safest and the most perfect choices for door color of a house. These three colors depict elegance, and they can all be combined with different colors and still stand out.

    Li Ayers

  28. Wow! I love it! Did you use a roller or a regular paintbrush? My husband & I are in the process of painting our doors! Well, we have one started. 🙂

  29. Love it, the rooms looks great and that settee is amazing! I just painted our french doors black, not only do I love the look but they look cleaner than if they were white. With 4 kids and 2 dogs it makes me want all the doors black!

  30. Megan, that door is absolutely stunning! BTW, so is your home! 🙂 It is very tempting to try that paint color on our doors. The color you used blends beautifully with your decor and adds a depth of richness. I actually have almost the same staircase as you and similar doors. Hmmm…more ideas and projects to ponder. lol 😉

  31. If I paint my doors upstairs in the hall, should I just pain the outside of them or the inside as well? (the side inside the rooms). Confused!

  32. Love the door! We are planning on using black fox for the trim in our new home. Can you please tell me what the paint color is you used on the walls? All the colors look so nice together! Thanks!

  33. WOW!!! I love love LOVE your blog! I'm not really a blog person, but I stumbled on yours and am now seriously creeping all over it 🙂 I think your home is fabulous. Because of this section, I am going to paint my pantry door this same color… the walls are going to be Functional Gray (kitchen/family room). The rest of the house is Agreeable Gray but doesn't get as much light as the kitchen. My question to you is… I'd like to also paint the front door and hall coat closet door (situated similarly to your half bath), but where do you stop? Once you've started painted doors a color, do you then need to do ALL of the interior doors the same color or can you leave some white? I'd love your input! Thanks so much and THANK YOU for this fabulous blog!!!

    xo, Roxanne

    1. Hi Roxanne! So happy to hear you like my blog! Thanks so much for letting me know!! I totally know what you mean about when to stop with the doors. I think if you see the doors from one vantage point, it looks best for tham all to be painted the same color. I still have a couple doors in our upstairs hallway I need to paint!

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