Why I love painting interior doors black

Have you looked at your plain white interior doors and been so uninspired? It’s time to paint your builder grade doors. Paint is such an easy and inexpensive way to change anything – a room, piece of furniture, and YES, a door. Here’s everything you need to know when considering painting your doors black!

5 Reasons to paint interior doors black

1 – A door is a design feature that is ofter overlooked- We have so many of these in our homes, but we often leave them white. I love doors as a design feature. Giving attention to the doors in your home make it look much more custom, and a lot less builder-grade. You can also add a cool geometric design to your doors, or a timeless chevron pattern to make your interior doors a featured element. 

2 – Black will never go out of style – Black is a neutral. It is a timeless color that will stand the test of time. It’s frustrating to DIY your home, spend the money and time, only to find out in 2 -3 years, that it’s not trending anymore. The good news is that black doors are timeless, so you don’t have to worry about it your painted door going out of style. 

3 – Black interior doors can be classic or modern – Black is such a versitile color that it can go with many different interior design styles. By simply changing the hardware, you can make your door fit with your design style

4 – It’s an easy way to add color to your home – it can be scary to add color to your home. People tend to shy away from dark colors. However, a black door is a small punch of color. It’s not a big commitment in terms of time to paint, or the visual space to paint it. It may even give you confidence to paint other spaces in your home. If you paint it black and don’t like, you can always paint the door back to white. 

5 – Painting doors is a beginner project – this DIY requires very little tools. In fact, you don’t need any tools. Just a paint brush, and paint. It’s an affordable DIY. Plus, if you’re new to DIY, paint is a great siill to master and build your confidence before tackling bigger projects. 

What is the best black paint for interior doors?

There’s so many great black paint colors to choose from! Here are my favs for black paint color picks:

Tricorn Black SW 6258

Tricorn Black is a pure neutral black. It doesn’t have a strong undertone. However, it is a cooler black and works great in modern spaces. I used this for my interior front door

Urban Bronze SW 7048

Urban Bronze is my favourite black. It has so much dimension and richness to the color. It has both grey and brown undertones. It’s the color I painted all the doors in my home. 

Cyberspace SW 7076

Cyberspace is a deep black with dark blue undertones. When the light shines on it, it looks like the deepest navy blue. It’s great if you want to introduce other blue tones into your home. I fell in love with it when we used it in my friend’s living room for a DIY slat wall.

Caviar SW 6990

Caviar is a rich black with chocolate undertones. I used it to paint my the vanity in my parent’s home. It’s a great cozy black that can be used in transitional/ traditional homes. 

How to Pick a Black Paint color?

Picking a paint color is ofter the hardest part of the project! Here’s some tips to pick the best black paint

– Look for the undertones. You can easily find out but looking where the color chip galls on the paint smaple wall. If the black is near the blues, it will have a bluer undertone vs if it’s near the browns, it will have a brown undertone.

– Get samples – paint a piece of paper the sample colors and observe it during diff daytime, lighting, etc. 

– What are the other colors in the space? Are the cool or warm undertones. Match the black tone to the undertones in the space. 

When painting interior doors black, do you paint both sides?

This is a question that I get a lot over on my instagram. To be honest, it’s a question I wonder as well! I have painting many doors in my home. I usually do not paint the back of the door. I’ve painted my pantry closet door, furnace door and my coat closet. In all these closets, I didn’t think it was necessary to paint them since no one really goes inside the cloest or sees the contents, besides me!

I’ve also painted doors that lead into bathrooms and I left the over side white. I left them white because I didn’t want to force the black color on to the design of the bathroom. I don’t think it needs to be painted black. 

What type of black door paint should I use?

Picking the right type of paint is important to the durability of the paint. Doors encounter a lot of wear and tear. We are opening them, closing them, and slamming them. My kids are driving toy cars into them, and running into them. 

I use Sherwin Williams Urethane Enamel paint. It’s meant for doors, trim and cabinet. It’s self levelling and very durable. I’ve used it when I painted my parents vanity black, my daughter’s nursery dresser and more recently, these black doors that I painted. 

Can you use regular interior paint? Yes, you can, but for the same cost, buy the right type of paint. It’s going to make a difference to the longevity of the paint job. 

Should you paint your doors gloss, satin, or matte?

This is largely personal preference, but I have painted my doors both satin and matte. Here is my experience. With matte black paint, every scuff and scratch mark shows up. It’s such an eyesore. Also, matte paint is not very easy to wipe clean. If you have kids or pets, a matte finish is not for you. I prefere to use a satin or semi gloss finish. This gives a nice sheen, it’s durable, and easy to clean. Plus, the black paint does not reflect off of it too much. I would not advise a gloss finish. It won’t look good in a dark color as the light will reflect off it too much. 

Matching door knobs for a black door?

The type of knobs you select can determine the vibe of the space. Be sure to pick a door handle that matches the decor style of your house. You need to consider the color, if you need a knob vs handle, and the shape. Keep in mind handles are a lot easier for both kids and older adults to open. Here’s a round up of my favourite matching handles. 

Here you can see the doors without the knobs. They could go with any style!

Here I added a more classic style of door knob. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Here’s a round up of gorgeous door handles and links below

1. Gold Door Handle (the one I used)

2. Whimsical Matte Black Door Knob

3. Bowery Matte Black Door Knob

4. Classic Matte black door handle

5. Black and Gold – Geneva Knurled Door Lever Square Rosette

6. Naples Polished Brass Door Lever

7. Crystal Door Knob

8. Brass Flowerette Door Knob

9. Classic Rosette Interior Mortise Crystal Glass Door Knob

If you opt to change your door handles to a different color, the hinges should match too. You can change the hinges (which I have found to be really difficult), or instead paint them using gold wax. It’s so easy since you don’t even need to take the hinges or door off. No one will know the difference. 

How to paint interior doors black?

There are many things to consider when painting interior doors. I have a blog post on how to paint your door without brush marks. This is the easiest and cheapest method as you don’t need any fancy tools, and you don’t even need to take the door off the hinges. 

I hope you consider painting your doors black to add a ton of character to your home! If you do, I would love to see it. Follow me @hanashappyhome for more budget friendly DIY ideas!

Pin this for future reference