Painting My Interior Doors – Color Binge Beauty!
We have another update from our newest Jordan House to share with you and it’s a-door-able… We’ll show you how we painted our doors (and a few other home accents) and share our tips for painting doors with a beautiful finish. We’ve been painting up a storm in partnership with Behr for this post: they have provided all paint products for this post but, as always, all opinions are my own. We are SO excited to share with you about this easy house update!!! Want a sneak peek??
I am really pumped about what I’ve been working on this last weekend… (hint: it has a LOT to do with paint!!)
When we first moved into our current house, there was quite a bit of color on the main floor, but we reorganized the walls quite a bit. What this did was create an open concept entry/ living / dining / kitchen space. It is ALL one space now, so seeing bits of color from each old room had to go!
The first paint project in our house was taking time to calm the space, by painting it all white… and guys that was a task. We have heavily textured walls, and painting textured walls takes a really careful attention to the wall while you paint so that the paint fills all the gaps in texture… ugh!
Well, after a lot of work painting, first I was relieved it was done, and second I had to admit that the house felt pretty darn boring ONLY white. Don’t get me wrong, I really like bright white spaces, but in this space there wasn’t enough contrast to make it feel warm. I realized we needed some more color. But wasn’t about to go through the effort to paint the walls again (at least yet!!)
Painting My Interior Doors
So, I went out all a limb (for me) by going with medium gray IKEA kitchen cabinets and GORGEOUS brushed gold hardware (in my still unfinished kitchen…) but that is as far as I went for color. Then during the Parade of Homes I saw a house that was mostly white walls, with accents of gray (check), gold (check), and BLUE. Guys?! I was sold.
This is the color I have been missing… but what color blue exactly?
You see, I have been collecting blue and white dishes for 18 years (since my sister brought home a set from Japan for me) but I have never used them from day to day… but they are all tones of blue, so which should I choose? (And don’t they look great on my new open shelves!)
Then I saw it.
Behr’s 2019 Color Trends were exactly the answer! Each palette highlights the Behr 2019 Color of the Year, Blueprint — a really nice, calming mid-tone blue shade.
In particular the Color Binge monochromatic palette caught my eye.
Honestly, when I read the description, I laughed out loud- because it was exactly what I was working toward! Here is the description:
“Embracing a full range of blue, teal and gray is a key direction for 2019 Color Trends. Layer light and dark blues on walls, cabinets, furniture and décor items for impactful results. Brushes of metallic gold add a touch of luxe.”
EXACTLY!! I need a Designer Inspired Refresh in this house! Why choose just ONE shade of blue?
So my new paint project was about to begin! FIRST UP? These doors were all about to change!
We decided to go with Dark Navy S530-7 (as included in the Color Binge palette) for all the doors on our main floor (minus one- the wood barn door– but I originally planned on painting it so we’ll see if I get the courage to paint it…) In my past homes, I’ve painted my doors black and really dark grey, but for this house that felt too neutral, and I felt like that would be sort of boring. We needed the color and so we began.
Tip: To figure out how much paint you need for your project, check out the Behr paint calculator!!
The navy door color is so rich and beautiful! Check out the difference between the two here:
Tips for Painting Interior Doors
- When painting doors like these faux wood print hollow core doors, I ALWAYS USE a brush. Using a brush mimics the look of wood grain, and really works better than a roller (EVEN a foam roller) because you will have a slight orange peel even with the super smooth finish rollers, it is inevitable)
- Always follow with the “grain” of the wood – even if it is a faux wood grain.
- Be sure to pay attention to the construction of the door- the horizontal rails vs the vertical stiles – and match your brush strokes to the construction and grain.
- Where the rails and stiles of the wood door meet, pay close attention to not leaving bush marks that are going opposite of the wood grain.
- Work in sections. I start at the top and paint the top rail, two side stiles and the 2 raised panels. Looking over every intersection as i go to avoid big beads of paint.
- Clean your brush between doors. One of the main problems with crappy brush work is dried paint on your paintbrush… Take the tiny bit of extra time to wash out the paint and clean off dried paint build up. Your finish will thank you for it.
- Lastly, for doors make sure you go with either a Satin or Semi-gloss finish. You want some sheen so that you can keep your doors clean!! And that wiping them down is an easy task!
This pop of color (4 of them to be exact) was really helping our space feel less bland, but we needed a bit more color to make it work…
Also there is the big blank section of wall space that needed something.
We picked up some brushed gold metal frames and decided to paint the photo mats in the
Color of the Year, the mellow BlueprintS470-5.
At the moment, we don’t have the glass in so that you can see them in the pictures without a glare, but we will add our glass back when we are done photographing, which will help the mats not to warp or bend out as much as right now! We added pictures from our most recent family trip to Lake Tahoe and the colors are a perfect fit.
The entry table needed some sprucing up too.
First, I removed all the wicker baskets and decided to paint the front Antigua M460-7. I like this because I can flip them around anytime I want a change in color or for different seasons.
When you push them in, you can’t see the wicker on the sides! It is the perfect hack to go with our faux built-in entryway console hack!
Lastly, I found some frames in the same color scheme and added some pictures and new decor.
I am so excited!
It really looks like a world of difference! (Can you tell we are Disney pin collecting fanatics…?)
The new gold boxwood wreath I made (for FREE) added a nice touch to the new blue front door, too.
As a side note, you can try out these colors in your own home using the ColorSmart by Behr® tool here! Go check out how this amazing color can be incorporated into your own home.
I think it is time for a giveaway so you can go pick up some paint, amiright?! $100 to the HOME DEPOT!! WOOT!! WOOT!! (Christmas is coming guys! What is a better time for a giveaway!?)
ONE lucky winner will receive a $100 Home Depot e-Gift Card to get you started on your own Behr painting binge! There are two ways to enter for a chance to win: leave us a comment below and visit and follow @BehrPaint over on Instagram — just follow the instructions in the widget below to register your entries.
This giveaway is open for only ONE WEEK so be sure to share with your best painting buddy!
BEHR $100 Home Depot e-Gift Card Giveaway
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Behr. The opinions and text are all mine.
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
Please tell me where you got the entryway cabinet. I’ve been looking for something slim, with drawers and basket storage – this fits the bill! Thanks!!
Thanks for the love! You can see all about it here: https://www.remodelaholic.com/easy-entry-organizing-budget/
This looks awesome. I noticed in the picture that you didn’t remove the doors before painting. Is this true? I’m so hoping u didn’t remove them because I REALLY don’t want to. ????
I want to paint my interior doors, but when I have done so in the past, they didn’t want to close properly-as if the paint added just enough width to the door and it didn’t quite fit?. How do you paint the edges and trim work without it being a problem closing the doors?
You might have to sand the edges off first before you paint to remove any extra thickness.