would you paint interior doors gray?

[Mandylubug]

Our house was built in 2002. Naturally, all of our doors and trim are bright white and shows grime very easily. I am considering painting our interior doors a light gray color. Our walls are beige or tan. It would look similar to this: http://pinterest.com/pin/40039884160377888/?s=3&m=memo

Any one do this with no regrets?

 

Also, would you do this if there is a potential to sell in 2 years? I suppose in 2 years, if we don't like it and it clashes we could repaint. We would leave trim and door frames white.

[Mandylubug]

Wanted to add, my doors disgust me! So, I will definitely be painting them. If not gray, at the very least a new coat of white.

[nevergiveup]

Yes, I would!

It's just paint--if you do not like it when it is done, you can always go with white later.

[Aura]

Certainly! If you have pinterest, search for gray doors and you'll see a great collection. This pic came from Google.

 

[Aiden]

From the description, I thought no way. Then I looked at the picture. It looks nice. I'd do it.

[Happy]

I've seen some pretty black doors as well.

 

I'm grabbing some Annie Sloan Olive for a couple of interior doors in my home today. Can't wait to paint!

 

I think if you are considering selling in two years or so, a very neutral gray/beige is the way to go.

[torikei]

I love the look of black and gray doors with white trim--very cool!!!

[Ellie]

I've seen some pretty black doors as well.

 

I'm grabbing some Annie Sloan Olive for a couple of interior doors in my home today. Can't wait to paint!

 

I think if you are considering selling in two years or so, a very neutral gray/beige is the way to go.

 

Warning: Rabbit trail

 

I have found an Annie Sloan store just down the road from me. :party: My white kitchen cabinets need an overhaul, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be chalk-painted. :-)

[Mandylubug]

Warning: Rabbit trail

 

I have found an Annie Sloan store just down the road from me. :party: My white kitchen cabinets need an overhaul, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be chalk-painted. :-)

 

I've seen many post about chalk painting furniture and cabinets. What is great about it? I'm seriously clueless. Is it a texture thing?

 

eta: I painted my cabinets a glossy white 2 years ago. While I love the white color, it has been a HASSLE to keep clean. So, I am interested in other options that don't involve buying new cabinets for now.

[Mandylubug]

And this is where I naively admit after googling: I thought chalk paint was the same as chalk board paint!  :leaving:

[Ellie]

I've seen many post about chalk painting furniture and cabinets. What is great about it? I'm seriously clueless. Is it a texture thing?

 

eta: I painted my cabinets a glossy white 2 years ago. While I love the white color, it has been a HASSLE to keep clean. So, I am interested in other options that don't involve buying new cabinets for now.

 

Well, it might be a texture thing. It's inexpensive, and it doesn't take days to do, and you don't have to worry about brush strokes.

 

Our white cabinets are still in pretty good shape, but they're beginning to show wear (they're almost 20 years old, after all). We also don't want to replace them. All the woodwork and trim in our house is white--baseboards, crown molding, door frames, doors, all the cabinetry--and I've used Restoration Hardware's "Silver Sage" on most of the walls downstairs. Whatever color I choose has to go with the sage (because I big pink puffy heart that color and will probably always use it, even if I feel the need to repaint) and the rest of the white woodwork. Prep work for us will be time consuming; theoretically, we should be able to do all the painting in a day (we have about 300 sq. feet of cabinets/door/etc.).

 

We're also going to be replacing the counter tops; the chalk paint color needs to complement....whatever we choose for those. It takes us a LONG time to make decisions like this because we don't want to have to do it over, KWIM?

[zoobie]

I really like the look of the Pinterest pic you linked. BM Gray Owl that's on the walls is a neutral gray as is the BM Storm door. (My nursery is Gray Owl.) It might be tricky finding the right gray to go with beige/tan walls. Maybe a "griege" color? Gray is such a chameleon color. It can range from lavender to blue to green to griege, and then the same color in one room is lovely and another room makes you want to cry because you just painted a purple mess. I may have collected a small army of gray paint samples...

 

I have semigloss white kitchen cabinets. The previous owner painted them herself, and it's latex over the original (1960s) oil stain, so the paint hasn't ever quite cured. Or something. It attracts everything! Maybe a scrubbable paint in eggshell finish would be less sticky? I may try to chalk paint the remaining original bathroom vanity. Previous Homeowner Lady semi glossed it in black. That room really needs a sledgehammer.

[SKL]

Seems depressing to me.  I would probably go with a creamy color if I had to paint them.

[zoobie]

Well, it might be a texture thing. It's inexpensive, and it doesn't take days to do, and you don't have to worry about brush strokes.

 

Our white cabinets are still in pretty good shape, but they're beginning to show wear (they're almost 20 years old, after all). We also don't want to replace them. All the woodwork and trim in our house is white--baseboards, crown molding, door frames, doors, all the cabinetry--and I've used Restoration Hardware's "Silver Sage" on most of the walls downstairs. Whatever color I choose has to go with the sage (because I big pink puffy heart that color and will probably always use it, even if I feel the need to repaint) and the rest of the white woodwork. Prep work for us will be time consuming; theoretically, we should be able to do all the painting in a day (we have about 300 sq. feet of cabinets/door/etc.).

 

We're also going to be replacing the counter tops; the chalk paint color needs to complement....whatever we choose for those. It takes us a LONG time to make decisions like this because we don't want to have to do it over, KWIM?

I love Silver Sage. It's very close to my puffy heart ;) color SW Comfort Gray. I get a bit obsessed over paint colors. DH had to take away my fan decks.

[Happy]

Warning: Rabbit trail

 

I have found an Annie Sloan store just down the road from me. :party: My white kitchen cabinets need an overhaul, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be chalk-painted. :-)

My sis-in-law introduced me to Annie Sloan paints in January. I love the ease--no hard prep work like sanding or stripping. Just paint.

 

The colors are yummy. I get overwhelmed with paint colors and can never quite get what I was looking for. I have stacks of samples that didn't work out. These colors are sort of pre-selected for me. I love the dark wax.

 

I've been painting my dining chairs with Chateau Gray (talk about pink, puffy heart love)....after painting, I sanded a bit. Then I got adventurous and added swipes and dabs and faint dry brush paint in creamy white and a tiny bit of yellow (Arles)....then rubbed them all with dark wax. These chairs have character now. Love them.

 

I'm eyeing my kitchen cabinets and several interior doors as well. There are several Chalk paint kitchen cabinets tutorials on Pinterest if you are interested....

[hornblower]

I love Silver Sage. It's very close to my puffy heart ;) color SW Comfort Gray. I get a bit obsessed over paint colors. DH had to take away my fan decks.

 

Ooooh, I like Ellie's Silver Sage & the SW Comfort Gray. They seem awfully close to my fave bedroom color Martha Stewart's B29 Atlantic. We've had that for 20 yrs or so in different homes, been color matching it for ages because it's not made anymore. I will check if I could go with one of these instead next time.

 

Check out this page & near the bottom you can see a whole bunch of closely related paints. http://encycolorpedia.com/bdc3b9

[hornblower]

OP, my first inclination was to just buy lots of magic erasers. A wipe down once a month with a magic eraser is really just a necessity living with kids....

It's not that I think the samples you & others posted are bad - I think it's actually quite nice but, you'd still have to clean them.

[Spryte]

OP: I like the link you posted!

 

Rabbit trail:  Annie Sloan addict here.  :)

 

I've chalk painted our kitchen cabinets twice.  Both times looked beautiful.  The first time was duck egg blue, then we changed our walls so we have cream with duck egg blue peeking through where I distressed.  The wax gives it a fabulous finish.  It's been easy to keep clean.

 

We have painted our kitchen chairs as well - a rainbow of different colors, very happy.  I've done many other projects as well, but those are the favorites.  

 

No sanding, no prep, other than wiping down to be sure it's clean.  The coverage is excellent.  The colors are wonderful, and easy to mix and change if you need something else.

[catz]

For me it would depend on a number of factors including the other colors in your house and the general style.  It would also depend on the trim and trim color.  But I do think that picture looks very nice.  We have some painted doors and it is nice to paint them something other than white!  I also like SOME contrast between trim and walls if trim is painted.  When we moved into our house the entire upstairs was painted the same ugly, dirty white - trim and walls.  Still trying to work on that!

 

[Mandylubug]

OP, my first inclination was to just buy lots of magic erasers. A wipe down once a month with a magic eraser is really just a necessity living with kids....

 

It's not that I think the samples you & others posted are bad - I think it's actually quite nice but, you'd still have to clean them.

I hear ya on the cleaning. Just with four kids in a small house with white doors, four years has passed since last paint. I think paint can only withstand so much scrubbing :) they are screaming for a touch up.

[kahlanne]

Without a doubt but I painted the interior of my front door with navy blue chalk paint years ago and wouldn't think of changing it. Last week I painted all the hallway doors black chalkboard paint. Originally they were cream and while it does make it a little darker, it makes up for it in style. My daughters are able to draw what they want on their doors to personalize them. The bathroom, master, and utility closet all are just black now but as soon as I get chalk markers I am going to draw all sorts of things on them. For the bath and utility closet it will be a collection of different fonts with words that fit the room. I am searching for the perfect quote for my master bedroom door. Anyhoo, I would love it but it isn't for most.

 

Btw, I used chalk paint to paint my kitchen cabinets, uppers cream and lowers navy blue, and love it.

[idnib]

I like the gray doors with the tan paint. I wasn't sure when you described it, but the picture looks nice. I think you'd have to find just the right gray for your tan.

 

Hopping further down the rabbit trail: There was an place carrying Annie Sloan near me and I waited until I moved to go get paint. They're no longer carrying it.  :glare:

[raptor_dad]

No. All those picture just make me feel claustrophobic.

 

In our 100+yo house all the doors are either white or natural wood. I find wood warmer and nonthreatening and it also hides dirt.

[Bluegoat]

I like the grey doors.  I would think about doing that if it fit the style of the house.  It also would not stop me from buying a house, it might actually be a selling point.

 

My mom's last house actually had the doors painted black.  When she put it up for sale it sold in less than a month, despite its price point appealing to a fairly narrow market. 

[Tess in the Burbs]

My sister wanted to paint her trim black a few years back.  We all thought she was crazy.  But she had seen it on a house show and wanted it.  So they did.  And until I saw it in person I couldn't imagine it looking good.  But it was awesome.   

 

So I would say do one door and give it a few weeks to decide if you want to do more.  

 

I will say, when my sister went to sell her house the realtor insisted they paint all the trim back to white b/c no one would buy it black.  She did.  But it was amazing, and I personally think being different would have helped sell the house. 

 

post a pic when you try it!

[emcap]

I painted our doors black, they look so good. Really updated and more sophisticated. I think as long as you go at least a bit darker than your wall paint color it will be gorgeous. I personally don't care for doors the same color or too close to the same color as the walls.

[Mandylubug]

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a640/mandy_allen2/20150414_130458_zpsmrrxbayv.jpg

 

This is my front door. I think I will start there. I need to grab some paint swatches and pick a good color.

[Mandylubug]

No. All those picture just make me feel claustrophobic.

 

In our 100+yo house all the doors are either white or natural wood. I find wood warmer and nonthreatening and it also hides dirt.

If I was in an older house, I would absolutely want all natural wood doors and trim. That just isn't the style of this home unfortunately!

[JumpyTheFrog]

Is chalk paint a good choice if I don't like the distressed look? I want a uniform looking finish on my cabinets.

[Rachel]

I think it looks great and maybe it wouldn't show all the handprints little kids leave on doors. I may copy you!

[Guest]

I was surprised at how good it looked.  But I would never paint anything gray because if I want gray, I can too often look outside at the sky.  I choose my car color based on what it takes to get not-gray, not-black interiors.  :0)  

 

Also, I choose all my wall paints based on the fact that there is not one smidgen of gray in the color.  This means I have to paint at least 3 coats (one primer, two color) to get complete coverage but I don't care.  No gray for me!  (Paint companies put a lot of gray in the base to make one-coat paints...)

 

BUT given that it is gray, I think it looks pretty cool.  However, if I were planning on reselling, I'd paint...white.  

[Happy]

Is chalk paint a good choice if I don't like the distressed look? I want a uniform looking finish on my cabinets.

Just don't distress it after you've painted. It will be pretty and uniform.

[Ellie]

I found a store right in my little town that has chalk paint--not Annie Sloan, but it looks just as good and is considerably less expensive. Am now on overdrive for figuring out countertops and whatnot...

[pehp]

Well, it might be a texture thing. It's inexpensive, and it doesn't take days to do, and you don't have to worry about brush strokes.

 

Our white cabinets are still in pretty good shape, but they're beginning to show wear (they're almost 20 years old, after all). We also don't want to replace them. All the woodwork and trim in our house is white--baseboards, crown molding, door frames, doors, all the cabinetry--and I've used Restoration Hardware's "Silver Sage" on most of the walls downstairs. Whatever color I choose has to go with the sage (because I big pink puffy heart that color and will probably always use it, even if I feel the need to repaint) and the rest of the white woodwork. Prep work for us will be time consuming; theoretically, we should be able to do all the painting in a day (we have about 300 sq. feet of cabinets/door/etc.).

 

We're also going to be replacing the counter tops; the chalk paint color needs to complement....whatever we choose for those. It takes us a LONG time to make decisions like this because we don't want to have to do it over, KWIM?

 

Ellie, how do you think chalk paint will hold up on cabinets?  I recently forayed into the chalk paint world by painting a tiny little side table.  It went fine and it looks cute.  My own kitchen cabinets were painted white with latex paint in 2009 (picture this: a dog, a 2 year old, a very hot Labor Day weekend, and cabinet doors and drawers all over my house while I sanded, tack-ed, and primed).  I applied non-yellowing polyurethane and it has held up pretty well (some chips and blips from normal usage, nothing too astonishing), but I do think they will need to be repainted sometime soon. I am having two new doors custom-made (long story) in unfinished wood, so I'll be painting those.  The temptation is great to just paint everything at the same time.

 

 And I will confess that the idea of re-doing it brings me to my knees. 

 

I've not even thought of chalk paint on the kitchen cabinets but am feeling intrigued. 

[Chelli]

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a640/mandy_allen2/20150414_130458_zpsmrrxbayv.jpg

 

This is my front door. I think I will start there. I need to grab some paint swatches and pick a good color.

 

I think it would be difficult to find a gray that would look good with that color tan. Maybe try a really dark charcoal color? If you wanted to go with a light gray, you will probably need to try a lot of different colors to find the right one. Plus it will change color from the sample since those windows are right there. Good luck! I do love the first picture you posted in your OP, but I have been a huge fan of gray my entire life. It's my go to neutral for clothes, house, everything.

[Ellie]

Ellie, how do you think chalk paint will hold up on cabinets?  I recently forayed into the chalk paint world by painting a tiny little side table.  It went fine and it looks cute.  My own kitchen cabinets were painted white with latex paint in 2009 (picture this: a dog, a 2 year old, a very hot Labor Day weekend, and cabinet doors and drawers all over my house while I sanded, tack-ed, and primed).  I applied non-yellowing polyurethane and it has held up pretty well (some chips and blips from normal usage, nothing too astonishing), but I do think they will need to be repainted sometime soon. I am having two new doors custom-made (long story) in unfinished wood, so I'll be painting those.  The temptation is great to just paint everything at the same time.

 

 And I will confess that the idea of re-doing it brings me to my knees. 

 

I've not even thought of chalk paint on the kitchen cabinets but am feeling intrigued. 

 

I have no personal experience yet, you understand, but from everything I've read, it seems that it does hold up. And even if it gets a little worn, it would be easy to touch it up, yes?

 

I will also have some new drawer fronts made, as some of the current ones are raised panel, some are flat, and it makes me crazy. I don't know what the builder was thinking (we bought our house from the builder; it was his step-up house to the dream house),

 

And also, major props for painting your kitchen with a dog, a 2yo, and a hot Labor Day weekend. :cheers2:

[pehp]

I have no personal experience yet, you understand, but from everything I've read, it seems that it does hold up. And even if it gets a little worn, it would be easy to touch it up, yes?

 

I will also have some new drawer fronts made, as some of the current ones are raised panel, some are flat, and it makes me crazy. I don't know what the builder was thinking (we bought our house from the builder; it was his step-up house to the dream house),

 

And also, major props for painting your kitchen with a dog, a 2yo, and a hot Labor Day weekend. :cheers2:

 

There's also the wax....which I think helps coat it and hold it up.  So they say--I didn't buy and use wax with my little experimental project!  I might try that out on something!

 

That was a crazy weekend!!  But not as crazy as the time I was hand-staining (hands and knees!) unfinished wooden flooring planks which we installed and my husband *hand-sanded*.....while I was six months pregnant and had a 3 year old. In every single room in our house.  That was Nesting Gone Wrong!

 

But they look beautiful and we saved a load of money, so I'm happy.  And my backache only lasted a couple of days. ;) 

 

Well, if you do it, let us all know how it goes!!  I am definitely interested in this idea.

[Mandylubug]

I think it would be difficult to find a gray that would look good with that color tan. Maybe try a really dark charcoal color? If you wanted to go with a light gray, you will probably need to try a lot of different colors to find the right one. Plus it will change color from the sample since those windows are right there. Good luck! I do love the first picture you posted in your OP, but I have been a huge fan of gray my entire life. It's my go to neutral for clothes, house, everything.

 

that picture makes the beige look REALLY dark compared to what it really is. It really is quite light.

 

eta: well maybe not light light, but not camel tan either. It is Moose Mousse by Valspar

[zoobie]

that picture makes the beige look REALLY dark compared to what it really is. It really is quite light.

 

eta: well maybe not light light, but not camel tan either. It is Moose Mousse by Valspar

Great paint name! :) The Valspar site shows it with Blizzard Fog as a coordinating color: http://m.valsparpaint.com/color-detail.php?id=1601&g=1016&s=Moose You can ask them to add more tint to make it darker. It looks like it's part of a warm whites collection. I couldn't find it on one of those gradient strips, but maybe it will be in store. If not, they can increase the tint for you.

[Mandylubug]

Great paint name! :) The Valspar site shows it with Blizzard Fog as a coordinating color: http://m.valsparpaint.com/color-detail.php?id=1601&g=1016&s=Moose You can ask them to add more tint to make it darker. It looks like it's part of a warm whites collection. I couldn't find it on one of those gradient strips, but maybe it will be in store. If not, they can increase the tint for you.

 

Ah, great detective work! I love the Blizzard Fog, too! SOLD!