In times past, we’ve been conditioned to think about the color of our walls at the expense of the color across the rest of the elements in our room. But once you cross the mental boundary of understanding that your trim, ceiling, and yes, internal doors don’t need to be painted white, it opens up a whole new world.
“I love using internal doors as quiet moments of surprise,” says interior designer Cleme de Grivel, co-founder of studio Lehlo Interiors. “They’re a wonderful opportunity to introduce color in a way that feels curated but not overwhelming. I always start by considering the atmosphere of each room individually, and then I treat the door almost like a bridge between the two,” the designer adds.
The internal door is an underutilized opportunity, I’d say, to try some creative paint ideas in your home, so I’ve rounded up a few examples of how it works best, which serve as inspiration for a quick weekend project you could take on to totally transform how your home feels.
1. Golden Thread
In this modern kitchen, design studio Jetsam Made made a bold color choice and specified bespoke — outside of the usual RAL color chart — to tie the scheme together.
"Having the kitchen tie into the freestanding cabinet and the pantry doors helps define the kitchen zone within the open-plan living area," explains designer Francesca Gaskin. It’s an idea that could easily be recreated with paint, too.
2. Perfect Landing
This idea for painting each door a different color brings a playful touch to a transitional space. "This is a tiny staircase landing, and we wanted to serve a big punch," say Robin Edlow Heller and Jen Levy of Surrounded by Color.
"This trio of door colors was an iteration of our original design that we kept softening until we landed on this perfect combo of three bold Farrow & Ball shades."
3. Living On the Edge
Turning the idea of the statement door on its head, Studio Rhonda color-matched the doors themselves to the raw plaster walls in the hallway of this London home, instead opting for colorful painted borders, almost like ornate trim framing the property’s passageways. The colors are picked up in areas like the painted staircase, too.
4. Changing Rooms
The challenge? When neighboring rooms require different color treatments. "What matters is that both sides feel completely at home within their respective rooms," says Cleme de Grivel of Lehlo Interiors.
"The edge of the door then becomes the key detail, either kept intentionally neutral so it disappears, or painted in a tone that gently links the two spaces."
The next thing that might be on your mind is: Should doors and trim be the same color? Find out what designers are doing now.
