Dark wood doors - to paint or not to paint!!

7 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hi I've painted my landing in Farrow and Ball Lime White. I'm not quite sure what to do about the wooden doors and frames we have. At the moment the lime white looks a bit drab against the doors, I was thinking about painting the frames of the doors but thought would it be too drastic as once painted hard to go back!!

Featured Answer

Lauren

7 years ago

Doors and frame look stunning, painting them would just make it look cheap by comparison. Keep the character and richness and decorate with art/rugs/wall sconces etc instead.

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Comments (16)

Sandra Marshall
7 years ago
Hi, I don't think you should paint, put some pictures up, or paint a border round the door frames, I've done a window enclosure in dulux cherished gold and I love it
B Hop
7 years ago
I agree with Sandra, I don't think painting the door and frame is a good idea. it looks beautiful as it is. Think about injecting colour into the room with soft furnishings. I love that door as it is.
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E D
7 years ago
Your dark wood oozes character.
Agree with others, don't paint.
Although Lime White might work in some circumstances, perhaps you should consider changing the colour of your walls. As you said yourself, it has a slightly drab appearance.
Maybe a (soft) grey works better or perhaps you can do some research into period colours that work well with dark wood.
Good luck in making the right decision.
Your beautiful hallway and stairway deserve it!
temple274
7 years ago
Have you tried polishing the doors and architraves? Should come up beautifully. I find that Laura Ashley Gold sits really well with our dark oak 17th century staircase and is an excellent base for paintings and watercolours.
jscott001
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you everyone. Ive only out one coat of lime white on so far and was having nightmares it was looking too drab. Actually I find it a hard colour to tie in with anything except pinks and duck egg blue. My last house was painted in White Tie and Wimborne White hence the Lime White looking drab. My other worry is that the downstairs hallway has terracotta tiles!!
PRO
Mazur Creative Studio
7 years ago
Hi the door and architrave looks good and very rich. To make a statement, I would have the wall painted darker. This will make your hallway very luxurious, and make your door and architrave stand out even more.
justina
7 years ago
Do not paint the door. It is very original. It is easier to change the colour of the walls
PRO
User
7 years ago
Definitely don't paint. I agree that it's a little stark but there's no warmth back in there yet. Ditch the little hall table in favour of something grander for the entrance. A painted Queen Anne sideboard in a great contrasting colour, a linen press maybe for coats and shoes. Mirrors, pictures with a good eclectic mix of frames. Maybe also a stair runner??
p.s i'm afraid to say the Terracotta tiles are probably going to have to go, skim the floor and stick down a 'minton style' instead!
Jonathan
7 years ago
Sorry to not agree with everyone else but I don't think these doors look stunning....they look like the stain is uneven and in my opinion so dark that the wood doesn't look like the natural product it once was.
If you like the dark look then I would see if I could have them professionally finished and try to get an even polished wood look if you want to make the wood look more expensive. Alternatively strip back the wax/ stain so that the original wood graining is more authentic..... You will likely find that the architrave is different wood to the door so you might end up painting it so it matches something (likely the skirting boards).
If this was my house I wouldn't hesitate to paint everything as in my opinion this is likely a softwood that was intended to have a painted finish. I would paint the architrave to match the skirtings and then I would paint the doors one or two shades darker.
Chloe Friend
7 years ago
I think you should leave it as is, once you've put some colourful painting up, it will look lovely!
jscott001
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you everyone...the house is in France and over 200 years old. All the doors are solid oak so you may be right in not painting them. I was thinking about changing the colour of the walls to a yellow colour but a lot of the paint colours are either orangey yellow or too insipid. A runner might be A good idea. The landing receives a lot of light but the hallway doesn't hence wanting to change the colour. I love the coloured furniture though!
PRO
Create Perfect
7 years ago
Glad to hear you have decided not paint the doors, it wasn't definitely not the correct idea in that home, although it can have a stunning effect. We offer a colour consulting package which is perfect for older properties where you want to get it right first time.. But my main advise would be to make sure you check out colours in all lights before you paint. Paint a large sample on lining paper and stick it to the wall for a few hours on each wall at all different times of the day.. This will give you a true idea of the finished colour. Good luck. Would love to hear how it goes.
jscott001
Original Author
7 years ago
Yes I did paint colours on paper before I painted the walls. I love colour but because it is a large area I'm wondering whether I should go for a colour or stay neutral, especially in a warm country. Rich colours look great in a baronial castle in Scotland but not sure about France.
temple274
7 years ago
Thought it looked French. We have exactly the same door handle on one of our doors. It would be wrong to paint the doors. I used the Laura Ashley Gold I mentioned earlier on the walls in a north facing room in south west France and it worked fine. In a sunny room it would the colour would appear to bleach out more than it does in the UK. You must not touch your terracotta tiles! The house wouldn't be the same without. Are they well waxed or worn? Wouldn't be hard to rewax and polish if you need to. We used LTP wax which we bought in England and took out. Was hard on the knees but worth it.
jscott001
Original Author
7 years ago
The terracotta floors are just completely filthy. Once all the decorating has been finished we'll polish the tiles. Thanks for the recommendation of the polish, will pick a tin up on our return to the UK. I've never used Laura Ashley paint before what is the coverage like?
I thought I would buy a huge piece of carpet for the landing and have it whipped to make a rug. The wooden floor is completely shot. Unfortunately I can't believe there is only one carpet shop ,Saint Maclou, in the whole of South West France!!!

Dark wood doors - to paint or not to paint!!

Lauren

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Sandra Marshall

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Dark wood doors - to paint or not to paint!!

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