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Building a Home Remodeling Design Dilemma

Stained or White Interior Doors...and do they need to match?

3 years ago

We are building and debating whether to stain or paint creamy white (SW Alabaster) our interior two panel shaker style pine doors. The trim will be Alabaster. I like the look of wood doors but am nervous about staining all of our doors because each bedroom has double closet doors and some also have a bathroom door.

Do you think it would look strange to have a stained bedroom entrance door but closet doors painted white (same 2 panel shaker style)?

If you have stained doors, do you wish they were white?

*not my photos

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Comments (9)

asylumpoint
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I had the same concern too but ultimately decided on white trim with stained doors and love the look. I wouldn’t go with different door colors in a room though
tnroberson
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks! That’s what I’m leaning towards
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Thanks everybody for your input. The shaker cabinets are new -- so that's why I hesitate to paint them. True, the lighting in the kitchen isn't that great -- so perhaps it would be difficult for people to notice the difference. I would love, however, to change the hardware. Currently they are the tubular pulls which seem too contemporary for this pre-war apartment. I know I may have to paint the cabinets depending on the new hardware I select. If I can fill in the holes with wood filler and have it paint so it would be seamless, I'd leave it as it is. But not sure if that will happen. If I end up having to paint the cabinets, I figure might as well paint them the same color as the trim/moldings. Decorators White looks good in all of the rooms (with the exception of the master bedroom where colors are more muted) because the furniture tends to run on the fresh clean side.
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Pricing wise, the wooden interior doors are more than double. The front door on the house also costs a good chunk more to get a stainable fiberglass material. If I have wood interior doors, I would want at least the inside portion of the front door to be wood, too. However, it is more of an oak and limited to gel stain kits, while my trim will definitely be pine. I feel like I may have too much wood in the house after wooden birch cabinets, stained pine base, stained pine window jambs, stained pine window casing, and stained pine door casing. Wooden doors would flow with the wood trim, but they would be big chunks of stained wood. Looking around online I see a lot of painted trim and stained wooden doors but NOT near as much stained trim and painted doors. However, I have wondered if I had doors painted a darker color, then maybe the wood stained trim would not look so broken up from the doors. Hoping to get a second opinion on this idea and if anyone has some photos of what I am talking about that'd be good to look over.
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Well my husband has no patience and I haven't made it to the shop... so the paint I had already selected was applied to the trim SW Extra White. The paint is wet and shiny at the moment and the window is covered in plastic, so the color is not true yet. The picture is of the garage door, which is steel, but the color of the door was a match between this door and the front door, which are very similar in color. Also I will need to tell them to complete the frame in white. The second picture of the trim in the dining room which has a little more light coming through. My question is regarding the front door (3rd picture). At first I was going to paint the trim on this one, but a couple of weeks ago changed to staining the door and letting the base trim remain white but stop at the door. So the question: If I stain the trim what do I do with the window above. It is currently primed - purchased that way. Paint it the stain color or paint it white? I welcome your comments. FRONT DOOR BELOW: The door to the left is an office which will match the front door (trim color). These two doors are not in view of any of the other doors. The office has dark stained wood halfway up the wall and the door is see through.
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mtpo
3 years ago
What color and what material are your floors? What color stain do you plan to use? I am not a fan of stained trim with white doors or white trim with stained doors. I like the brighter, painted finish — but go with your gut. You can always sand and paint if you don’t like the stain.
tnroberson
Original Author
3 years ago
Floors will be a light/medium wood look....Lifeproof Fresh Oak LVP. I was thinking I’d stain them darker...something that would contrast with the floors. Probably special walnut or English chestnut.
Design Girl
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
If your flooring is LVP, I would paint the doors white. The stained real wood doors will make your floors look "fake".
pricklypearcactus
3 years ago
Yes I think it would look strange to have some doors stained and other doors painted.
Sofia
3 years ago
The doors (including closets) in our current home are all stained. The trim is painted. At first I was really nervous about mixing the two like this. Then we did the same thing with window and door wraps — the wraps are stained and the trim is painted. I think this helped to pull everything together.
I’ve had doors painted white in other houses and have come to prefer stained doors.
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JAN MOYER
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Closet door are not a "feature" Stained doors, or ANY door "important" enough to differ from the trim casing around it? should lead to something equally important; Like a great dining room, or a wonderful study, perhaps a fabulous master bedroom:

Not a closet,....a laundry, etc.

ABRUPT color and stain changes, can cut up a house in a heartbeat. Or enhance something deserving. The word is restraint. : ) unless a more historic situation and home.
PRO
Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
3 years ago
Pine wood does not take stain well, unless it is antique heart pine. So I'd paint the doors and trim the same color white and call it a day. Consistency is key when decorating a room.

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