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Paint Home Decorating DIY

Painting/Staining doors

last year

Hello there! I need advice on how to change the coloring of my interior doors and trim. I do not like the current color. I'm looking for something a bit more updated/modern. My walls are a kind of beige tint. What are your thoughts?

Featured Answer

cat_ky

last year

Lots and lots of work, if you are wanting to restain them. They need to be completely stripped of all finishes. Stain needs to absorb into the wood. They are beautiful wood doors, so I would never paint them.

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Comments (8)

roarah
last year
last modified: last year
So years ago I wanted to strip all my painted wood work. After finishing the 20 doors I became pregnant so put the moulding and door frames on hold. 16 years later I still have stained doors surrounded by white trim because I actually ended up liking the look.

my doors are dark yours would be more like these.
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In my opinion, oil based primer and latex primer, if both are high quality, should bond equally well. The real reason I suggest using BIN is because it will bond better than both, plus it will kill the water stains. I'm guessing that you have water stains because that is what usually happens when condensation from the glass leaks onto the wood. With the sun coming through the glass panes, it is like a magnifying glass on an ant, which will cook the moisture that is sitting on your wood and it will not take long for that moisture to eat through any finish that is on the wood and then eat through the stain layer. This is why it is so important to have the humidity level set so that moisture does not collect on your glass panes. BIN is actually a shellac based product, which means it is not latex or oil based. You would clean your equipment with denatured alcohol, it dries super fast and is pretty smelly...probably stinks worse than oil based. It really sounds like you have some cheap windows to me. If you can't stop the condensation issue and the windows stick when you close them, these are signs. No paint is going to stick long term if a painted surface rubs against raw wood and also painted surfaces should never touch other painted surfaces. What you want is the painted surfaces of your windows touching weatherstips when they are closed tight. I would suggest sanding the windows until you can close them without wood rubbing against wood. I realize you may not be able to do this with every window because they may be too tight because of any number of reasons, but that is where I would start. What is the brand of the windows? Are they double hung style or crankout type casement windows?
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Ummm.... what parts are stucco, that 2nd triangle section from the right? I honestly think your colors look excellent as is. If you lighten that triangular piece its going to stick out like a sore thumb - do you really want that? Right now it recedes and your eye isnt drawn to it, the lovely brickwork has more prominence. I do agree however that your door area could use some attention but the red door is all you need (definitely stain it if its currently unpainted - a classier finish IMHO) . If you start adding in more or different trim colors Im not sure what that accomplishes except adds visual clutter.
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Kris
last year
The door is gorgeous. If that trim is all over the house it would be a great expense to change it. Is it just that one door? It would probably be cheaper to purchase a new door in the color stain you want. Also, wall color plays a big part on how you see your wood. I went with SW Malabar and it makes a very restful look to the east and south side of the house. Stripping etc. would be a LOT of labor and no one around here seems to want to do it!
Kris
last year
Changing hardware can sometimes also help. Maybe try to find an interest piece.
Izzy Mn
last year
last modified: last year
Excellent idea Kris, changing the door hardware. A black lever handle would update the door. Are all the doors the same in your house OP? Maybe a different color wall would compliment the yellow/orange wood color. Maybe a sage color would be a good choice.
newnew10
last year
Kris. On a different topic, can you share with how you like SW Malabar. Do you see any strong undertones? I’m looking to use color for main interior. Any way you can describe much appreciated.
Debbie Downer
last year
Warm wood tones- incl yes, oranges, yellow-golds, rich caramel browns - can be part of a modern updated color scheme. Where are you getting the idea that it cant be. The door slab is beautiful, your skinny trim not so much. Make the trim go away by making it same color as wall but leave door as is in all its beauty. I would not paint trim white (unles your walls are same color). Why emphasize skinny trim.

Re: stain, yes its a lot of work but not impossible. You would have to sand pretty thoroughly, but if you use a heavy bodied or gel stain (sits on the surface more, unlike a penetrating stain). Using the correct product you wouldnt have to remove every last bit of polyurethane varnish.... which is next to impossible as the varnish can penetrate pretty deep into the pores of the wood. You might be able to find a woodworker who could take the slabs and run them through the big sander. Again Id probably want to paint out the skinny trim unless you felt it was worth the effort of sanding/staining to match the door There is a really wide choice of wood stains nowadays - incl. charcoal grays, dark charred wood tones, more current brown tones like nutmeg which would be nice with your beige walls.
mxk3 z5b_MI
last year
She didn't say she didn't like the wood, she said she didn't like the COLOR. Frankly, I don't either -- it's orange. It is a hard color to work with design-wise. I bought a house full of orange-toned wood trim, room by room we're working on re-doing it. In my case, DH is making all new trim and closet doors and staining it. Got the floors sanded down and re-finished, too. What a difference a change in a stain color can make!

I have no skills when it comes to staining so no advice on how to do it. Just want to say if you want to change it, then change it. Hire it out if you have to, may end up being money very well spent.

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