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Paint Design Dilemma

Painting front door black - is white trim OK?

10 months ago

Hi all! would love some advice here. we are painting our front door black (outside and inside) & now realizing if Ok to leave the interior trim white.

given all the trim/molding detail on that wall, I’m thinking tk leave it white but then habing a mkment of pause if the door frame should also be painted black?

thoughts?

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Comments (11)

PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
10 months ago
You're painting over the stained door? Why is that?

I might give that some further consideration.
G Indecisive
Original Author
10 months ago
Thx for the reply. Yes, I know I know…there are a lot of strong opinions about painting vs keeping natural beauty of wood through stain.

So the exterior has a lot of damage- bad stain job, west-facing extreme direct sun in the afternoons, and on top of that, the door from the original builders was not a perfectly executed installation to begin with.

We have long considered getting a new door completely but cannot cough up $10-20K right now to replace it. With that said, want it to look presentable and with fairly minimum cost…to carry us over until we do get a new door.

Here’s a pic of the exterior.
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If the storm door is the actual factory finish, I would not paint it. Dog toenails will have that scratched in no time. I would not be using magic eraser on your door either, it ruins the finish. If you have a problem removing mud etc off the door, use a bottle of original windex and spray it, and it will wipe right off. A bottle of awesome from the dollar store, works great too. I have a Beagle, that does the same thing, when he wants in, but, he is confined to the back of the house, so its the back door, not my front or side entrance. I also have a storm door guard on the bottom half of the door, to protect the door itself from his paws. I have black trim and doors in my house, and I love them, but, I would not want them on my outside doors, because, yes, they show every spot.
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PRO
BobH
10 months ago
Since you have storm doors you might want to pain the outside of the doors the same color. You really don’t have to paint the inside of the doors if the inside stain is in good shape. Definitely keep everything that is white on the inside white.
For a recommendation for the outside jambs/trim color we would need to see a picture of the doors and everything that is around them.
ci_lantro
10 months ago
west-facing extreme direct sun in the afternoons,

Not a situation for a black door.
G Indecisive
Original Author
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
Hi @ci_lantro Thanks for your reply. Yes, I get that BLack is not the optimal color of choice - but it’s what we want. Doing more research, wondering if we should consider Fine Paints of Europe for this job. Anyone have any experience?
Lori Sawaya
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
Yes, the trim should be left white.

Yes, you should invest in Fine Paints. There is an art painting a door with FPE - take your time and find a certified FPE painter.

Done right, that door could last another 10 years +.

Storm doors over entry doors amplifies all things sun and heat. Taking them off could be a good plan.
houssaon
10 months ago
Paint the outside and leave the inside natural stain. White trim is fine for both. Good luck!
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
10 months ago

It's going to be very hard to paint a door that is that damaged. I think you should consider using a product like this that will restore the finish and that can be touched up from time to time because the sun and weather are always going to work against the finish on the door.
Angela Young
10 months ago
Yes, leave the trim white. It will look stunning!
Kendrah
10 months ago
Curious if you have considered restaining the outside of the door? Is it that much more expensive and time consuming than properly sanding, priming, and painting this door? (Perhaps, I don't know.) Either way, I would not paint the inside of the door. The current wood finish is really nice and I think paint is going to really bring down the look.
tozmo1
10 months ago
A friend who painted her solid wood double doors black was very sorry she did it and she had a portico roof over it. The wood got very, very hot and began to split. Often it was so swollen, she couldn't open it. Eventually you could see through the splits and repairing stopped working. She got fiberglass black doors and loves them. If you really love a black door, go for it but start saving up now for new ones.

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