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I Painted the Inside of My Front Door a Color Everyone Told Me Not To

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
published Jul 11, 2023
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Triptych of white door on left, middle door in process of being painted black, finished door on the right painted black.
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Credit: Shifrah Combiths

Even though black paint on walls and furniture is having a moment, whenever I talk about painting anything black, I still get raised eyebrows. However, I’ve painted enough things black — with results I love — that I’m not dissuaded. 

My penchant for painting things black began with a secondhand kitchen table that I refinished: I stained the wood on the top part, then spray-painted the intricately carved pedestal in black. In addition to furniture, I’ve enjoyed painting parts of the interior of our house in this moody shade. Our new house has two sets of glass doors that lead out onto the back porch. I took a paint brush to the frames of these doors and now those doors give the appearance of a beautiful scene (the backyard) framed in a dark outline. The color commands the eye to look outside and the effect is something special I appreciate every day. 

Another favorite thing I’ve painted black is doors, specifically those that lead inside or outside the house that aren’t exterior doors. I recently did the same in our new house and it’s been such a great decision. These doors get so dirty. Grubby doors are unpleasant, particularly when they’re one of the first things you encounter as you come inside. To keep them clean, I’d have to wipe them down quite frequently. Honestly, it wasn’t something I got to very often, even though it bothered me. My long-term solution was disguising the smudges and dirt by painting the inside of my door black. 

For this project, I first taped off the hardware (which will eventually get replaced), and set to work. I used Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint Exterior Latex paint in satin Tricorn Black. For the brush, I just used one I had readily on hand: a medium-sized bristle brush. First I painted the recessed parts and then I painted the more detailed parts — like the narrow end of the door and the top and bottom. Finally, I painted the rest of the larger spaces. After letting the paint dry, I did a second coat. Once this coat dried, I came back and touched up any spots that needed it. 

The difference this project made in the appearance of our back entry space is drastic. My kids commented on how the door looks new. It definitely looks crisp and much, much cleaner. But in addition to the aesthetic aspect of a fresh black door, I can honestly say that painting the door black has diminished my stress levels because I’m no longer bothered by fingerprints and smudges. I’m even thinking of painting more of our interior doors black, just like I did with this one and the door between the house and the garage.

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Painting