Painted Doors

While browsing Sarah's blog Leaf House this morning (which I love), I was reminded of ANOTHER project that is still lingering on my list....painting the doors.  When we first moved into the house in February, my instincts were to paint all of the interior doors white.  I knew that we needed to clean and brighten up the space, and what better way to do that than with a fresh coat of white paint  -- or in our case, THREE coats...ugh!! 

Here is where we began.

This is the upstairs hallway when we first looked at the house.  Not terrible, but definitely not our style!  First order of business was the carpet.  We actually ripped it up about 30 minutes after signing the closing documents.  Talk about impatience.  And, thankfully, there were hardwoods underneath!!  We assumed so, since the rest of the house has them, but we were definitely playing a little russian roulette by purchasing without knowing the details first.  Sometimes gambling pays off!!!

So, looking back at this image, the space just needed some freshening up.  I realize that you can't see the doors in this photo, but just transfer the same color from the walls and trim onto the doors and you will have a little mental picture!  There must have been a sale on pale yellow paint in 1964....because the previous owners LOVED it!!  My initial plan was to paint the hallway a very light grey blue to add some color to the palette, which would ultimately balance and appropriately contrast the white trim and doors.

But after a suggestion, from none other than my design-averse hubby, I began rethinking the plan.  I already knew that I loved the crisp, clean look of white molding and trim...and I've always had white doors growing up.  But what if we changed it up a bit?  What about black?  My first reaction to his suggestion was, "what are you talking about, you know nothing about design"....and then I started to visualize it in the space......and it ACTUALLY sounded kind of perfect!  The black would pop against the white trim and the grey walls and provide an interesting dimension and dynamic in the otherwise narrow, mundane hallway. 

So we tried it.

Please excuse the nail gun cord hanging over the railing....oops!

What do you think?  I wish I would have taken step-by-step photos so that you could see the transformation come together, but alas, I forgot!  But here's a recap.  Since the earlier photo, we ripped up the carpet, had the floors sanded and refinished, replaced the railings (which is another post altogether), changed out the light fixtures, painted the walls, the trim and even the heater covers....and of course, painted the doors BLACK!  I was a little hesitant to go for it, but now I absolutely love it.  And the best part is...if I change my mind in 6 months, I can just paint them white again!  Well...maybe a little sanding will need to be done, but you get the idea.

We still need to hang up some photos and art on the walls and add a valance or maybe some bottom-half white shutters on the window.  But that will all come together soon!  I'll keep you updated as we make progress!

Upstairs hallway, facing the bathroom and guest bedroom

Downstairs hallway facing the front door

So....that brings me back to my list of things to do.  Although the interior doors have all been painted (except for the inside of the bathroom one....oops I forgot about that), we have to focus on the exterior.  I have already painted the front door black (both inside and out), but since we replaced the side door during the kitchen renovation, I need to decide if I'm going to match it to the front as well.  Here is my dilemma.....the slider is directly across from it in the kitchen and it is white. 

Can I just paint the exterior part of the door black and keep the interior white?  Decisions, decisions.....what are your thoughts on painted doors?