Give the interior side of your front door a color update

Could the inside of your front door use a facelift?

Is the interior side of your front door the same white trim paint color that you’ve used throughout your house? Does it match all of the other white doors in your home? Until recently, mine fit both of these descriptions. Our front door was nondescript and looked like all of the other doors in the house. There was nothing to make it stand out as the entryway to our home. It is bigger than the interior doors that can be seen from the foyer (bathroom, closet, basement and garage), but, for me, that just made it a bigger boring rectangle in the foyer. 

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Why paint the interior of your front door its own color?

Your front door should make a statement, whether guests are coming or going. It’s the first thing they see as they enter your home and the last impression they have as they exit.

Our front door is the standard six-panel-style painted door that is seen on many 90s homes. There is a sidelight on one side, but there are no windows in the door itself. While I would love to replace the door with a beautiful wood door or one with a charming window filling the top half, a new door isn’t in the budget. Paint is an easy way to make your front door a focal point. Make it beautiful and a reflection of your home on both sides! 

Does the interior of the front door have to match the other interior doors in your house?

For years, I considered painting the door a fun color that would stand out, but I could never settle on the perfect color. I also worried that it would look odd to paint the front door a bold color while keeping the other doors the neutral color of the wood trim. It has been a trend to paint all of the doors in your home a non-white color such as black or gray. Some people choose bold interior door colors. I’ve liked that look in homes that I’ve seen on social media, but my personal style is more traditional. While I didn’t like my white front door, I do like the other white doors in the house. But the interior front door needed a pop of color.

Since the front door is the entryway to your home, it can stand alone while the other interior doors remain uniform and in keeping with the flow of your home.

Does the inside of the front door have to match the outside?

Another question I considered was, “Do I have to paint the inside of the front door the same color as the outside?” If you have read other blog posts or follow me on social media, you can’t miss the fact that green is my favorite color. You can see some of the green paint colors I’ve used in my house here and here. The outside of my front door is Sherwin Williams Clery Sage. I love the color, but it’s more of a limey sage green that doesn’t blend well with some of the interior shades of green in my house. Unless you stand perpendicular to the opened front door and focus one eye on each side (you might go cross-eyed trying this), you never look at the front and the back of the door at the same time. So, no, they don’t have to be painted the same color!

How to choose a color to paint the inside of the front door

A recent remodel of our foyer prompted me to finally make a decision and choose the best color for the inside of the front door. We moved our coat closet door into the hallway (I’ll blog about this eventually), leaving a blank wall for an entry table and some decor. Since I had a pretty wall to decorate, I decided to wallpaper the foyer for an interesting backdrop to the table and decor. The beautiful wallpaper really made the boring white door stand out. 

Once the wallpaper was hung on the wall surrounding the front door, it narrowed down my choices of paint colors. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to make a bold statement with a dark, moody color, so I considered a lighter color that was in the wallpaper. The lighter shades of green and tan in the wallpaper were my first choices. I love the colors that are in the wallpaper, but the paint match to the tan shade looked kind of muddy. Brown shows up often in my decor, but mud is not my favorite shade. I brought home a match to the light shade of green, but it didn’t provide very much contrast to the white. 

It became clear that the best option would be the darkest shade of green in the wallpaper. I found a match in Sherwin Williams Retreat. It’s described as a muted green with blue-gray undertones. The greens in the wallpaper are a gray-green, so this color was perfect.

Should you paint the trim and sidelight surrounding the front door?

Once my paint color and finish were chosen, I was faced with another dilemma. Should I paint the sidelight the same color as the door? Further, should I paint the trim around the door that color, too? I decided that the sidelight should be painted to give more presence to the front door. The trim was trickier. I worried that it would look off to have the dark green trim around the door meet up with the white baseboard trim. Since my walls were wallpapered, trim in a different color than the door wouldn’t blend with either the door or the wallpaper. I thought it might be too busy. If you have white walls that are the same white paint color as your trim, it might work to keep the trim around the door the same color as the walls.

Paint the door first and then decide on the trim and sidelight

Once my door was painted, I knew I had to paint the sidelight and trim to match. The door looked out of place with the white trim breaking up the space between the door and the wallpaper. Again, if you have white walls and white trim or the walls and trim are the same neutral shade, painting just the door is a good option.

What to consider when painting the interior of your front door

• Choose a color that flows with your home’s decor
• If your foyer is wallpapered, choose a color that complements the wallpaper
• Don’t limit yourself to your door’s exterior color
• If you have sidelights, consider painting the sidelight trim the color of the door
• If your door is older or has a lot of blemishes, use a paint in a satin finish
• Paint your interior front door a different color than the other interior doors in your house

What paint finish should you use?

While all of the white doors in my house are painted with a semi-gloss finish, I decided on a less shiny satin option for the front door. Since I was going with a bold color, I wanted the finish to be a bit more understated. Satin is more scrubbable than matte, and I figure, if it doesn’t hold up, I can always go over it with a semi-gloss at a later date. Because it’s a darker color, I might not have to scrub it as often, anyway. Our door is 30 years old, but it’s in pretty good shape. If your door does have a lot of flaws, a less glossy finish will help hide the blemishes while shiny finishes highlight the flaws.

How to paint a paneled door

Six panel doors are tedious to paint due to the inset areas surrounding the raised panels. Always clean any surface that you are planning to paint. On a paneled door, it’s important to clean the recessed areas as dirt tends to collect in those spaces. If you are painting over paint, lightly sand the door to remove the glossy finish and wipe the door to remove any sanding residue.

I use an angled brush to paint the inset areas first. This is my favorite brush. Once the inset areas are painted, roll the flat surfaces with a 4-inch foam roller. Remember that two (or three, if needed) thin coats are better than one thick, sloppy coat.

After the first coat is dry, lightly sand, being sure to check for runs. Sand down any runs that appear. Wipe the door to remove sanding residue and repeat the process. If two coats of coverage look good, you’re finished! 

Colors to consider

Enjoy your door!

Whether it’s neutral or bold, dark or light, an interior front door painted in a color that stands out adds interest and charm to your foyer. And don’t forget to add a pretty basket full of flowers! I’ve linked some that are similar to mine, below.