Painting a door, yes or no

An interior door always does something in a room. Either it draws the eye, or it recedes, or it dialogues. The default choice, "white door", is rarely the right one, especially in rooms where several doors are visible simultaneously.

Three strategies exist.

Strategy 1: the door disappears. It is painted in exactly the same colour as the wall, architrave included. The eye no longer sees it. Ideal strategy in hallways with multiple doors (four white doors in a row look like a row of teeth). Also in bedrooms to erase the door of a fitted wardrobe.

Strategy 2: the door dialogues. It is painted in a shade close to the wall but slightly different (one tone darker, or the same shade in a different finish). It remains visible but does not catch the eye. A careful and elegant choice.

Strategy 3: the door asserts itself. It is painted in a contrasting colour, which becomes a focal point. Reserve for single doors in a room (front door, door of an isolated large room). A bad idea if there are several doors side by side.

Count your visible doors from a single viewpoint. If you can see 3 or more doors from the centre of the room, choose strategy 1 (disappear). If you see 2, choose strategy 1 or 2. If you see only one, you have the choice of all three.

For strategy 1 (disappear). Paint the door, its frames, its mouldings and architrave in exactly the same shade as the wall, in a slightly glossier finish (eggshell on a matt wall, satin on an eggshell wall). The difference in finish traces the outline without contrasting the colour.

For strategy 2 (dialogue). Paint the door in the wall shade, but 20% darker. Wall in off-white, door in pearl grey. Or in matt on an eggshell wall. Subtle, elegant effect, works anywhere.

For strategy 3 (assert). Choose a shade that commits. Teal on an off-white wall. Forest green on a beige wall. Terracotta on a grey wall. Satin or gloss finish to underline the architectural character. Avoid flashy colours (vivid red, fluorescent yellow), which date quickly.

Pierre Yovanovitch almost always works strategy 1 in his architecture. Doors become invisible panels, sometimes flush with the wall (no projecting frame). Architecture dominates over function, the passages are no longer seen.

India Mahdavi dares strategy 3 in targeted contexts, for example a vivid pink door in an all-white Parisian apartment. Effective if it is the only visible door, disastrous if three others are visible nearby.

Studio KO reinterprets strategy 2 with very close shades, but plays heavily on the brass hardware as the only focal point. The door dialogues with the wall, the standout detail is the ironmongery.