Plain white door or pop of color?

[dr.girlfriend]

Sorry for all the posts, I'm having to make a lot of decisions very quickly!  For our powder room, in order to change the handle so it locks from the inside (something our guests will very much appreciate I think!) they will have to patch the wood outside of the door, so we are going to paint it.  Would you do:

White (Benjamin Moore Sand Dollar) to match the surrounding painted paneling 
A pop of color, like a bright yellow? 

Here's the door as it looks now (on the right side of this picture):



And here's the other half of the room:

And the other wall just in case it matters -- that's the reverse of our front door, which is white:

[sadie]

The answer is always color. You have a great neutral pallet that will work with a pop!

[k3am]

I'd keep it white. And I'm a big colors person, but I tend to prefer to bring color in via accessories and furniture. I loathe painting, so the idea of changing the door color down the road if I got tired of yellow (or some other color) would keep me from doing it.

[mpm]

White. Its position in the room is a weird spot for an accent color and a bathroom door isn’t really something I’d want to be a focal point of the living room.

[momin2013]

That wood works so nicely with other woods you have in the room - is there any way to stain it a similar tone rather than paint it? That would be my preference.

I’m not a huge fan of doors painted different colours (I’d be afraid I’d get tired of it), but I think in your case just painting it white would look sort of…boring with the rest of the room. So my second choice would be accent colour, maybe in like a deep gold or burnt orange, something like that.

[Susie]

Jan 4, 2023 19:58:35 GMT -5 mpm said:

White. Its position in the room is a weird spot for an accent color and a bathroom door isn’t really something I’d want to be a focal point of the living room.

Agree.  I enjoy a good brightly colored door, but that's not the one I'd entertain painting a bright color.

Have you already ruled out swapping it with another interior door in a way that might avoid the need to paint entirely?

[dr.girlfriend]

Jan 4, 2023 20:10:41 GMT -5 Susie said:

Jan 4, 2023 19:58:35 GMT -5 mpm said:

White. Its position in the room is a weird spot for an accent color and a bathroom door isn’t really something I’d want to be a focal point of the living room.

Agree.  I enjoy a good brightly colored door, but that's not the one I'd entertain painting a bright color.

Have you already ruled out swapping it with another interior door in a way that might avoid the need to paint entirely?

Part of the rush is the contractor is going to paint it for me for free since he's doing the inside.  :-)  

[Pilsy]

It's a bummer it can't remain varnished, because it looks so nice as-is! If you're set on painting, I vote for white. Like others said, I don't think the bathroom door is where I want to bring in a pop of color/visual focus.


I'm excited for your project! As someone who has analysis paralysis more often than not and puts off changes as a result, I live vicariously through people like you, who have a vision and take action. I'm loving all the posts.

[simpsongal]

In accord w/others, keep the wood if you can, and if not white.

I just painted an accent door red in my basement - I love it but it's a more casual/fun space and I'm looking for ways to tie the room together. Your room is already so tied together, I fear a bold color would look 'over designed.'

[nicolewi]

This is hard b/c I love the wood of your door and the way it coordinates with everything else. The wood is my first choice!

What about just adding a bolt or something on the inside? Would that be super weird?

[darby]

I vote pop of color, but in the red/berry color I see in your other accents (like the pillow & framed art). It’s so pretty I do t think there’s a wrong answer, though.

[definitelyO]

I would match the door to the other doors in your home.

[lust2hart]

Jan 4, 2023 19:58:35 GMT -5 mpm said:

White. Its position in the room is a weird spot for an accent color and a bathroom door isn’t really something I’d want to be a focal point of the living room.

True, but one thing that would be nice is to be able to say, "Sure, it's the dark blue door in the living room!" if someone asks to use the bathroom.