The Best Medium-Dark Paint Colors for Interior Doors & Trims

Give those bedroom, bathroom, & closet doors some COLOR!

While it’s common to see a different color on the inside of your front door, it’s not as popular to paint ALL of your interior doors and trims something other than white. It shows that while white is the default/most popular color for interior doors, the odd homeowner craves a little or even a lot more.

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But is painting your interior doors and trims a darker paint color, or even BLACK, a good idea?

First up, if you are ONLY painting your interior doors and keeping the trims white, read this: The Best Non-White Interior Door Colors With White Trim. For the rest of you, read up, Buttercup…

THE PROS & CONS OF NON-WHITE DOORS & TRIMS

• CON: White is the most popular interior door and trim color for good reason—it’s flexible. The right shade of white can accommodate a wide range of wall colors, interior finishes, and furnishings.
• PRO/CON: It’s a good idea if you love the current trend of non-white trim and doors (and cabinets) but know it’s just a trend (unless you have an old home that will ALWAYS look amazing with non-white trim).
• PRO: If some of your home has wood trim, but you’re not painting all of it, non-white trim and doors can be a great transition between the two looks.
• CON: White is the safest for resale BECAUSE it’s the most popular. This isn’t to say you don’t have a boutique target market for your home, but the average buyer wants white.
• PRO: If your home has wood doors, the right non-white trim color can be a lower contrast approach.
• PRO: Do you have wood kitchen cabinets and don’t like white trim? These colors can be interesting alternatives.
• PRO: Non-white trims and doors are a great idea if you like to accent them and enjoy a more graphic look (unless you choose a reasonably dark wall color -in that case, it will be a lower contrast).
• CON: Non-white interior doors and trims will be limiting in the long term. No matter which color you choose (black and dark gray being the best of the bunch), it will always hold you back to some degree, especially regarding wall colors. Even black, which seems easy, needs other black features in the home to not look out of place and harsh. This might suit your current love of Modern Farmhouse colors, but will it extend into the next trend? Should you embrace it? It’s your home – you do you!

Long story short…

ARE BLACK (OR DARK) DOORS & TRIMS A GOOD IDEA?

I’ll say very loosely, no. Don’t shoot the well-intentioned little Ginger messenger, but few homes can pull off black doors AND trim. When they do, it’s a high-contrast look that demands other black finishes to make sense. Would I do a single accent door here and there? HELLLLS YEAH. This means it’s not a hard no; it’s just a…well, no, I wouldn’t do all my doors and trims.

I miiiiight do my doors a darker color, but my trim is staying as white as my butt cheeks. 

As for JUST black doors, they’re doable but a trend that will go away…very soon (insert awkward whistling here, as they’re on their way out). If you think you’ll love them forever or are open to repainting them for the next trend, all’s good. However, your interior needs good visual support, including other black details, to keep them company.

Again, you want to do both, fill yer lil’ polished black boots.

Long story short, have fun with your doors and trims. But if you’re in it for a good time, not a long time, paint them white.

THE BEST DARK INTERIOR DOOR PAINT COLORS (& TRIM)

If you want to make an impact and love a high-contrast palette (assuming your walls are lighter), there are many gorgeous dark shades to explore. In general, the more neutral, the better.

Why?

If you’re painting a single door and trim in an independent room, use all the color you want. However, if you’re painting ALL or most of the doors in your home, you need a flexible color, and a well-chosen neutral (e.g., black, greige, gray) will be more flexible than a color (e.g., blue, green, etc.)

1. SHERWIN WILLIAMS TRICORN BLACK SW 6258

When it comes to classic shades of black, it’s hard to beat Tricorn Black. While it scares the pants off me to put it on doors and trims in the average home, when it works, it looks damn good.

This next dining room has black French doors with a wicked arch. Let’s just hope there’s a bit more black in the rest of this room so that it feels more at home!

However, there are three reasons why the above space looks badass…

1. The trims are white

2.  This home has character

3. While I’m not sure if all the doors are black, these are accent doors and can pull off a dark color much more effortlessly than random doors.

If you’re unsure if black is the best choice for your doors and trims, start by painting the interior of your front door. See if that alone gives you the impact you’ve been looking for without going too far the other way.

Remember, a little black goes a long way – it doesn’t need to be a whole home feature! 

FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black

COLORS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO COMPARE WITH TRICORN BLACK

It’s never about sampling one color. Samples several shades and compare them to see shifts in undertones, depth, and temperature.

• Benjamin Moore Black 2132-10
• Sherwin Williams Iron Ore (coming up shortly) for a softer approach
• For easy sampling, get your CURATED BLACK COLOR BUNDLE, including Tricorn Black

2. BENJAMIN MOORE WROUGHT IRON

Oooo, Wrought Iron is a beauty – mad love! This is a dark blend of blue-violet, gray, and black. In the right lighting (or wrong lighting, depending on how you look at it), Wrought Iron comes across black. However, give it a little light, and its beautiful undertones rise!

If you like Wrought Iron’s intentions, you might also love Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart, which has a slightly softer look.

FULL Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron & Cheating Heart

COLORS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO WROUGHT IRON & CHEATING HEART

Sample several shades and compare them to see undertones, depth, and temperature shifts.

• Benjamin Moore’s Deep Space is great if you want a bit more blue hue.
• Benjamin Moore’s French Beret is VERY similar and a great comparison.
• If you want a more legit shade of navy blue without going overboard, check out Sherwin Williams Cyberspace.
• The 13 Best Dark Navy Blue Paint Colors

3. SHERWIN WILLIAMS IRON ORE SW 7069

Iron Ore is a gorgeous, soft shade of black. Whereas Tricorn Black is crisp and clean, Iron Ore has a beautiful softness and a wee wink of a green undertone hiding in it. It’s easier to see its beauty with black door hardware, as the black shows off Iron Ore’s gentler approach.

While this next image doesn’t show doors or trims, you can see the subtle softness of Iron Ore on these fireplace built-ins…

The Best Paint Colors to Go With a Brick Fireplace

The lighting in this next photo is iffy, but you can see Iron Ore in action on this bedroom door. Notice how you can see its color a bit more, thanks to the black hardware…

FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Iron Ore

COLORS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO COMPARE WITH IRON ORE

Iron Ore is very unique and there’s no soft black quite like it in Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams. However, even sampling ‘similar shades with different intentions’ can help you figure out which is best for you and your home!

• Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black (previously listed)
• Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron (previously mentioned – for a change in undertones)

4. BENJAMIN MOORE KENDALL CHARCOAL HC-166

Kendall Charcoal is a classic, dark gray paint color. Coming in with an LRV of 14.61, it’s a darker shade, but it doesn’t enter the black or even ‘soft black’ realm. Instead, it’s just a wickedly dark shade of charcoal gray with a minor allegiance to green (vague at best).

Look at how friggin’ stunning Kendall Charcoal looks in this next foyer. With soft, warm gray walls (Sherwin Williams Heron Plume) and wood ceilings, Kendall Charcoal adds a pop of personality without stretching this home’s comfort zone…

The Best Paint Colors to Update Wood Cabinets, Trims, & Flooring

While I’d usually hesitate to paint my doors and trims a dark color, when dealing with a feature or accent door, it can be a great way to give it more presence.

In this case, you paint the trim around the door but go back to white on the baseboards.

COLORS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO COMPARE WITH KENDALL CHARCOAL

Sample several shades and compare them to see undertones, depth, and temperature shifts.

• Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray is gorgeous, with a slightly lighter approach
• Sherwin Williams Peppercorn for a bit more play with undertones
• For easier sampling, get your CURATED DARK GRAY COLOR BUNDLE, including Kendall Charcoal

5. SHERWIN WILLIAMS URBANE BRONZE SW 7048

If you’ve followed me for a while (either subscribing to my blog or Instagram), you KNOW how much I love Urbane Bronze. This is one badass and beautiful shade of greige, so it has a green undertone.

While it’s not shown on a bedroom or bathroom door, Urbane Bronze looks gorgeous on the inside of this front door and its trim…

Sherwin Williams Colonnade Gray walls

And here it is on my stair railings below…

FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze

COLORS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO COMPARE WITH URBANE BRONZE

While Urbane Bronze is a color unto itself, there are some AWESOME colors to compare it with…

• Benjamin Moore’s Dragon’s Breath is very comparable
• Sherwin Williams Thunder Gray has a great green hue
• Sherwin Williams Porpoise, if you want a touch more softness
• Sherwin Williams Black Fox for a bit more richness and warmth
• Urbane Bronze vs. The Top 6 Greige Paint Colors
• Get your CURATED COLOR BUNDLE, including Urbane Bronze!

MEDIUM-DEPTH TAUPES & GREIGES

I love the idea of slightly darker neutrals for doors and trims, and personally, I feel a bit more comfortable with them on a whole home scale compared to black. Compared to colors on the lighter end of things (e.g., LRVs between 50 and 80), these slightly darker neutrals offer much more flexibility when creating a balanced palette, giving you more wall colors to choose from!

However, check out this example first, as it missed the boat on a few levels…

• This is my Online Color Consulting client’s BEFORE photo (I can’t wait to see the afters!)
• Notice the purple-pink undertones in the graywash wood flooring. There are much better paint colors to suit this type of flooring. Why?
• The gray trim has a warm green undertone that sits off with the purple-pink of the flooring.
• The creamy beige of the walls has far too much yellow and warmth for the undertones in the wood flooring.
• This color combo has a bit of a ‘commercial building/dental office’ vibe rather than being an inviting home palette.

This is a good example of choosing paint colors you love, regardless of whether they suit your home or not.

Choose paint colors for the home you have, not the home you WISH you had.

Now, there are so many (most of which I don’t have photos of), I created a shortlist for you…

• Benjamin Moore Stampede, for a subtle brown with a green undertone.
• Sherwin Williams Fawn Brindle
• Sherwin Williams Keystone Gray
• Benjamin Moore Pashmina, which I’m borderline obsessed with.
• Sherwin Williams Stone Lion has a beautiful, muted approach to warmth.
• Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray is a soft, slightly muddy, warm shade of gray.
• Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray is stunning if you like a cooler, stormer gray.
• See more medium-depth taupes, greiges, and beiges

Iron Ore built-ins with greige trims

READ MORE

The Best Paint Colors for the INSIDE of Your Front Door

The Best Paint Colors to Go with Golden Oak

8 Affordable Home Update Ideas

The 9 Best Front Door Paint Colors (exterior)

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