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    • I'm Christina, a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

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You are here: Home / Our houses / The Victorian / Black doors and windows

Black doors and windows

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Before and after, How to decorate, Interior Decorating, The Victorian

I love black interior doors.  The vast majority of interior doors are either stained wood (which is nice) or white (which is fine), but both are very…expected.  Either way, we usually don’t even notice the doors when we look at a room.

A funny thing happens when doors are painted black, though.  The doors themselves still basically go unnoticed, but we definitely notice the different mood of the room.  They add a lot of sophistication.  It’s been called a trend lately, but it’s actually been done for ages.

right-window-white

So, yes, I’m talking about doors and then showing you a picture of a window.  Sorry.  But it does have the exact same effect.  (I didn’t get a “before” picture of my door.)  See how the white has a very sweet, feminine look?  Especially when it’s paired with a soft color.

(Oh!  Off topic, but this is the perfect illustration of natural light vs. overhead light that I told you about–I forgot to turn off the overhead light.  See how the right side of the trim looks yellowish and the blue wall looks muddy?  The left side is a more accurate representation because the ceiling was blocking the overhead light.  Also, harsh shadows.  And a step stool.  Back to the subject…)

black-painted-trim

The window and the door aren’t painted a true black.  It’s the very, very dark purple I’ve used throughout the house.  Which, while the difference would be subtle when comparing the two colors side-by-side, they would show very differently in the finished product.  If it isn’t carefully planned, a true black could look harsh very easily.

You can see a few things we have done in the corners of the photos and a few things we haven’t done yet.  Next week, I’ll show you the whole room.

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  1. Leena

    April 11, 2014 at 2:57 pm

    Oh looking good! Your doors and windows look particularly good in black (or dark purple) because there is some texture in them, I mean those are not just flat. I have not seen many simple flat doors painted in dark colours. Or have I just not noticed?
    Looking forward to the grand tour.

    Reply
    • Christina

      April 14, 2014 at 9:23 am

      That’s a good point, having a paneled door (in real wood) does make a big difference. A flat door might just look like a black hole if it were painted dark without the moulding to reflect light.

  2. [email protected]

    April 12, 2014 at 2:58 am

    It looks very chic. I think your idea not to use a true black is brilliant!

    Reply
    • Christina

      April 14, 2014 at 9:19 am

      Thank you, Magali!

  3. Anonymous

    April 12, 2014 at 10:28 am

    So smart to use a softer black. I love, love, love the inner windows black with the outer trim white–so New York mid-Manhatten old apartment chic. Love the white doorknobs and black strike plates, too. Looking forward to seeing more. Alana in Canada

    Reply
    • Christina

      April 14, 2014 at 9:19 am

      Love that it made you think of the old NY apartments, that’s one of my favorite looks. 🙂

      The doors, knobs and windows are almost all that’s left of our house’s original architecture, so they are my favorite details of the house.

  4. homestilo

    April 13, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    I kept having to scroll back and forth to the windows- it’s subtle but so nicely done. I like that you kept the frames on both white AND the use of a deep purple vs. black.

    Reply
    • Christina

      April 14, 2014 at 9:15 am

      Thanks Santa!

  5. Karen @ year of serendipity

    April 14, 2014 at 10:18 am

    I love it! I’ve been debating painting my kitchen door black myself

    Reply
  6. Caitlin Parr

    May 20, 2014 at 10:22 pm

    Love it! One of my favs you have done 🙂 I am a fan of the “black and white” chic look.

    Reply

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Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
Surprise! The house is going on the market today. Surprise! The house is going on the market today. (Long story that I'll fill you in on when I have more than 2 seconds.)
.
But we're once again with a realtor that calls our house "unique" instead of calling it a Mid Century Modern. 🤦‍♀️
.
We can't count how many locals came into this house and mentioned that those windows should be removed and walled up and the beams cut off. And then it would be a "normal" house. 🤯
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Still can't really identify with people in this area. 🤷‍♀️ SO happy to be going back home to the East coast TOMORROW!
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