Give Your Stained Interior Doors A Funky Farmhouse Makeover With Paint

The interior doors in and around the high traffic areas of your home see a lot of action, and sometimes pick up stains if you don't scrub them regularly. Grey or black smudges can be exceptionally difficult to remove, even if you're familiar with the most effective cleaning tips to make your doors look new again. The entryways that lead to your garage or your utility room might be particularly susceptible to these marks since you're more likely to pass through them with dirty hands. White or other lightly-colored doors also pick up difficult-to-remove stains quickly if you're not careful. Instead of spending hours endlessly scrubbing down these stained doors, you might want to consider repainting them instead.

A newly repainted or resurfaced door can boost the visual appeal of your entire living space, as long as it matches your existing interiors. If your home follows a traditional, farmhouse, or cottagecore design style, then you should definitely check out @rachel_lancaster_art on TikTok for a quick and creative door painting DIY video. She mixes brown and black paints to make her stained white doors look like classic slatted barn doors instead. She also paints on a few hardware pieces for a fantastic finish. A similar makeover for your doors might be the perfect complement to your existing rustic decor.

To give your door the same rustic appeal as Rachel's, begin by removing the door's hardware. If you're planning to leave the door in place while you're painting it, cover the trim with painter's tape and put down a drop cloth. An Avalon Home Canvas Drop Cloth is a great choice for all your painting projects if you don't already have one. Alternatively, take the door off its hinges to easily paint both sides. Prime the surface of the door, and then begin by vertically layering brown paint. Next, paint on door slats with a lighter brown. Then, frame them with black highlights, and use this same color to divide the rest of the door's surface to create vertical slats.

Mixing in a touch of the black paint with the brown will help make the door appear more like real wood. If you're worried that your door won't look realistic, swap out the black for a dark shade of brown, especially for the highlights around the cross slats. This may help make the door's appearance less dramatic, and could be important for creating a consistent design within your living space. If you like the look of the door but you're doubting your artistic abilities, consider using a product like Dimoon Self Adhesive Wood Wallpaper instead. Like other kinds of peel-and-stick wallpaper, it's cost effective and easy to install.