Interior doors are a traditional element of the layout of a house, apartment, commercial building, along with windows and entrance doors. They perform a number of important functions:
- serve as a natural boundary of the room;
- provide privacy, protecting from indiscreet glances and unwanted visitors;
- isolate the room from external noise and drafts;
- in the case of a kitchen or workshop, they do not release odors, soot, or dust particles into the rest of the building.
In addition to the purely practical characteristics of doors, there is another, no less important – aesthetic one. Correctly selected interior doors at the planning stage can dramatically change the appearance of the room and corridor and complement the chosen interior style with a charming accent.
How to choose the right door color?
Today, manufacturers offer hundreds of models to suit any, most demanding taste. They differ not only in the raw materials from which the door leaf is made, but also in the presence of figured glass inserts, design and shades. An unprepared person is simply lost in this abundance, because each model is beautiful in its own way, performs its functions flawlessly, is equipped with elegant handles and magnificent decorative elements.
Even having decided on the material, buyers stop in painful thought: what color will ideally suit the interior? After all, the abundance of colors and models is simply dizzying. Typically, designers advise matching interior doors to the color of the flooring or wall decoration. What if you want something original? Or did you like a certain model that doesn’t go well with parquet and wallpaper? Doing another major overhaul? Or can it be done without additional costs? There is an exit! Modern trends in interior design allow the installation of interior doors of a special shade, different in color from the rest of the decoration. We offer some practical tips that may come in handy.
Forget everything you've seen in the last 20 years
Yes, interior fashion in the 90s and early 2000s spared no one. No one thought much about the color scheme, the combination of textures or style. And if big changes are observed in the choice of furniture or decoration, then many people continue to choose doors out of habit: combining them in color only with each other. The examples from the photographs below, both in design and color, are long outdated. They can simplify even the most stylish interior.
Therefore, we strongly suggest: forget all those pictures illustrating European-quality renovation that you have seen over the past 20 years. Nowadays completely different combinations are in fashion. And you also need to pay attention to the choice of doors so that they do not become the main ridiculous accent in the interior. If you don't want your apartment to look like a budget hotel in a provincial town, door models like the one in the photo below need to say goodbye!
Door color and room style
The main guideline when choosing the color of interior doors is the interior direction in which the rooms are decorated. Each style is characterized by a certain palette. If the owners want to furnish an apartment or house in a single, harmonious style, it is necessary to select doors to match.
- White color is universal. It fits into any interior, and at the same time does not overload it, does not distract attention to itself. Combines harmoniously with any, the most daring colors. In addition, even a cramped room looks more spacious with snow-white elements.
- Light wood, with its unique pattern, pastel colors (beige, golden, cream, grayish, very light, weightless shades of pink, peach, green, blue) fill the room with light and visually expand the space. Also, psychologists have long found out that warm colors give a feeling of comfort and good mood. This is a universal option for almost any interior. Ideal for Scandinavian, French Provence, country, rural and eco-friendly destinations.
- For modern loft, minimalism, and hi-tech styles, laconic door leaves in silver, black or dark chocolate color, glass, chrome or mirror, made of solid oak or wenge, or finished with appropriate veneer are suitable.
- Warm light wood, bright inserts made of colored glass and plastic will perfectly highlight the decor in the eclectic or modern style.
- Noble dark woods from wenge, merbau, walnut or teak look chic. Such doors look harmonious in a classic, Baroque, Empire interior. Curly glass inserts and elaborate decorative elements will not be out of place.
- Does your soul ask for bright colors? Boho, pop art and modern styles allow you to choose doors of the most bizarre shades and shapes, with paintings and contrasting patterns.
If there are several rooms in the house, and each is decorated in its own unique style, compromise will be required. In this case, they usually focus on the color scheme of the room into which these doors open. This could be a hall, a corridor, a passageway.
Door leaf
The color of the doors should stand out from the rest of the interior. The floor can be painted in the same, but more subdued tone. If the floor color is in the warm spectrum, then the walls and doors must meet this standard. In some cases, masking of exits is required, which can be achieved by single-color painting. Be careful with white. In addition to being impractical, it doesn’t fit well with other things, standing out against the background of the room’s decor. The trend is in shades of gray, black, brown wood, as well as plastic doors.
In a living room setting, it is not necessary to install durable partitions. At the same time, they must meet a certain level of sound insulation in order to carry not only an aesthetic, but also a semantic meaning. Manufacturers have a range of ready-made solutions for any occasion. It is only important to choose a product not from memory, focusing on the abstract appearance of the apartment, but to place an order by selecting the right samples from the catalog. Prioritize the correct selection of fittings that also resonate with the surrounding environment.
Dark doors in the interior with glass
Dark doors with glass
See alsoHow to create a modern design for a two-room apartment?
Door color and flooring
One of the easiest ways to choose the shade of interior doors is by the color of the flooring. Usually choose products that are 1-2 shades lighter. For light laminate, beech, ash, ivory, and alder are perfect. If vinyl tiles or parquet boards have a reddish tint, it is worth purchasing fabrics with a mahogany finish - teak, red sandalwood, merbau, cherry.
Door color and furniture color
Don't want to go the beaten path? The doors can be matched to the color of the furniture facades or the upholstery of the sofa and armchairs. However, it is important to follow certain rules:
- the color of the door leaf can be a couple of tones lighter and darker;
- for luxurious interiors, doors with stained glass or glass inserts are selected;
- It is permissible to match the doors to the color of the wooden parts of upholstered furniture - legs, armrests, headboards.
A reference point in the form of a furniture set is appropriate only if the owners do not intend to replace it in the coming years.
Add textures
For a long time, everyone has become so tired of doors with a minimal hint of the pattern that natural wood has, that now one of the requirements of fashionable design is: more texture! The canvas, on which all the irregularities and roughness of the wood are visible, is most valued. Play of colors, uneven joints, traces of knots - until recently such a door could be written off as a defect, but now it is an important interior detail.
This section presents the most current shades of natural wood. Dark colors of wenge, oak, cherry and maple replaced lighter woods. They are more suitable for small apartments, as they do not visually steal space. By the way, in the past the baseboard was often matched to the color of the door. Now it is combined with the floor or the color of the walls. The door is self-sufficient on its own and does not need “support” in the form of a plinth. But when the color of the door intersects with the window frame, an interesting result can be obtained.
By the way, an important point that non-professionals rarely think about: the direction of the pattern on the door. It can be horizontal or vertical. All women know well that vertical stripes make you look slimmer, unlike widening horizontal stripes. A similar effect is observed with doors. If you want to visually raise the ceilings at least a little, choose the vertical direction of the pattern. Horizontal lines will decorate only narrow but tall doors.
Color of doors and baseboards
If the house uses various floor coverings, from ceramic tiles in the hallway and bathroom, to stacked parquet and laminate, you can use a non-standard solution. For example, choose a door leaf to match the color of the tiles, and trims to match the color of the baseboards, or vice versa – doors to match the baseboards, and the edging to match the main shade of the floor. The result is doors framed with a contrasting frame.
Tips for choosing colors in interior design
A few basic recommendations:
- In a small apartment, it is better to use interior paintings in light colors, since dark colors, for example, purple, black, wenge or other shades, will make it gloomy, even smaller and more uncomfortable.
- It is not advisable to combine warm and cold shades with each other.
- According to Feng Shui, doors located on the north side can be painted black, blue or white. Door structures that face northeast or southwest should be decorated in brown or yellow colors. For paintings with an eastern or southeastern orientation, black, blue or green shades would be an excellent solution.
- For a wooden house, the best option would be to install entrance or interior door models in a natural wood shade.
Door color and glass inserts, stained glass
What to do if the color schemes of the rooms are very different from each other, and there is no desire to purchase doors of a compromise color? Mismatched items in the same hallway or living room disrupt the harmony. After all, one door may be made of light golden walnut, for another they used dark stained oak, and the third shines with a creamy varnish coating. Colored stained glass windows in the same style, or shaped glass inserts, as well as the same fittings will help.
Tips for choosing door shades
- If the room and the corridor are decorated differently, custom-made doors with a double-sided design would be an excellent solution. Such products have different finishes and colors on the outside and inside; one side can be equipped with a mirror.
- Also, doors made of light wood in neutral, cool shades - oak, walnut, beech - are suitable for two different rooms.
- Are there a lot of products and stands made of chromed metal, frosted or mirror glass in the room? Choose light gray doors.
- Monochrome colors are always in trend. The color of the door leaf, ideally matched to the shade of the walls or floor, creates a feeling of a single space with smooth transitions.
- Bright doors with painted or pasted prints, photo wallpapers, paintings look original. But you should choose them with care, taking into account the tastes of all family members, as well as the rest of the decor in the room.
Features of the color scheme of interior doors
- The laconic design of the room with a minimum of decor literally asks for doors with interesting figured inserts made of glass, plastic, and relief patterns.
- A light gray or golden floor in combination with chocolate, brown-red doors looks very impressive.
- If the wall decoration is olive or beige, a brown door leaf will fit perfectly into this design.
- For cramped spaces or rooms with a lack of natural light, choose the lightest shades, glass and mirror inserts - they visually enlarge the space and add much-needed light.
- Designers suggest first deciding on the finish of the walls and floor, and then proceeding to choosing doors. And it’s even better to start a major renovation or final finishing with a design project thought out to the smallest detail.
When starting to choose interior doors, you need to take a critical look at your apartment or house and mentally imagine which color will look most harmonious. You can go even further - use specialized programs that allow you to create magnificent design projects and play with the colors of furnishings and decor.
