Black interior doors are an easy, upgrade for your home. However, choosing the right paint is so important! We sold our house for $10K above asking price and I credit our paint upgrades as the key to our success.
About two years before we sold our house, I had a realtor visit to provide us with feedback (or a cost-market analysis). We like to know what features are selling in our area, and emulate that to make our house more marketable.

The realtor offered some valuable feedback and added that black doors are favorable in our market. So I jumped at the chance to make a change…after all, it’s just paint, right?
She suggested we transform our gloss black into a a matte finish. Here is what we had before:
Tip! Don’t Use Latex Paint
The latex paint claimed to be suitable for interior doors the paint started to chip over time. Any little thing that touched or brushed past the door would result in chipping.
So I primed them all white with the intention of starting all over again.
Black Interior Doors: The BEST Paint
- Rustoleum Flat Black Oil Based Paint
- Heirloom Traditions “Iron Gate” (this is my personal favorite)

I highly recommend either paint for black interior doors. You can purchase Heirloom Traditions here on Amazon. Or head to the hardware store for some Rustoleum matte oil based paint. You won’t be disappointed in either.
Freshly painted doors are like having the perfect accessory for your wardrobe.
If you’re still not convinced on black doors, here are eleven more reasons, as seen on Houzz.

Maureen says
Love the black doors!!! My home is the same floorplan as yours (a Ryan home…the Esquire) and I want to paint my front door black. I see that you also have the half bath door painted black, and the basement door primed. Do you also have the doors to your office, front closet, laundry room and master bedroom? Trying to gauge the size of the project before I start with one door. Curious to know if you did every door in the house…
Jeanette says
Hi Maureen! Thanks for the feedback! We weren’t sure if glossy was the right way to go, but we love them now. :) Yes, in that picture I had started priming them (I was pondering & taking one last look trying to decide if I liked the white vs black). Black doors won. All of the doors facing the open living area will be black, but they may be white on the interior (like my son & daughter wanted white in their rooms).
Gina Stewart says
I have been trying to talk myself into black doors for a couple years now–and I do believe your post is going to be the tipping point! Glossy is winning now too! :)
What is your wall color? I have been with the same color for at least 14 years –still love it but maybe a change is good!
love your blog!
gina
Jeanette says
Gina, that’s great…I’m still not sure about the glossy so I’m glad someone else likes them! It feels more dressy to me. My suggestion would be to paint a swatch (cardboard?) of both and hold them up and then make your decision. Here is a post that outlines the paint colors I’ve used in my main living area so far. Thanks for stopping by! https://www.snazzylittlethings.com/paint-colors-in-living-area/