Our Wood Doors
Ah, our doors. The amount of time and thought I put into selecting our interior doors is slightly embarrassing. Originally, I planned to do all wood trim work in the house...doors, baseboard, window casing, etc., which is very uncommon in new construction and most commonly seen in older homes. I wanted to do some unusual things in this house to make it feels aged and to bring in some character. After significant thought, I decided against wood trim and went with white because I did not want the large kitchen window to be trimmed in a dark color due to the warm wood island and flooring. Ultimately, I decided to keep only the doors a stained wood!
Initially, I had imagined oak doors. White oak (which would have allowed us to closely mimic the color of our European oak floors) costs a premium and red oak can be difficult to stain without pink coming through. After searching for alternatives, I landed on pine due to the price point and the style of door I was able to find locally. Too, I have been really loving pine lately! I foundthese pine doors at Menards. I absolutely LOVE the paneling detail. Shockingly, they were actually ~$60 less per door than theprimed 5 panel door that I would have selected, had we gone with white doors! Yes, you read that right- the pine doors were less expensive than primed! I was prepared to pay a premium for wood doors so this was thrilling!
Now, I should note that it did cost more to have these doors stained and varnished compared to painted. In the end, we paid about the same amount for wood as we would have for white (the less expensive material savings was evened out by the increased labor bill). They are such a nice alternative to a white builder grade door, and at no additional cost, I think it was the best "bang for our buck" in the house!
I surprised Ty by going with black hardware on the doors. I selected nearly all brass for plumbing and lighting throughout the home, so brass may have felt like the obvious choice. However, I intentionally want to mix metals in this home. In our last home, the Holland cottage, we went very light and beachy throughout the house and did not decorate with any black accents. This home, with its dark green exterior, black windows, and location deep in the woods, has a darker color palette and overall design theme. The black door knobs and hinges will be balanced by black picture frames, soap dispensers, and other accessories.
You'll find traditional touches throughout the house...a tumbled stone floor in the primary bath, handmade pottery in the kitchen, marble counters, and shelves full of antiques. The shape of the doorknobs we selected adds another traditional detail to each room. I also heard that round knobs, versus levers, are better for toddlers!
We went back and forth (for months) on the stain color of the doors. I could not decide if I wanted to stain the doors to match the flooring (light) or the island (mid tone). Originally, I had envisioned them to match the flooring. Because we opted for pine, this color may have been challenging to achieve due to the slightly cool cast of our floor. Pine has a deep yellow undertone. Pulling a very neutral, almost cool tone from the doors made me nervous. The island, on the other hand, is a richer, deeper mid tone oak. This color was much easier to match due to the existing warm undertones of the doors.
Visually, I love the contrast of the darker doors next to the wood floor downstairs as well as the light carpet upstairs. We have a lot of white paint, large windows, and high ceilings, so a dark wood accent in each room anchors each space.
The stain color was custom made by Sherwin Williams. I brought a sample of our island cabinetry into their shop as well as a piece of raw pine (I made sure to get a similar grade of pine to our doors) and asked them to test out some formulas. A few days later, I picked up the piece of pine and drove it to the house to compare to the doors. They did a great job!
Because it is a custom stain, I do not have a name for the stain for you. I can tell you that it matches our island which is color River Rock by Wellborn Cabinetry.
The other best thing about pine doors? Much easier to keep looking clean...no fingerprints or paint chips! Good news with a busy toddler runny around!
Thanks for all of your excitement over our wood doors!
Hannah