Have you tested for lead paint already?

no, good question though.

the blue side is fine, but the white side, i see what you mean, especially as a rental. around the knob is sort of sad.

Like the blue side, but the white side looks like it's just worn out. Why don't you try to refinish the white side. Annie Sloan makes a blue-not sure if you will be able to match it, but it's worth a try. If note, choose a complimentary color such as off white or french gray and paint the white side. Use a dark wax to make it look old and weathered. If you are not familiar with Annie Sloan, it is relatively easy to use and requires very little preparation. Good luck!

Oops, just realized it is a different door-You can probably simply touch up the white door with chalk paint, then lightly sand, and then add either clear or dark wax. There are plenty of tutorials out there demonstrating how to paint using chalk paint.

Distressed anything is very tricky, especially for doors, cabinets and the like as it does tend to just look like you live in an old dumpy house, and can't afford to keep it up.

Both sides of the door are too rough looking to look like it's the style of the house. Take them off, distress the front and back while keeping around the doorknob area neat and clean looking so it's obvious that it's distressed, not old and junky.

hayleydaniels, in that case, would i paint them and THEN distress them? otherwise how do i get the doorknob areas neat? i think you're on the right track!

To me, they don't look dirty, they just look worn. After testing for lead paint, I'd say add a coat of poly or shellac (would test which works best on an inconspicuous place on the hinge side).

I really don't know how to do it, but check youtube for videos on how to distress a door so it looks the way you want it to.

Are those doorknobs antiques? They look like it, and you might have to spray paint the metal portions--should be able to take it apart to do that. Nice doorknobs and related fixtures with distressed doors will give the appearance you're going for.

One good youtube DIY channel I like is Mr. DIY Dork. My husband watches a lot of DIY stuff on youtube as we're renovating our house and he's found them very helpful in learning the little tricks that give a professional result.

Good luck. You have a very cute room and house, and it's going to look very cool when you're done!

I don't think you have to use chalk paint to make them look newly done .. .if you want to touch up around the doorknobs on the white side you can use chalk paint in a few sample pots - get an old white and a soft tan so you can mix it to match (you won't need more than a sample size of each for that) .. you don't have to sand it back to make it feel distressed - you can pull it off with a clean wet brush .. then, do clear coat them - that will seal all the edges that could catch dirt and dust and certain kinds of clothing ...

It's nice that you replaced cheap modern doors with well-made old ones, not to mention the great antique knobs. But there's something pretty silly about taking a genuinely worn door, painting it and then beating it up to make it look "old". If genuinely old is offensive compared to "faux" old, I'd just do a nice new paint job on the doors and forget about "phony" old.

sorry pdk, that is much too reasoned a viewpoint. : )

Oh my gosh, if you paint these doors I will cry! They are perfect. Leave them!

Yes, seal with 2coats clear varnish. Any amount of lead paint is toxic, and deadly to a baby or toddler.

I think the rust on the door knob is not helping..wondering if it can be sanded and refinished. Then I would use a cloth and rub the paint on, thicker on the outside frame, as it's looking pretty bad and touch it up appropriately on the surface until you get the rustic, but a refreshed look.