Painted interior doors in a condo black with oil based semi-gloss enamel. Never had a nick or scratch.

Interior doors, and inside of exterior doors, all trim, painted black. No problems at all, and I have a very rowdy beagle, who runs so fast, he bangs into them all the time.

why is your painter deciding your colors? even if he does them in white, it's still going to get scuffed (according to him), so what's the diff?

maybe he isn't letting them completely cure. who knows. plenty of people have dark painted doors and they look great. Is he using Hollandlac by Fine Paints of Europe? It's one of the best oil enamels on the market. And it's made by the Dutch!

Without knowing the rest of the design I'm not really sold on navy blue interior doors (do your really want your doors to be a feature element?

However, no they shouldn't scuff up as much as your painter is implying. They also can be touched up so not sure what he means by that. IMO you should listen to his reservations though. Because if he's not confident that he can do a good job on this project you shouldn't hire him to do it.

I think your painter is just not interested in painting the doors. Hire a different painter.

It's your house and you are paying him. I know myself that anytime I've changed something because of what others have said I've regretted it And think about it every time i see it. But I personally don't like moulding and doors that aren't white. white is timeless and colors trendy

Duh! Did you tell him you can afford to touch up "dings" when ever you want, or even repaint the entire thing? That said....... I think deeply colored doors, whether black, charcoal, or navy..... are best left to important entry points. A little can go a very long way.

I'd keep all "boring door entry points" Closets, upstairs bedrooms and baths even if they are not boring as we define that. laundry etc to trim WHITE

. then select a few WOW spots only. French doors to a dining room.........or a beautiful study......or a first floor glorious master bedroom. And not much more than that.

Truth is, in my mind a better way to go. When you want a thing to stand out? USE LESS OF THAT THING : )

Add to that , color is at its best in UN equal proportions. Blue, any blue, goes a long way, and is at it's very best.........with a ton of white, and multiple blues at that. Don't get carried away.

Of course it is true that darker colors are more difficult to touch up than lighter colors, especially when they are sprayed. But, this doesn't mean you shouldn't get what you want.

I don't know why blue and any other colored doors would be more of a visual faux pas than stained wood doors are. In both examples, the doors stand out against the walls - unless one has all wood walls :-).

I opted for stained wood interior doors (my walls are a cream) and I love them - but I also opted to have the interiors of all my cabinets done in teal blue - either painted or covered with laminate as applicable instead of the more expected white or fake wood.

Cheryl said, dont change what you wanted because someone else suggested something. Its your house and your money. I think a lot of us have done that, and then wished we had done what we wanted in the first place. If its just paint, then it can be changed easily and economically. In my case, I wanted gray floors, and got talked out of it, to light oak. Its been 6 yrs now, and I still want those darn gray floors, which would fit in my house much nicer than the oak color. Get what you want. You have to live there.

I agree it is your house , your money and get a different painter if this won’t do the job. My guess he will not do a good job just to prove his point . BTW there are lots of paints that don’t stink for weeks for trim. I live in Canada we have not had oil based paint for years and we all have painted woodwork that has stood up.I do however agree that sometimes too much of something loses its impact so maybe not every door.

Wood....: in any tone is a different thing than a painted door in a strong color. Just have to trust me on that. It's a material , more than a stain on that door. Which is secondary:)