Which paint to use for inside of an original front door

[walker]

Hi there, I live in a Victorian house and the original front door is painted white on the inside. It needs to be repainted and I'll keep it white but wanted some advice as to what type of paint to use, which shade of white? and should the finish be gloss?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Welcome to the forum Walker. These things are down to personal choice in the end (and aren't you a little bit tempted to get away from white, which isn't very Victorian, and go for a nice Victorian plum or green?), but if it were me I'd go for a Farrow and Ball oil eggshell (now called eco eggshell), a fairly matt paint. I don't really like shiny gloss paint but I believe the Victorians did. As for shade, what else have you got? Floor, walls? Can you use the same colour elsewhere? Joa's White, by FnB, is a nice warm shade, Off-White is a nice cool one. If you're using other colours in the hall by FnB they'll advise you about which compatible shade of white to use.

 

[Pford75]

We have House White...which was described by a neighbour as 'smokers white'.....I quite like it though...slightly yellowed and looks 'old' the moment it's put on.

Agree with Joce on the eggshell finish.

 

[JoceAndChris]

House White's lovely, I was so tempted to use that for the hallway but it's too yellow against Print Room Yellow, so I used New White in the end, which is very light and crisp and not very antiquey at all- but I think works for a Print Room.

 

[walker]

Thanks for the replies folks. No I definitely won't be changing it from white. I'll have to use white also above the picture rail and on the roof so will maybe use the same one for the door as well. I'll go to Farrow and Ball and get the eggshell finish for the door though.

I definitely don't want a white with any hint of yellow!!

 

[JoceAndChris]

I suggest you try out a few tester pots. If you don't want to paint the door with a tester pot (you'd have to rub it off after) you could paint a large section of lining paper and blu-tack it up.

FnB's Wimbourne White is very white and fresh with no yellow or dirtiness about it. I've used it in the music room ceiling, and picked out the picture rail and cornice and architrave and windows in James White, which picks up green. (The painted wall above the picture rail is Fn B Green Ground) It's really fun to play with 3 or 4 shades:

 

[Pford75]

Lovely pics Joce - perhaps I missed them if they were posted before? Impressive finish on the painting as well...nice straight lines.

Agree with you on how much difference it makes if you can be bothered to use more different shades.

On the FnB eggshell, the 'eco' eggshell is (in my humble opinion) not as good as the old oil eggshell. They do still have stocks of the old oil eggshell which they are selling off, but you have to purchase from them direct and specifically request it (and they may not have all colours left)

 

[JoceAndChris]

I completely agree about the whole oil eggshell/eco eggshell thing. I'm buying the old non eco stuff from various online suppliers (all colours still available), but it's costing me £21.00 for a small can. I've had to do this to get a matching finish in the hallway (the oil eggshell has more viscosity).

To those starting from scratch, I'd say just go for the new eco eggshell. What will happen when I want to touch up my woodwork in a few years' time? I'll have to completely re-do the lot as I won't be able to get the old paint. Dabs of the new stuff sitting on the old really show up - I've tried it and it's not good.

Lovely pics Joce - perhaps I missed them if they were posted before? Impressive finish on the painting as well...nice straight lines.

Thanks. It took 6 months to learn to paint in a dead straight line but I've got it now. Picking out the different colours in the panels is something the Georgians never did, by the way, but the Victorians did a lot.

 

[walker]

Thanks for all your replies folks. Got some samples and am gonna use a F & B paint called All White.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I would say that's about as close to Dulux Pure Brilliant White as you'll get with FnB. Great if you like that look!

 

[walker]

Changed my mind gonna use Wimbourne White instead!!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Much softer, though if it's a cream and white look you're after I'd have gone for something more antiquey like Slipper Satin woodwork against Matchstick walls.

It's your house - tell me to go away and mind my own business! :wink:

The FnB paint charts show the colours to be slightly darker and denser than they really are.