Caution: Wet Paint

From a distance, Rattlebridge Farm doesn't look like a place where paint gremlins have gone wild.

But it is the birthplace of wildness. Paint wildness.

As you may recall, my front door has been painted 
SW's Urbane Bronze, a dark gray with brown undertones. 
It looked very nice and dark on the door. I've been thinking about painting our powder room a dark color--maybe black (click to read about it).  So I thought, Why not try Urbane?

Now I just don't know. I just don't. 

Here are two "before" pictures:

We opened a tub of "Urbane Bronze," a dark gray:

Several photos made the Urbane Bronze look brown. 

You can see where the Urbane ends and SW's Caviar begins--that color is a true black, and quite lovely (far right).

Here's a shot of the truer colors:

The Urbane is the color of a chalkboard. 

In person, "Caviar" was too harsh for this itsy space.

I'd brought tubs of SW's Anonymous and Intellectual Gray, so I slapped up samples on an innocent door.

(A side note: I didn't think my 6' 8"standard, hollow-core doors would benefit from dark paint, but I do admire the trend, and once I had paint and paint brushes, I got brave and brazen. A very dangerous combination!)

I began with Anonymous, which is two shades lighter than Urbane.

I think it might look good in the bathroom, too, but I'll have to try that another day.

I like it! 

But wait...I also like Intellectual Gray, 

which is three shades lighter than Urbane.

Anonymous is on top. 

Intellectual Gray is on bottom.

(So why am I afraid to try black or Urbane on the door?)

I need to back up, look at the door from a distance. 

Whew, that's better. Where did I put the tub of Urbane?

:-)

It's daunting and exciting to think about painting doors. It could be awful or awesome--but the only way to know is to test a few colors, right? I already had the paint, and the exercise felt great!

I even like dithering over this color or that color.

But I have also defiled a wall and two perfectly good doors.

Meanwhile, Bandy caught the paint fever and painted another door, where light was more plentiful.

Here, he's adding a patch of Urbane. 

Below, left, we have Intellectual Gray; 

Anonymous is on the lower right.)

Do you have a favorite so far? 

Urbane? Intellectual Gray? Anonymous? Or white?

(The paint is still very wet, and the Urbane looked like Caviar.)

Here is the same door but with different light conditions:

Same door again, but photographed from another room.

Now let's look one more time at the bathroom door.

I am changing the brass door hardware anyway. 

Nickel knobs look so pretty against dark doors.

I didn't post photos of the master bathroom debacle, which included a major spill; but it's safe to say that I have a new name: 

Color Me Confused. But happily confused.

Bandwidth and I would love 

to know what you think.

1. Which color would you pick for the bathroom? Urbane Bronze? 

Go lighter? Darker? 

2. Would you stick with white interior doors? 

Or go with a shade of gray?

If so, which shade?

3. Where does the accent paint on a door end? Does it stop at the door? Does it include the jams? Leave the jams white?

4. Any suggestions?

We're interested in all ideas!

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