How to Mix Wood Stained Doors with White Trim (with examples!)

Can you have white trim with wood doors? Yes! See examples of stained doors with white frames and read our tips for executing this combination, beautifully!

We have a mix of painted white and stained wood trim throughout our home. Apparently, many of you do too, because mixing wood and white trim is the most popular post on my site. One of the most common questions I receive in response to that post is: “Is it ok to have stained wood door with white trim?”

So, today, I’m tackling that question specifically. We have wood doors with white trim in several locations in our home. I’ll show you those examples, as well as examples in other home. We’ll talk about the pros, cons, and what to consider when pairing white trim with wood doors.

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I love our home’s mixed trim colors. Often times, people are hesitant to mix trim colors, but it can be done, beautifully. I won’t go into detail in this post, but you can read “How to Mix Wood and White Trim” for all the tips and tricks.

When mixing trim colors, the doors can get tricky. What if one side of the door (let’s say, the hallway) has white trim, and the other side of the door (a bedroom, for example) has stained wood trim. What do you do with the door? Paint it? Stain it?

The answer is: It depends.

Interior Stained Wood Door with White Trim

Our dark green eclectic master bedroom has green painted trim. The bedroom door is located just off the entryway of our home, which has white painted trim.

In this case, there are several options:

• Paint the door dark green, to match the bedroom
• Paint the door white, to match the entryway
• Leave the door stained wood
• Paint the door white on one side and green on the other side

We chose the 3rd option. Leaving the door stained wood allows it to complement both the entryway and the bedroom.

Neither a white door in our green bedroom, nor a green door in our light entryway, would have felt very cohesive.

I do not generally (see note, below) recommend the last option. Painting a door two colors is difficult and typically ineffective. If you leave the interior doors in your home open, it doesn’t make much sense to match the side of the door (when closed) to its corresponding room.

Note: I do make exception for exterior doors. For example, our front door is painted black on the exterior side; but is white on the entryway side.

Pros & Cons

So, now you know you can leave your door stained, even if you paint your trim white. But, you could also paint the door white. What are the pros and cons of a stained door – instead of a white door – paired with white trim?

Pros

• Cleaning – stained doors don’t show dirt and grime like white doors do
• Durability – stained wood finishes are more durable than painted finishes which can chip
• Effort – if the door is unfinished, staining is (in my opinion) quicker and easier than painting
• Labor – if the door is already stained wood, you don’t have to spend time or money painting

Cons

• Price – if you are buying a new door, primed doors are cheaper than solid wood doors

Examples of Wood Doors with White Trim

Let’s take a look at 5 examples of wood doors with white trim. In this list you’ll find dark wood doors, light wood doors, solid wood doors, hollow core doors, antique doors, and more!

Dark Wood Doors with White Trim

This dark wood stained door pops against the bright white trim and walls. The wood stain ties in with the dresser and helps give this landing a modern, eclectic feel.

Antique Doors with White Trim

In this photo from Young House Love’s beach house, there are tall, light-stained, antique doors with white trim work in a hallway. The wood doors add warmth and character to an otherwise neutral color palette.

Hollow Core Doors with White Trim

While it would be nice to replace all our hollow-core doors with solid wood, that isn’t in the budget. You don’t have to install beautiful, solid wood doors in order to pair wood with white – hollow core doors can be paired with white, too!

Light Wood Doors with White Trim

Unfinished, light wood doors look beautiful in this airy bedroom by Hello Lovely Studio. Made with alder wood, part of the birch family, the light color keeps the doors from feeling visually heavy – while still adding warmth to the space.

Antique-Style Wood Doors

Not actual antiques, The Minted Vintage, made these unfinished wood doors look aged with her staining technique. The warm mid-tone wood finish looks lovely with black hardware and white trim.

Wood Doors with White Frames

Do you have stained doors with white trim (or any painted trim, for that matter!)? I’d love to see photos to share with my readers.

So often, people want to paint their trim white, but they’re hesitant to do so. It’s intimidating to paint trim white, when you think you have to paint all of the interior doors, too!

Not to mention, there are downsides to painted white doors (shows dirt, paint chipping, etc.). When you realize you don’t have to paint doors to match trim, it makes painting trim less daunting.

So, I hope this post has encouraged you. If you want white trim, but also like stained doors, then embrace wood doors with white frames!

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