My Minimal Modern Entryway Makeover

This post is sponsored by 3M. All opinions are my own and additional products used in the project were selected by me.

I’m finally starting to cover some ground at our new place and next on the list is tackling our entryway / interior front door. It may seem like I’m skipping around on the room makeovers here, and I (admittedly) totally am, after the bathroom makeover. BUT I really wanted to cross off the entryway asap because it’s the first thing we see when we walk in and the last thing we see when we leave each day.

This makeover project involves lots of paint, and even more painter’s tape, so I’ve teamed up with 3M and ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape (my favorite painter’s tape on the planet) to make sure everything goes according to plan. The struggle of black and white contrast is real, so I needed all of my paint lines to be super sharp!

The finished entryway makes me smile. It’s a pretty dramatic before and after, going from white walls to black. And I think that’s one of the reasons why I love it. Of course I’m typically partial to light and bright for interior, but dark and dramatic has its place too, and apparently that’s in the entryway of our apartment. 🙂 Click through for the before and after photos and the step by step process of painting a metal door AND the walls at the same time, all while avoiding that bright white trim.

First things first, let’s talk about painting the inside of our front door! I’ve never considered painting an interior door until moving into this place. There’s something about staring at a giant, semi-glossy, navy door day in and day out that started driving me nuts. Especially, in contrast to all of the white walls surrounding it.

SO, I got the idea in my head that it needed to be painted, and while I was at it, I should probably paint the surrounding wall too for a change of pace. Shockingly, Jeff was onboard right away too – when it comes to design stuff in our house, we don’t always agree. So, before he changed his mind, I grabbed a few paint samples and tried out a handful of colors, before settling on a minty grayish green for the door and super deep charcoal (pretty much black) for the walls. Jeff and I decided that it would be best design-wise to keep the trim as is, which means we had A LOT of taping to do! Here’s the step by step process for prepping, taping, painting, etc our entryway walls and door…

Materials

• ScotchBlue™ PLATINUM Painter’s Tape (for the metal doorframe)
• ScotchBlue™ TRIM + BASEBOARDS Painter’s Tape (for the trim around the door that touches the wall)
• ScotchBlue™ Pre-Taped Painter’s Plastic (to protect baseboards and floors from paint splatters and drips)
• ScotchBlue™ WALLS + WOOD FLOORS Painter’s Tape (for taping off the ceiling)
• damp cloth for cleaning baseboards (if necessary)
• screwdriver for unscrewing wall outlet plates (if necessary)
• paint roller (I used a standard size for the walls and a smaller one for the door)
• paint brush (I used a 2 inch wide short handle brush)
• flat interior paint (in 2 colors – one for the door and one for the walls)

*You can find retail ability for ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape on ScotchBlue.com – I usually get mine through Amazon or Home Depot.

Quick Note: I used several different ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape products for this makeover because there were a lot of different surfaces involved – metal, baseboards, trim, even the ceiling. Every painter’s tape has a different level of adhesion, which means there’s a specific surface for each one that will give you the best results (i.e. super sharp paint lines).

I’ll explain more about each kind of painter’s tape and when to use them in the instructions below. But you can also use the tape selector tool on ScotchBlue.com/tapeselector to figure out the type of tape you should use for your project in four quick clicks.

Instructions

1. First, be sure to clean all baseboards and trim with a damp cloth to clean and prep your surface for the painter’s tape. Try to avoid using household cleaners as they can affect adhesion. Wait for the surface to dry completely. 

2. While waiting, remove outlet plates with a screwdriver and set aside. I usually throw everything into a bag (screws and outlet covers), so I don’t lose anything. Those tiny screws get lost so easily.

3. Next, it’s time to tape! And there’s a lot of tape to cover on this one. So, I sectioned them all out to make things easier…

Baseboards. For the baseboards, I used ScotchBlue™ Pre-Taped Painter’s Plastic because I wanted to protect our rental floors from paint splatters, etc. Love this stuff because it protects the baseboards AND floors from paint at the same time. It’s easy to apply too – you use it the same way you would apply regular painter’s tape. Just get as close to the wall as possible, where the baseboards meet the wall, and press down firmly over the tape’s surface to make sure the tape is secure. Cut the end with the built-in cutoff blade once you’ve covered your baseboards and unfold the Painter’s Plastic to cover both the baseboards and flooring.

Trim around the door (that touches the wall). For the trim that touches the wall that I was painting, I used ScotchBlue™ TRIM + BASEBOARDS Painter’s Tape. I taped around the edge of the door trim and pressed down firmly with my hand to make sure it was secure, as I was unrolling the tape and attaching it. Pretty straight forward.

Trim around the door (that touches the door). Since I was only painting the part of the door that can be seen from the inside, I had some taping to do around the metal door frame to make sure I didn’t get any paint on the trim. I used ScotchBlue™ PLATINUM Painter’s Tape for this one because I was taping onto metal AND I’m kind of partial to this tape anyway (remember the color blocked mirror DIY I used it on) because the poly-backing makes it easy to do 90 degree hand-tears. Which means it’s really awesome for corners, and this door has a lot of those. Just like the other tapes, when applying this one, be sure to press down firmly over the tape’s surface with your fingers to make sure the tape is secure.

I used ScotchBlue™ PLATINUM Painter’s Tape (great for metal, glass, etc) to cover the metal hinges on the door as well. Worked like a charm.

Ceiling. For the ceiling, I used ScotchBlue™ WALLS + WOOD FLOORS Painter’s Tape. You’d use this painter’s tape anytime you’re taping directly onto the walls (or ceiling) or wood floors – basically any smooth surfaces. To apply the painter’s tape, I got the tape as close as I could to the wall and the ceiling joint, and started rolling it out while running my finger over the tape as I went, to make sure it was secure.

4. Once all of the taping was complete, I did a cartwheel of some kind and started painting! I used a standard paint roller (with a 3/8 nap for smooth surfaces) for the big wall surfaces and a 2 inch brush for around the trim, baseboards, corners, and around the outlets. I ended up doing 2 coats of paint on the wall and it took about a half gallon of paint to complete.

And then for the metal door, I used a 2 inch brush for the edges, around the lock and door handle, and the inset area all the way around. And then I used a smaller paint roller (again with a 3/8 nap for smooth to semi-smooth surfaces) for the larger areas. The door took three coats of paint, but it went by really fast. I ended up using a little over a 1/2 quart of paint on the door.

Note: Be sure to let the paint fully dry between coats on the door and walls. Recommendations for drying times will be on the can of paint.

5. Once the paint has completely dried, it’s time to remove all of the painter’s tape and painter’s plastic. For all of the tapes and  painter’s plastic, removal is the same… If necessary, score the edge (where the painted surface and the tape meet) with a sharp blade. Especially useful if your paint is super thick in any areas. Then, slowly remove the tape at a 45° angle and pull the tape back onto itself for best results. It’s more important to remove slowly than to get that exact 45° angle, but why not do both!

6. Lastly, re-secure wall outlet covers and you’re all set and ready to decorate. I brought in a big plant, some artwork, a rug (that I am v much obsessed with at the moment), and a few other things. I wanted to keep it simple, since it’s a small area, and only fill it with things I really, really love.

How long did the whole process take? The whole process took me 3 or 4 hours of labor (not including drying times in between coats, etc). And I’m so happy that I ended up doing it. The outside of the door (that faces out into the hallway) is still navy. So no one would even know the other side of the door is painted unless they came in. And since it’s a relatively small area, it will be pretty easy to paint the walls and door back before we move out. Which makes this project renter-friendly. Just make sure to check with your landlord ahead of time to get the okay for painting.

What do you think of the end result? I’d love to hear your thoughts on painting an entryway (or any room) black. And also, whether you’d ever consider painting the front door of your rental? Let me know in the comments below!

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This post is in partnership with 3M. All opinions are my own and additional products used in the project were selected by me. Thanks for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.