Internal door ideas - 10 of the best

Give your internal doors a quick and easy update with these top tips from Ideal Home magazine. For more decorating ideas and inspiration,visit housetohome.co.uk

Instead of playing safe with white or neutral when it comes to internal doors, why not make a statement with a splash of bright colour? Choose a shade that co-ordinates with your room scheme, such as the bold red in this bedroom.

1/10 Lavaliers wallpaper

bedroom with red wallpaper and red bed accessories

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Bevan)

The geometric-patterned wallpaper is quite dominating, so opt for a block of plain colour on the door with neutral furnishings to help balance the look. Finally, remember to paint architrave and skirting in the same colour for a unified scheme.

Door paint

Little Greene

Little Green range, Wallpaper Direct

2/10 Parisian-themed bedroom with Eiffel Tower door stickers

bedroom with parisian theme wallpaper and Eiffel tower graphics

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

If your daughter has outgrown her childhood bedroom, why not update it with a chic Parisian theme? The pictorial 'city scene' wallpaper and the eye-catching wardrobe doors are the stars of the show.

The Eiffel Tower graphics are created with easy-on-easy-off vinyl wall stickers, which are a quick way of adding a point of interest to a room. Plus, they can always be removed if you tire of the look in years to come.

Paris wall stickers
Spin Collective

City wallpaper
Feature Wallpaper

3/10 Yellow bedroom with butterfly door stickers

bedroom with lime yellow wall and butterfly door stickers

(Image credit: Future PLc/Dan Duchars)

Brighten up bedroom doors and walls with a pretty arrangement of butterfly stickers. Small-scale vinyl stickers like these are an easy way of customising plain sliding doors or brightening up a bare expanse of wall; they look particularly effective here, floating above the wardrobe and the bed.

A set like this will contain around 20 stickers - just play around with your arrangement until you are happy with the effect.

Butterfly wall stickers
Spin Collective

Wardrobes
Ikea

4/10 Playroom with chalkboard doors

playroom with cupboard with chalkboard doors

(Image credit: Future PLC/Barbara Egan)

Steer little ones away from experimenting on precious wall space, and give them somewhere special to scribble and draw. Transform plain cupboard doors in a playroom or family den with a couple of coats of chalkboard paint, or try a chalkboard panel on a wall if you prefer, then let kids get creative.

Chalkboard paint
Rust-Oleum

Shelving
Ikea

5/10 Kitchen cupboard doors with magnetic paint

kitchen cupboard doors with magnetic paint and notes

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Makeover a kitchen cabinet door with a coat of magnetic paint to provide a space for posting notes and reminders. Magnetic paint can be used on virtually any smooth, flat surface - it goes on like emulsion or primer and can be painted over with coloured emulsion if you prefer a brighter finish.

You can make your own colourful magnets, too, by customising plain wooden pegs with coloured washi tape then attaching magnetic strips to the reverse.

Magnetic paint

Designer Paint

Adhesive magnetic roll
Hobbycraft

6/10 Neutral nursery with painted wardrobe doors

kids room with neutral painted wall and built in cupboards

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Customise built-in cupboards or wardrobes by having doors tailor-made. These floor-to-ceiling wardrobes have been given new doors made from MDF. Some of the sections are cubbyhole-size while others are full-size, and they have all been painted in neutral shades to create a unique patchwork effect.

Paints from a selection
Dulux

Similar peg rail
Scumble Goosie

7/10 Bedroom storage with striped curtain cover-up

bedroom with grey wall and metal storage

(Image credit: Future PLc/Dan Duchars)

Ditch dull doors in a bedroom alcove or dressing room area and go for a smart curtain cover-up instead. Kit out the internal space with a flexible wire storage system that includes components such as rails, shelves, drawers and racks so you can organise clothing. Once your clothes storage is sorted, fix up a rail and curtain across the alcove so you can conceal clutter, and keep everything dust-free.

Storage system
Store

Similar curtains
Next

8/10 Children’s bedroom with spotty wardrobe doors

child bedroom with dark blue wardrobe and colourful circles on doors

(Image credit: Future PLC/Nick Huggins)

Re-vamp shabby wardrobe doors in a children's room with a colourful paint effect. Avoid white or pale colours and go for bright primary paint or darker tones to disguise scuffs and marks. Choose a tough, scrubbable eggshell finish that is childsafe and can cope with little ones. For a fun look, try painting colourful circles onto the doors in contrasting paint colours, or buy multicoloured spot wall stickers for a similar effect.

Child safe paint
Little Greene

Multicoloured spot wall stickers
Spin Collective

9/10 Living room door with Christmas card display

living room with white door decorated with christmas card display and fairy light

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Run out of shelf space? Turn the back of a door into a display space - ideal for cards at Christmas time, or useful in a home office or kitchen for notes and reminders. Fix a couple of lengths of coloured ribbon or tape to the top of the door with thumb tacks, then use mini wooden pegs to secure your cards in place. Finally, add a string of fairy lights for a festive touch.

Similar fairy lights
Dotcomgiftshop

10/10 Guest bedroom door with festive decoration

guest bedroom doorknob decorated with festive decoration

(Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore)

Give your guest bedroom a festive flourish during the holiday season. Tie a sprig of fragrant lavender and fir with ribbon, and hang it on the door handle - the scent will be released as guests brush past. Make guests feel extra welcome by writing their names on a wooden star or Christmas decoration, and tie this into your decoration.

Similar wooden stars
Hobbycraft

Lisa Fazzani
Deputy Editor

Lisa is Deputy Editor of Style at Home magazine and regularly contributes to sister title Ideal Home. She has written about interiors for more than 25 years and about pretty much every area of the home, from shopping and decorating, crafts and DIY to real home transformations and kitchen and bathroom makeovers. Homes and interiors have always been a passion and she never tires of nosying around gorgeous homes, whether on TV, online, in print or in person.