Just as a white door can look striking against a black or grey house, a black door against white or pale grey paintwork can look amazing. However, if you have a narrow door, painting it black it can make your doorway look smaller, so let's look at a simple trick to prevent this.

To counter the effect of a narrow door if you want to paint it black, the trick is to paint the door architrave the same colour as the door (see image 2), this makes the door appear wider than it really is. You could also use a dark colour such as dark blue or dark grey as (image 1 above). Using the same colour as the door however, will make the doorway appear wider. Of course if you have a wide door then finishing the door architrave in white is perfect for a black door as the contrast will look fabulous. Remember to make sure when you are painting your door that you mask off any glass areas and areas that are going to be beside white paint and it is important not to leave your tape on too long as the sun will harden the glue and make it difficult to remove. 
Painting my front door black is high on my "to do" list, however I am waiting until I replace my door so I have been looking for a few ideas for black doors with curb appeal.
2. Above: Painting architrave black to match the door will make it appear wider, the perfect solution for a narrow door. The black planters frame this door and are the icing on the cake.3. Above: This doorway is fairly narrow, if they had painted th...