I know this may be more of a personal choice or philosophical question with no right answer, but wanted to get people's opinions here:
When painting rooms with good quality decorative trim & moldings, do you *prefer* to paint the trim the same color as the walls or use a separate accent color? Why or why not?
If you do use a separate color, do you like to use the same neutral (e.g., white) trim/molding color throughout the house or separate colors to match each room wall color?
This fella sure does ask a lot of questions. I'll bet he doesn't even fart without asking which direction to point.
NO. Looks cheap and too much like tract houses painted with a spray gun hooked up to a paint tanker truck.
Using the same color, but different shade on the trim is the choice of many decorators. Easy to do with the paint mixing systems at the box stores these days. Same scheme applies to ceilings.
Every room has a different lighting pattern and use. Go to your decorators handbook to learn what works best in sunny rooms, north lighted rooms, no light rooms, etc. Lots of common sense reasons for the choices they suggest. HTH
Joe
On 11/23/2004 8:55 AM US(ET), Jeffrey J. Kosowsky took fingers to keys, and typed the following:
It all depends upon what the little woman wants. I have no say in what colors to paint ceilings, wall, and trim. She usually wants trim painted in a pale version of the wall color. She does not like pure white, and in all cases, the trim is semi-gloss. To me, the trim all looks white, but if you put a piece from one room against a piece from another room, you will see the difference in color. BTW, she likes to paint, so I don't care one way or the other.
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Bingo! 30 years ago my wife was nutty about 'colonial' anything. We were having some brickwork done & the mason showed her a few options for striking the joints. "Which do you like" he asked. "How was it done in colonial times?" she asked.
"Well," the mason says. . . "A bricklayer would be hired to do the job. Then he'd give the lady of the house some choices and she'd pick the one that looked good to her."
That's worked for me. Right now we have cherry trim throughout the first floor and no trim upstairs.
Jim
-------------- This is purely my opinion.
If you are talking about inside the house, I like to use a nice pine or birch trim with 3 coats of clear shellac, with light sanding in between coats. Shellac brings out the grain and looks beautiful.
Of course, this only applies if you're like the natural woodsy look, and it fits into your decor.
I just replied to your painting outlet plates question.
It's all personal preference. However, I really question why you want everything the same color. That just sounds boring to me. Add a little contrast, and I think you will find things look nicer and liven it up. For example, if you use a pale yellow in the kitchen, use a deep yellow trim. Or simplify things and paint all the trim in the whole house chocolate brown. Then get brown outlets and covers. Brown is common for trim, because it is "wood" colored. I once painted the bathroom pale purple in a rented house I lived in. When I started painting the trim a dark purple, my roommates nearly died. Yet, when the job was done, they loved it.
Take one of the computer paint programs and play with colors. Make a box, fill it with a color you would like on your walls. The make a smaller box with a contrasting color (to signify a window or door). Make the bottom 1/4" the contrast color too (baseboard). Have fun!!!
Mark
In most of my house, the trim is an ivory white color (Ben Moore's White Dove) which works well for the light muted colors of most of my walls. That's to brighten up the home, and tie it together visually.
However, in my own bedroom and in the large family room, the trim is a color for contrast. Those two rooms I wanted a feeling of a different space from the rest of the house.
It really depends on taste. But I think it's worthwhile at least using a gloss or semi-gloss of the wall color. Anything else just looks landlord (or college student) cheeep.
Banty
My walls are white. My crown moldings and door trim are antique white, painted with an oil-based enamel paint. It seems to match well.
Oh, goodness no! I like color.
Same trim throughout the house.
JennP.
My opinion is it's a personal choice. But keep in mind I have bright yellow, lime green and purple walls with gloss white trim and doors. In the living room.
Jeff
willshak has the right answer.
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