Matching Trim and Window Colors

[TWG1572]

silibran - I appreciate the decorating input. I had to laugh - guess what color the prior owners painted our main living area? Red! It's an open concept house, so you see it everywhere.

I think the decorator advice is sound, and we have talked about it. My mom is an artist, and I inherited a bit of her eye for design/color but I'm no expert. My wife has no interest/natural abilities in decorating, and she will freely admit that. Which is fine, I didn't marry her for that.

So we do think we would benefit from having someone walk though and give suggestions on colors, design ideas, etc. I just haven't figured out yet how to actually find someone good and make that happen. I've been checking out Angie's list, but haven't seen much. I've also looked at some services where you take pictures and submit them online. That might be promising.

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by silibran

Just be thankful you have actual wooden trim! Some of us don't.

Ditto. No trim except for the sill. It works in this modern house, but I miss having a home with actual woodwork.

[K'ledgeBldr]

For decades the overwhelming choice for trim is paint- regardless of color.

But, I have been getting a few requests for stained sashes to go with the painted trim. Trend? Hell, who knows? Time will tell! So, as others have stated do what makes you happy. But again, since you stated this isn't the forever home maybe keep a moderate amount of "what about resale" in the back of your mind.

[Ohiogirl81]

The problem with painting woodwork is that you have to keep painting it.

If you don't like the golden oak color, consider restaining the wood.

[silibran]

Originally Posted by TWG1572

silibran - I appreciate the decorating input. I had to laugh - guess what color the prior owners painted our main living area? Red! It's an open concept house, so you see it everywhere.

I think the decorator advice is sound, and we have talked about it. My mom is an artist, and I inherited a bit of her eye for design/color but I'm no expert. My wife has no interest/natural abilities in decorating, and she will freely admit that. Which is fine, I didn't marry her for that.

So we do think we would benefit from having someone walk though and give suggestions on colors, design ideas, etc. I just haven't figured out yet how to actually find someone good and make that happen. I've been checking out Angie's list, but haven't seen much. I've also looked at some services where you take pictures and submit them online. That might be promising.

Well, how do you like the red? Does it work for you?

I look at RE listing photos all the time, and I always hate the red walls/oak floor look. To my eye, it clashes. But I am also not the good taste dictator! If the red works for you, then I'd go with it.

I had maple colored wood trim in my great room, and white trim in the rest of the house for 26 years. I never figured out the thought process behind having two colors of trim in one house, but I learned to live with it and had many nice comments about how my house was decorated.

I do think you can get an oak overload though, because the grain of the wood is so strong. So, if you can mitigate some of it, the trim could look good.

[TWG1572]

IMHO, the red walls make the natural/golden oak trim and floor look too orange.

I did walk around the house with your cool color suggestion in mind, and I can see the difference in rooms where we used a cool color. The trim does seem less accentuated.