Oak Trim (sale, renting, house)

[ceeb4]

This is a legitimate inquiry and I sincerely do not mean or intend to offend anyone.

What is with all the oak trim, oak cabinets, doors in all the homes here? When we were looking at homes, there were very few homes that we looked at that did not have this. Now just to be clear, we did not look at new cookie cutter homes/mcmansion type neighborhoods. We only looked in established older neighborhoods as that is what we prefer because of the trees and from my experience better built homes. But even the older homes that had been considered updated, the oak was still there. The house we are renting & may end up purchasing has plain oak doors, cabinets & closet doors. Is there a problem with painting the oak white? Is it too much work to paint over the oak i.e. sanding, etc? I appreciate that the trim is solid oak and not some vinyl stuff, but everywhere? I just want to start looking at prices for updating some of this in our home and I'm thinking there is something I'm missing. I really hate to replace all the doors with new ones as they are nice doors and solid. Same with the cabinets, I would just like to update them without sacrificing quality.

[1stpontiac]

I think a lot of people here (I would have assumed everywhere, but maybe not) just like the look of real oak. To me it would signify quality, versus some sort of vinyl or pressboard stuff.

Its perfectly possible to paint over oak (sand off any varnish first), but I'd never do it. I'd be much more likely to sand it down and refinish it.

To me, real woodgrain is timeless, while painted colors and such are more likely to age. Just one guy's $0.02, though. To each their own!

[Thegonagle]

There's nothing stopping you from painting the oak. Go right ahead. Many have before you. But almost as many have cursed a former owner as they contemplate the work required to restore an old home's fine original woodwork to a more natural state.

[ceeb4]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

I think a lot of people here (I would have assumed everywhere, but maybe not) just like the look of real oak. To me it would signify quality, versus some sort of vinyl or pressboard stuff.

Its perfectly possible to paint over oak (sand off any varnish first), but I'd never do it. I'd be much more likely to sand it down and refinish it.

To me, real woodgrain is timeless, while painted colors and such are more likely to age. Just one guy's $0.02, though. To each their own!

Originally Posted by Thegonagle

There's nothing stopping you from painting the oak. Go right ahead. Many have before you. But almost as many have cursed a former owner as they contemplate the work required to restore an old home's fine original woodwork to a more natural state.

Thanks for the input. I understand what both of you are saying and I agree if it's done right, it does look higher quality. Maybe if I sanded & refinished it in a lighter color it would look better. Everything is just so dark thus making the house dark.

Also, just to clarify when I say "older" home, I'm not speaking of historical type older home built in say the 30's-40's or prior. This home was built mid 80's.

[Kebinminn]

I think it was a big thing for a while. Oak has a nice grain and I can see its appeal but it was way overdone.

[Radical_Car]

I love oak, and I believe it is a strong. high quality wood which is why people love it. I have this beautiful big oak lowboy my parents got at a yard sale I believe they got it before I was born, and the original owners painted it white, and it looks terrible, especially since they did a horrible job and the paint has been slowly chipping off over the years. We've been meaning to scrape the paint off and refinish it for years now, but have never gotten around to it. We still want to refinish it sometime, lol.

But it is possible, and I found some pictures for you to take a look at

Before
before picture by AnnettaCM - Photobucket

After
After picture by AnnettaCM - Photobucket

I think that looks beautiful when it is done correctly. I'd definitely take the painted white over the regular. But I am a huge fan of white, which I know many people including my parents despise.

[Glenfield]

Oak is used because it is a very hard wood, and has a very prominent grain. If it's your house, you get to do what you want, but choose carefully, or that your "updated" look will look dated in 20 years.

[danielle_pal]

I hate wood trim too. I plan on painting all of it if the home we buy has any wood trim. I also hate wood paneling even in a basement. So outdated! Take it down and sheet-rock and paint people.

[ceeb4]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

I love oak, and I believe it is a strong. high quality wood which is why people love it. I have this beautiful big oak lowboy my parents got at a yard sale I believe they got it before I was born, and the original owners painted it white, and it looks terrible, especially since they did a horrible job and the paint has been slowly chipping off over the years. We've been meaning to scrape the paint off and refinish it for years now, but have never gotten around to it. We still want to refinish it sometime, lol.

But it is possible, and I found some pictures for you to take a look at

Before
before picture by AnnettaCM - Photobucket

After
After picture by AnnettaCM - Photobucket

I think that looks beautiful when it is done correctly. I'd definitely take the painted white over the regular. But I am a huge fan of white, which I know many people including my parents despise.

Thanks for the pics! That is exactly what I'm looking to do. (tried to give you some rep points but its telling me to spread them around. )
I just have to figure out how to get that sort of look on regular & bi-fold closet doors as they have no dimension to them. That is going to be my biggest challenge. Thanks again!

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by danielle_pal

I hate wood trim too. I plan on painting all of it if the home we buy has any wood trim. I also hate wood paneling even in a basement. So outdated! Take it down and sheet-rock and paint people.

Yuck. Might as well build stuff with plastic, IMO. You can paint that, too.