Paint can be an intimidating part of the design process. It can be the icing on the cake or even the star of the show, but it's a lot of work selecting colors for an entire house. Designing for a large space is all about the big picture, and taking room layout into careful consideration.
SO YOU WANT TO PAINT YOUR TRIM
I love the idea of painted trim, as an alternative to painted walls. A fluid trim color, throughout an entire house, alleviates the issue of finding an appropriate beginning and end point, but painted trim can really elevate architectural features. Deciding where one room ends, and another begins, by switching paint colors on trim, can be challenging. We thought about it way too long and hard, and looking back, put far more stress on ourselves than necessary. There is no right or wrong, but know you will either get accustomed to the beginning and end points, or you'll end up repainting. :). We were fortunate, in that the elaborate trim in this house, gave us the ability to find natural stopping points, I realize not everyone will have this same scenario.
Instead of describing to you exactly "how" we painted the trim, I've included photos that detail transition points.
In the picture above, you see the blue starts once you've entered the dining room. The thick casing, is the same color as the hallway trim, since it can be seen directly from the front entry.
3 Tips for Successfully painting trim:
1. Use Colors that are complimentary, or at least don't clash.
2. Our doors are the same color as the room they face (so many of the doors are a certain color on the room side, and the hall color on the outside.
3. Don't overthink the color transition, unless your colors are draftily different. Look for natural breaks in the trim for starting and stopping.
Painted Trim Q & A:
Q: Is painted trim right for my house?
A: I think anyone can paint their trim, but I do believe painted trim is best on woodwork that is meant to pop. Detailed crown and baseboards, that you want to draw attention to, look incredible when painted. Builder grade trim totally works, but the reason my trim pops, is that there is so much detail.
Q: How did you know what colors would transition well?
A: I had no clue if colors would transition well, but I did sit with color swatches for weeks, looking at them to determine whether or not I could stand the different colors together, if I was looking at them both from one vantage point. If the colors coordinate to your eye, they will most likely transition fine.
Q: What is your favorite trim color in your home?
A: I painted most of my home BM-Revere Pewter (on the trim) and I absolutely love the subtle and calm feeling it gives. I would do it again in a heartbeat. That said, my jaw dropped when I walked into my boys bedrooms and saw their trim. (The blue trim in one of my boys rooms was a color match from a different room in the house, and the other boys bedroom has dark gray trim). It changed the feel of both of those spaces, and made their rooms unique.
COLORS WE USED IN OUR HOME
