Do you always need to paint the trim white?
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Well, here we are, my Northern Hemisphere friends; Summer! Hooray! If you’re a follower on instagram, you’ll know that we’ve been working on our backyard for a couple of months, trying to get it ready for summer. And would you believe it… it’s finished! We gave ourselves a deadline of June 24th to have it all completed by (I’m a woman who thrives on a deadline!) and at 8pm on June 23rd we proudly hung the final string of lights. Queue heavenly trumpet sounds, champagne corks popping and the squeaks and cracks of our bodies slowly limping to the closest soft seat. This project was a stark reminder that we are not 25 anymore. But whilst our bodies may be completely and utterly broken, our hearts are happy! And just this morning our resident animal dwellers gave a stunning performance out there. Leaping fawns and bouncing bunnies frolicking galore! I also spied two excellently cute raccoons starting back at me from the tree trunk closest to the patio when I went to switch the lights off on the night of July 4th. What a life!
In case you missed it (or ICYMI as all the cool kids are saying…aren’t they?!), in my last post here, I invited you to share with me all your color related home questions. I can’t say they came in droves (ha!) but they trickled in just enough to give me some content that I can share with you for a couple of substacks to come :)
Ok, here we go!
Dear Color Crush, (alright, I added that bit, the question literally just came in as a question, but it sounded cute to add this little salutation!)
We recently became homeowners for the first time and the previous owners had painted every wall a very boring shade of grey and all the trim shiny bright white. It’s so not us! And just so bland. We think we know what colors we want to paint most of the walls, but what about the trim? And why is trim almost always painted white?!
Dear new homeowner,
Firstly, congrats! A new home, yay! Secondly, I love this question and may have picked it to answer first because I, too, have been questioning the white trim situation of late. Why is it the default to paint it white? And by trim we’re talking baseboards (skirting boards in the uk!), door frames, window frames, crown molding (uk translation: coving!), that kind of thing. I did some light googling and can’t seem to find anything that pin points why exactly we’ve defaulted to white trim, but I can offer a few suggestions of my own.
It’s easy. You don’t have to give it any thought or worry about choosing the wrong color.
It offers a nice contrast to the wall color.
It can highlight decorative details on the woodwork that you might want to draw attention to.
But does it always have to be white?! Heck, no! Painted trim can be absolutely spectacular! And I’m here today to offer up some fun reasons to consider it:
A painted window frame can draw attention to a window that due to placement or size, deserves to be highlighted.
Image: Georgia Wykeman Designs
If you’re not blessed with sky high ceilings, painting the baseboards and the crown molding the same color as the wall itself gives the illusion of height, making your walls look bigger and your ceilings higher. Winner!
Image: Decorpad
If you do have high ceilings, painting the ceiling and the crown molding the same color (we’re not talking white here) can be a way to maximize the fact that the ceiling is really just another wall, so let’s treat it as such!
Image: Making Spaces
Painting the molding the same color as the walls can enlarge the space by removing the visual blocks that are created by the additional space that a window or door frame takes up.
Image: Sarah Brown Interiors
Some trim is just not that nice and really doesn’t need to be highlighted! By painting it the same color as the walls, those imperfections are nicely hidden because your eye is not being drawn to it. Genius, hey?!
Image: Farrow and Ball
If you have small windows, you can make them seem larger by painting the wood trim and then a shape around it. Voila!
Image: GCG Architects
Painting the door and the door frame the same color instantly energizes a space and injects color without having to take it on the walls. Perfect for hallways that lead into stairways.
Image: Farrow and Ball
So, dear homeowner, I hope this has been a dash of inspiration! Truly, anything goes, you just gotta own it.
Image: Dwell
Do you have a question for Color Crush? Send it my way!
Until next time :)