Painting wood always draws up strong feelings on both sides. A lot of people are all for it. Some are hesitant in most cases, but willing to make exceptions. Then there is a school of people that thinks it is a sin to paint wood. Take this comment from Jess on my last post:
The natural wood trim is so fantastic and really adds to the value of the house. Painted wood trim, no matter how much you agonize over the color and paint it perfectly, is just never as special as the original wood. It’s really interesting to me that Nicole feels that the dining room set is too beautiful as natural wood to be painted, but doesn’t feel the same way about the delicious natural wood trim in the room.
Or Sara, who said “I would kill to have your hutch in that condition.” I know, Sara, but let me show you the truth. Is this the condition you thought it was in?
I understand why people don’t like to paint wood. Let’s contrast the wood grain of the trim with that of my table, which I’ve said I’m not willing to paint or alter in any way. This is beautiful, quality wood.
See the difference? The wood trim in my house is (in Clueless’ parlance) a total Monet.
And that is why I’m OK with painting it. We painted all of the trim upstairs when we first moved in because the second floor trim was not special, and not original to the house. I thought that I didn’t want to be the one to paint the natural woodwork on the main floor because it has survived in that state since our home was built in 1910. But you know what? We’ve been here for three and a half years. This is where my family actually lives, not a historical time capsule. I’ve decorated around the wood and the more I look at it, the more I can’t get over the crazy grain and the stain that has seen better days. Painting the trim white will make me so much happier with the look of my home, and what good is preserving a home’s features if those features don’t actually make you happy?
277 comments
Jackie
I inherited my parents home that has natural light wood molding, but I am thinking about painting it but not only are the base wood the closet doors, room entrance doors and hallway cabinets are all natural wood. Need some ideas/suggestions if I should paint all throughout the house(baseboards, window trims, closet doors, molding, hallway doors, cabinet doors and trimming)
Thanks
Michelle
I found this blog post while googling the feasibility of removing paint and restoring the original woodwork in a home. After skimming through the comments, it seems that no one wants to defend the stained woodwork look, so here you go: I’m a first-time buyer whose been house hunting in northern New England for the past few months and, after living for years in a historic district in another region of the country, I am absolutely horrified by all the homes I’ve seen around here with the original woodwork painted white. One of the many reasons I decided to make the transition from renter to owner was to get away from having to live with white walls and white trim (a favorite of landlords), which looks cheap and institutional to me. Now I’m confronted with it in about 70% of the historic homes I’ve viewed, including some otherwise-gorgeous Victorian ones. Clearly, this is a fad perpetuated by people who don’t really want to live in a historic home. Why not just buy a McMansion in some new development somewhere and jazz it up with all the bright, glaring, hypermodern touches you can manage? Seriously, all those painted moldings of today will be the carpet, linoleum, and wallpaper of yesterday, which people will happily remove once they’ve bought your home at a significant discount. I’m all for brightening up the walls, but keep in mind that wood can add a significant amount of warmth to a home and function as an accent for lighter colors. Without those natural, warm touches, homes can feel sterile and inhospitable. It’s something to consider, anyway.
Sparkbella
I am “that” homeowner, who lives in a historic neighborhood in a victorian house with WHITE trim, and I can tell you there are many reasons that I bought my house and the trim had absolutely nothing to do with it. And, if the trim had been stained when I bought it, I would have painted it. I find stained trim ugly in most situations. I respect that others like it, and they are welcome to stain away it their house.
Your assertion that I’m just a person who doesn’t want to “really” live in a historic house is sort of absurd. There are so many details about my house which I do love, it has 11 foot ceilings, french doors opening onto wraparound porches, stunningly large windows, transom lights, a butler pantry. It’s sunny and it’s quirky, and it’s got a fabulous walled garden out back. And believe it or not, where I live it would be next to impossible to find a modern house in the downtown area as it is all historic. So should I move to the suburbs since I want white painted trim and add 30 minutes to my commute? I also have a modern kitchen… and several bathrooms that were added in the 30s and 40s. Should I have forgone these too, or again, moved to a McMansion to get that modern bathroom I insisted on? IMO a large part of living in a historic house is making it usable for another generation instead of building something new, and I applaud anyone who wishes to bring these homes new life instead of building yet another cheaply built house.
As you mention, fads come and go, and even in the 20s there were fads of redoing parts of 1880s houses, and in 1860s they were adding greek revival porticos to federal style houses. Today they look charming and historic, but don’t kid yourself, they aren’t original. Some renovations end up being timeless, and most are applicable only to the time they were in. 30 years from now, we might be redoing the white trim, just as I pulled down the layers of wallpaper when I moved in here, but don’t for a moment think that those future homeowners won’t be applying that era’s style to the space. And good for them, hopefully they will recreate it into something they love.
Tim
Trim isn’t furniture. I feel natural wood trim throughout a house is relentlessly casual and warm – sometimes you don’t want that. Wood trim “pops” too much, unless you go with wall colors to match. White trim goes with anything and looks more formal.
Kenneth Lee Jones
I’m a wood lover and carpenter hobbyist. Whether or not wood should be painted or stained depends upon the condition, type and grade of wood as well as the personal preferences and objectives of the owner. Generally, hardwoods with prominent grains that take stain well should NOT be painted. I would NEVER paint select oak, especially quarter sawn OAK as it is more expensive to mill and has a prominent, beautiful grain pattern. I would also not paint SELECT American Cherry. However, if it has a lot of yellow sap wood in it, it would be alright to paint it. Personally, I do not like pine and feel no guilt about covering it up with paint. It’s also important when staining wood, especially oak, to select a stain color that you like and think will flatter the wood. For instant, I do not like a dark walnut stain on oak, but instead prefer a cinnamon type color.
Jennifer
I love people who DON’T live in old houses who thinks it’s a sin to paint wood. If that’s the look you like paint it – end of story the house was available for wood grain lovin people to purchase and they didn’t. The next lovely people who buy it are welcome to try and return the wood to it’s former glory.
Woodwork is great – painted or not. The wood work remains special regardless of paint. After you scraped layers and layers of wallpaper and flooring and you stare at that trim over and over and realize it’s not in the best of conditions – paint fixes that. Thank you paint gods!!!
Craig
My wife and I are currently looking for homes in an area where the housing stock was mainly built in the 1920s. In far too many cases, there was an earlier decision to paint the trim. In some cases, this included darker hardwoods, detailing above a fireplaces, etc. Quite often there are multiple layers of overly thick paint, making it look really crummy. Basically, the 50s-70s wave of trying to modernize the character of older houses has wrecked the character of these houses. Continuing this trend, your newly painted built-in hutch lookes pale and bland compared with the original one. It would have been much better to restore/refinish your woodwork. As buyers, we wouldn’t consider your house. This trend of painting old woodwork, which you have contributed to, is absolutely ridiculous.
McCrotchity
What’s absolutely ridiculous is that anyone would be so dogmatic that they should leave rude comments on someone’s blog about whether they should paint trim in their own home.
Get a life, Craig.
Craig
I’m sure the keeper of the blog can handle some criticism and opinions from the other perspective. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have a blog which focused on the subject at hand, asking for opinions. While they might enjoy your spirited “defense”, your energies should go to something where you aren’t so “crotchity”.
sue B
I have natural woodwork in my kitchen thats a MESS. I was considering for a long time whether to paint it or not. I am totally convinced that I want to paint it. My husband doesnt agree but im over ruling him. Do I have to treat the wood with anything or just prime it then paint? Any help would be great. Thank you very much.
Basia
From the tone of your post, I’m assuming you would prefer the natural wood, but did not like that it was very old and dirty. I’m surprised then that – being so crafty – you did not decide to refinish the natural wood. We refinished wood in our home and it made a world of difference. It was very dirty, even had water damage. Now it looks brand new. A two week – two person project.
Making it Lovely
No, the wood was never stain grade. Even refinished, the grain was not very nice and wouldn’t have looked good.
Joy
So glad to see this. Slowly painting all my shoddy 1985 wood trim white. Makes things so much fresher, but people do have their opinions about it.
Em
Of course the wood doesn’t look great. It hasn’t been cleaned, touched up, and the finish freshened – possibly since it was built. It would take less time to make it gorgeous as it is than it will to prep and paint it.
The problem with painting is that the new finish breaks down, bit by bit, and what would have been easy to keep looking good becomes a maintenance problem. A century from now, the painted wood will have been repainted multiple times, will be chipped and gloppy and a nightmare for a future owner to strip and get looking good again – while the original finish would just need another quick refresher.
Elaine
Oops! Never mind on my prior post. I’ve lived in older homes both with painted and unpainted original trim. While the paint freshens things up initially, over time windows start sticking shut, etc. Also, the beauty of reall wood trim is that is CAN be lightened/freshened without actually painting. You can sand for a lighter color and then even add a pickling/lighter stain to really whiten but still allow the grain to show and reduce the problem of paint built-up and sticking. Just something to consider, though it seems you’re already done. I’m sure it looks fantastic, as you did such a careful (not careless job–which makes a huge difference for future issues) and congrats on the baby!
carrie h
im so glad you made this post.
i live in a house from 1850 that we just bought. it ahs all reddish stained wood trim except in the bathrooms and kitchen.
i should be happier about having just moved in, and it was the nicest house that we saw on the market for many reasons, but i am not in LOVE with the house. i think the only thing standing in my way is that i want all the trim to be white.
i do feel bad that the house made it 150 years without having white trim and i am about to do change that…but i think it will seem much lighter and airy-er and i am hoping that will appeal to future buyers down the road…
can you share your process of painting the trim? what paint and primer? did you use tsp? what grit sandpaper? etc?
cheapdiva
Paint, paint, paint! I agree 100%. We live in a 100 year old condo and after 7 years of living with (a ton of) natural trim, I am finally starting to paint it all clean, bright white! What a difference. It actually makes my pink living room pop – though I wish I had discovered that before I started painting it yellow because the pink seemed “dingy”.
It is your home – do what makes you happy.
Eva
I loved reading this post! When we bought our house, it was full of dingy, original wood trim on the main floor. We debated painting it for three full years before finally taking the plunge. And we have never looked back! It opened up our house so much, made it look bigger and lighter. Even the people we knew who told us not to paint the trim admitted it looked good.
megan
Oh my goodness I was so pleased to see this post! We bought a 1945 colonial in August and all of the woodwork was painted white by the previous owners, save for that in the living room. The wood is sweetgum and when I first mentioned painting it everyone – our realtor, our home inspector, our parents – balked. So we decided not to touch it. Five months later I’ve had enough! Upon close inspection, it’s quite beat up, and it just makes our living room look so dark compared to the airiness in the rest of our house. So this spring… the woodwork is getting painted white! I can’t wait. Thanks for your encouragement!
susanne
We moved into an arts and crafts bungalow this year. I looked at tons of them, and while i like the architecture, i always thought the houses were dark. Having said that, i still don’t think i could bring myself to paint wood work. I think maybe if you don’t like that woodwork, that isn’t the house for you. Of course, i can say that, because the house we ended up with HAS painted trim. If it didn’t, i would probably just have been unhappy for years instead of painting in. Sick, right?
kt
I’m getting ready to paint the wood trim in our home and wondered if you could share more details about which primer and paint you used. Also, how many coats of paint were required? Thanks!
Beatrice
Hi, I’ve been reading back over your blog and throughly enjoying it. I’ve never commented here before but felt compelled to do so over the whole ‘painting wood in older homes’ issue. It seems in the US that painting over wood in your home – any wood – brings forth strong feelings and is even regarded as a “sin”!
I live in the UK and have a flat (apartment) in a Regency house (1830s). Here to NOT paint your wood is considered odd, even ‘historic’ wood like ours. It originally would have been painted as cheaper woods were used for most parts of the home not intended for display (skirting boards, door frames etc.); even plaster cornices and mouldings around the ceiling of a room would be painted. Paint was more expensive than a bare finish and implied a certain status and a ‘fashionable’ taste. A guide to Regency and Victorian decoration from the National Trust says:
“Stripped wood is a modern innovation. Pine doors, windows, shutters and panelling would have been painted originally. The only exception might have been a door tucked well away from main rooms – even that would have been polished with layers of beeswax – and higher- status mahogany used for features such as banister rails. Not only is bare wood inauthentic, it is liable to crack and distort when exposed to central heating.”
So basically exactly the opposite to what people think of as historically correct and authentic in US houses! It’s interesting to hear the other side of the argument for keeping wood bare. But I’ll admit that I am a painter of wood myself ;)
Sorry for the long comment and good luck with the basement project and the new baby. Thanks again for the many hours of delightful reading :D
casacaudill
I hear you! If I could get the husband on board with painting the wood, I would in a heartbeat. While people gasp when I tell them that, up close it’s painfully obvious what I mean. The wood in our hall, living and dining room is pine that has BEEN PAINTED to have a beautiful wood grain. Up close you can tell that it’s actually a faux treatment. Why not paint it again? Alas …
Kelly
A full-on Monet? ;) I heart Clueless!
But moreover, I am a new and adoring fan of your blog, and you’ve put the idea in my head to make a 30-before-30. Thanks for the inspiration!
lauren wind
THIS, SO HARD. i am cheering. my home was built in 1897 and the wood trim is so ugly, and i am constantly fighting the urge to paint it due to some sense of historical obligation.
i once posted pics on an lj design community and everyone was horrified that i would even consider it, and called the wood “beautiful,” which, if i were to post close ups, would be easily debunked!
i totally support your endeavor, and thank you for added courage to paint my own!
Erin
I agree with you totally! There’s a huge difference between beautiful original wood and patchy, rotting dingy wood- which is what I had and painted white in our old farmhouse. What I really don’t get is the fact that wood is wood- painted or not- it can still be beautiful and the detail can still be appreciated, without seeing the grain. Very traditional styles (think George Washington’s house) would have painted all the trim different colors- it’s simply inaccurate to think that traditional or historic has to mean stained wood instead of painted. I also don’t get the sin of painting oak- I now have builder grade 1989 oak all over my house and everyone thinks I’m crazy to want to replace and paint everything- but there is nothing charming about 90s oak! HA!
adamco
a problem in many older homes is not that the trim is painted but that it has been painted SO MANY TIMES and so often the painter SUCKED at what they were doing. In my house the upstairs trim is all white – it looks okay at a distance but close up it is all brush marks and drips. It probably has ten layers of paint on it. I don’t want to strip it but I don’t want to add yet another layer of paint either. Any advice?
evsays
Adamco I didn’t want to strip it either but because it was so thick with paint went ahead with it and it was worth the extra effort. Not something I’d like to do again mind you, but I’m glad I did it.
Natalie
I feel sad when I look at my wood trim because I dislike it so….it just seems such an overwhelming task to paint it – it’s everywhere! You’ve given me motivation though to just get to it…so true about the wood trim – in the right setting and correctly done, it’s beautiful. In our 1960’s split level it’s dated.
HeatherG
This was exactly what I needed to hear! We’ve lived in our house for 5 years and haven’t painted the wood because everyone says “Don’t you dare paint that wood. It has been unpainted for 80 years don’t paint it now. Once you paint it you’ll never get it back”. But our wood is the same – not great quality to begin with and very damaged. Why keep it this way just to make other people happy when I don’t like it? And anyone who buys the house will never know it was unfinished when we moved in;-) Thank you so much for this post!!!
Maria
I always hesitate to paint wood because I think wood is very pretty and have heard it adds value. However, I finally did in our 1904 home. It was scary at first but just so dark and beat-up. I am so glad I did! it is so much brighter and it makes me happy too. Why have your own home if you can’t make it yours?
Lora
Love the Clueless reference “a total Monet”. Do what makes you happy and puts a smile on your face when you walk in the room. That’s what your home is for, smiles…not agony.
Jessie
It is very simple…. It is your home, you pay the mortgage, you have EVERY right to paint it. :) lol I understand both sides on this, but I will always just look for a home that has the trim already painted for me. lol It is all just what each person likes. I can’t live in a home full of dark wood trim.
ann
Honor the past by loving it, therefore, paint it!
My husband has a lovely game table that belonged to his Grandparents. Both of us love the lines and detail of the table, but I don’t care for oak. My solution, paint it black or eggplant, and honor it in our daily life rather than hiding it in the extra bedroom. Having a standoff….
YourDreamHouse
Oh. Im feeling a little envy to you. I just love how nature wood looks like and I cant force myself to do something with my old wooden furniture. Cant change muself. :)
Allison
Painted trim can be so pretty. I think it’s important to make your house liveable for you and your family, not worry about what some future owners might one day think of it. It’s silly to be hung up on the “value” of something if you don’t like it.
Andrea P
Hi Nicole!
I’m a big fan from Canada!
I would love to know what paint type/color you are using?
Are you sanding the trim 1st?
Are you taping your walls?
Thanks, I appreciate it!!
Christina
Wow strong opinions! I say you’re paying the mortgage, you do whatever the he!! YOU want.
Brandi
Do it! We have a 1920s bungalow and painted all the trim white. Looks fabulous! So much brighter and more open. Your house should make you happy. There are a few people out there who like natural wood. And if one of those few people happen to buy your house in the future, they can strip and refinish the wood. Stripping one layer of carefully applied paint is not going to ruin your wood. When people paint over layers and layers of chipped, icky paint, then you have problems getting back to the original. But yours will be fine. Don’t even worry about it!
Viv
Nicole the room would look great with painted trim. Can’t wait to see the end result. I’m glad my home was already painted so as not to have to make this decision. I’m tossing up on whether to paint my floorboards white *gasp*
christina winters
I have been reading your blog for a few years now, and the only room I haven’t loved in all that time is your dining room, expressly because of the awkwardly colored/room darkening trim and hutch! I think it takes away from the fantastic wallpaper (that I am super jealous of) and have always wanted you to either paint it or stain it darker. So excited to see you doing something to it! Don’t listen to naysayers. Haters gonna hate, and tacky people are always going to put the stamp of approval on rooms full of wildly contrasting wood. <3
Nicole RJ
I say good for you, paint it! I’m having the same debate over a bedroom set that is in good condition, and is somewhat of an heirloom as it was my grama’s childhood set, but is not a high end set and would work for us so much more if we painted it… deciding to actually paint old wood is such a hard decision! Although we had no trouble painting the new-ish very country wood window trim in our home!
Kyle
I’m just not sure about the dining room…it seems like it’s never come together. Maybe you should scrap it and start completely over.
Julie
I’m behind you Nicole – paint the trim. All the trim in our house is painted white. It allows the really nice antique wood pieces that we own to “pop.” Your nice wood pieces will look all that much better with a neutral background.
tawn
Our house is 80 years old and still has most of the original trim. The colour is ugly with a whole lotta red and too many spots where varnish of some sort was splattered on haphazardly. Thick, shiny, gross!!
We decided to keep the wood, but we are in the process of removing, sanding, and re-staining all of it a dark brown. It is a loooong process. Not gonna lie, some days I want to pick up a can of white paint and be done with it.
I am definitely not an old house purist because I painted out the original fireplace. Yellow and brown brick had to take a hike.
Anyway, I am in the ‘do what you like’ camp. Your dining room looks nice from afar and I am looking forward to seeing how the white changes the room. I’m sure it’ll be gorgeous.
Sabrina
Yay! It makes me SO happy to know you’ve decided to paint the wood! It will look SO MUCH better when you’re done with it! I LOVE the way you’ve decorated your home so far. I don’t think you could possibly “ruin” the place! :)
Anja
i like, how you handle criticism.
looking forward to see the result, so go for it!
Emma
Hi Nicole – long time reader, first time commenter :)
We are moving in about six weeks, we went and had a look at our new house the other day and the first thing I noticed (amongst about a bazillion other ‘renovators delights’) was the dark wood trim around the doors, skirtings etc. and I went ‘Huh, just like Nicole from Making it Lovely’s house and she hasn’t painted hers…’ Because my first reaction was to grab my trusty white paintbrush! I guess I will see the state they are in, if they are good condition they might stay, if not they shall be white. Thanks for making me think I’m not horrible for wanting to paint them!
Krystin
Deciding to paint old woodwork can be a difficult decision, mainly because you feel like you’re not supposed to… However, my parents lived in a house for years, struggling with whether to paint the original wood trim; finally, my brave mother took the plunge and painted it a creamy white. The house never looked newer, fresher, or more chic, and you know what….no one has ever said they wished we hadn’t painted it. Do your thing and don’t look back!
Jessica
That room is going to look GORGEOUS with white trim!
Nichole
Your wood, your choice. Enjoy your white trim. Cannot wait to see the pictures!!
Melissa @ HOUSEography
PAINT THE TRIM! You are going to be so happy you did. My brother and his wife agonized over painting the trim in their 1937 cape and after they did, the living room felt SO much bigger. When you have wood toned trimmed windows, the walls feel choppier and you spend more time focusing on the wood and not the view and the other decorating. It will be so worth it. The before and after will be stunning!
AND, to all of those people staining their Home Depot 3-4″ window trim. DON’T. You are not adding any value to your house, just dating it.
Melissa @ HOUSEography
PAINT THE TRIM! You are going to be so happy you did. My brother and his wife agonized over painting the trim in their 1937 cape and after they did, the living room felt SO much bigger. When you have wood toned trimmed windows, the walls feel choppier and you spend more time focusing on the wood and not the view and the other decorating. It will be so worth it. The before and after will be stunning!
AND, to all of those people staining their Home Depot 3-4″ window trim. DON’T. You are not adding any value to your house, just dating it. But, fi you
Claire
Go for it. I grew up in a house where my mom stripped THREE FLIGHTS of wood stair railings and spindles. Much of my childhood is memories of her scraping away on the steps, but even still you have to love your home… and as mom proved, if someone doesn’t like it they can just strip it off. Home ownership makes us servants to our homes in so many respects (fixing the leaks, staying home from work for a repairman when it’s not convenient) so it’s fair to take some of that ownership back.
Catherine
Totally agree with you! Although I would like to throttle the people who carpeted our gorgeous Craftsman wood floors. OMG, the glue is going to cost a mint to buff off. Wahhhhh! Our trim is all painted white. It looks fantastic this way. Fresh and bright.
Rebecca
I’m sorry I don’t have time to read all the comments, and maybe someone pointed this out already….but the Victorians, who installed all that dark hardwood trim in the first place, quickly became bored with the dark color, and within a few years of installing it, started painting it white. Sooooooo, it may be more historically correct to paint the trim. It’s gonna look so beautiful when you are done, and it will still be wood! A win-win.
Quinn
Just go for it!
jbhat
I think it’s marvelous that your woodwork will be getting it’s makeover. Cannot wait to see the results (becauseiamnotafanofunpaintedwoodthathasseenbetterdays).
jbhat
Dawn
It seems strange that so many respondents reference ‘haters’ who don’t seem to exist in this thread. I love this blog and read it regularly, but it drives me crazy when folks react so defensively to even a slight whiff of disagreement over design choices! Surely the point of blogging and sharing this kind of thing so publicly isn’t simply to have everyone congratulate you on your outstanding taste, but to actually invite open responses? (not referring to Nicole specifically, but rather the howls of protest that greet any dissent in the comments!) I’m interested to read the views both pro and con.
Also as an aside– as a European it can be a little amusing to see so many getting worked up and overly precious over anything ‘original’ from the 1920s and 1950s, as if it were all ‘vintage’ and ‘historic’. After all, ‘heritage’ is such a relative concept, why treat it as an absolute?
pinksuedeshoe
Holy Comments Batman!
I love that you quoted Clueless. Made me smile.
kathi
I own a 1913 foursquare, very similar in style to your bungalow. I have spent a small fortune having the wood stripped and refinished downstairs, and have an estimate for $18,000 to do the upstairs. I love the look of the various woods used throughout the house (oak in the dining room, a type of burled wood in the living room, birch upstairs). However, that said, I think the woodwork should complement the decor and style of furnishing. I have mostly Victorian, Arts & Crafts, and turn of the century furniture. Your bungalow is what I would call “modern cottage” style and painted woodwork would complement the lighter colors of the furniture and wallpaper. You should do what makes you happy, and what makes your house feel like “home” to you. And, even if you sell the house someday, the woodwork can be restored to a “natural” finish if that’s what the next owners want to do!
Nicole S.
As if you don’t have enough comments on this – but as an architect with historic home experience, I can tell you that this trim does NOT compare to the typical Chicago bungalow trim that was installed and left natural. This is paint-grade wood. The grain is poorly matched (if at all) in adjacent pieces, and it is really TOO grainy. I am usually for preserving the natural woodwork, but I think this was meant to be covered in a faux finish, not left natural.
Sarah
We finally made the decision to pain the dark woodwork in our kitchen white. Our home is a 1930s bungalow and the person before us pained all of the trim white throughout the whole house except the kitchen trim, wainscoting, and cabinets. The combination of super dark wood on half the wall and small brown and beige tiles creating a pattern that kind of looks like butterfiles on the floor was not inspiring to say the least. We agonized over painting the original wood because, “What would the next inhabitants think? Would they prefer wood?” And every guest we have says how “cool” the floor is. But it is like what everyone has said, it comes down to you, the current inhabitants and what makes you happy! So, we painted the wood white. The floor is still there, but hopefully not for much longer. I cannot wait to see how your trim comes out!
Bonnie
I think it is and will be lovely no matter what you do with it. You have fabulous taste and should go with what you want. I have no issues with painting original wood in a home, my issue comes when people just tear everything out without even trying to make it work. I can’t wait to see how everything turns out!!! :)
xoxo,
Bonnie
Jaimie
You already have a zillion comments on this topic, but here’s one more: when we bought our 1930 house, the original trim was all there and was mostly unpainted. The previous owners really liked the natural wood, so they would probably be horrified to know that we painted it ALL. Even the stairs. Our house is not very big, and having all that heavy dark wood, particularly around the doors, chopped up the space so much and made everything seem smaller and darker. I feel that painting our trim white actually draws your eyes more to appreciate the fine details, instead of the orangey stain colour.
Although we are making this house our home and not decorating it for resale, I think any potential coming into our home now would say it feels bigger, fresher and brighter.
Kay
PLEASE write INSTRUCTIONS or How to-DIY, wood trim painting. Thanks! :)
Fiona
I could kill the contractor who told my mother that “it would be a crime to paint those wood kitchen cabinets” and told her off, cowing her into thinking it would be a crime, when 1) she hated the way the cabinets looked and 2) it is not the contractor’s house.
While I like beautiful wood, there is some wood that would look better painted, and I personally think that yours falls into that category. (At least with your decor.) But it is YOUR house. You should do what you like, other opinions be damned!
Andrea Larsen
These comments make me laugh!
Nicole, you have flawless taste and it is going to be better than ever! Painted wood is so nice and cheery!
Ryan Green
I just bought a home built in 1900 where all the original trim was painted white. It didn’t factor into my decision to buy at all. The house was/is in awesome shape and it looked bright, clean and modern for a 110 year old house with no-so-great natural light.
Sometimes I wish at least some of the trim was unpainted, but whatever…now I don’t have to agonize if I want to try painting the trim a different color!
Peaches
Pffffff! Drama much?
People are too funny. Obviously, we are all looking at your blog and taking the time to comment because we think you have fabulous taste and want to see what you will do next. Comments are great, but baffles my mind to think anyone would come on by and try to tell YOU what to do with your own home. I know we are all entitled to our own opinions, but honestly, who goes to church to preach to the preacher?
You go Nicole! I hope you paint the crap out of that trim and amaze us once again!
Renanda
We have very high gloss poly on our trim and doors. I HATE it! I am ready to strip it and paint. Its the striping part that I agonize over. Will you be able to just sand and paint?
Clair
What color are you painting the ceiling? My husband and I painting our living room/eating area a la this Domino magazine pic.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/chicago/domino072508.jpg
Stef
This post is so funny to me because after your previous post, I scanned the comments to see if anyone was concerned about your plans to paint. I figured there would be a big debate in the comments area, but I only saw support for the plans at the time I checked (maybe I missed some dissenters).
I am not a die-hard fanatic about leaving woodwork unpainted. My own trim is painted, and I understand how it can make a room look crisp to have white trim instead of a wood color that reads as a brown or orange that may limit the design process.
It’s just that in the pictures on your previous post, I quite liked the look of all the woodwork together with the gorgeous dining table and wallpaper. It’s an interesting and different look. So I wondered if anyone else thought it was a minor shame to depart from that look.
Now that you’ve shown a close-up of the condition of the hutch, I totally see why it will look better painted. And you’re so right that your home should look a way that makes you happy to live there. Looking forward to seeing the “after” photos!
Donna
Wow, I haven’t heard people this passionate since I was looking up information on breast feeding and newborn sleep schedules. Who knew?! I wanted to paint our old furniture white for our baby girl’s nursery but was talked out of it by several “Save The Wood” fanatics. I had to compromise everything around the color and now I’M the one who sits in the rocking chair day in and day out disappointed in the final product. If it makes you happy, do it! I understand you put your house on display for the world to see, but YOU’RE the one who lives there. Who knows…after the reveal, you’ll probably convert a few but no doubt inspire many!
Nat
Nicole, you are completely right. It is your home and you need to be happy with it. If others don’t agree, it is in bad taste to comment to that effect. You owe us no explanation and I feel very privilaged to see you work on your home. Whatever you choose to do with it.
I’m sure your trim will turn out better then great.
Nat
Noel
I’d paint that trim in a heart beat.
Lisa
I agree with you have to be happy in your own home. I also can relate to things just driving you insane unless you change them. I get like that over things that other people don’t even notice. I think the woodwork painted white will look lovely, however, I still would prefer keeping the wood natural. Even in its distressed state which I think is charming. But, that’s just me. It will look nice either way.
Marie Pier
I have an old house too and i decided to paint the trim for the same reason. Go for it. It looks new, fresh, light. Even my friend who though I was crazy changed her mind when she saw the result! And for the value of the house? That’s a myth. People love «trims, details and such» IF it looks clean and in good condition. People tend to forget that it is STILL wood! It’s not plastic stuff beneath.
Stacy
It’s your house…go for it! I hope it looks fabulous and you guys are thrilled with the end result!
Kathleen
Amen!
Jess (Where My Heart Is)
Well said!!!
Oonafey
Good for you! Your life should be about doing what’s right for you, not what makes every single other person in the world happy. You would go crazy.
Michelle Harrison
At first I thought the woodwork should be left natural but I had decided not to comment yesterday. I thought to myself, “She always makes interesting design choices that I’m not sure about and then they are remarkable when she is through. I’ll just wait and see on this one.”
Then today, I saw the close up of the hutch. Where I would *maybe* sand and stain, I might give up and rip out the trim and have someone come in to retro-fit something more in line with the flow of the 1910 bones of the house or the modern feeling of the room.
Perhaps with the trim painted the room will have an entirely different character. It can always be changed again if it doesn’t give you the result you were hoping to see. Good luck.
Catherine
I definitely think painted trim will be beautiful. I really hate natural wood colour but one of my favourite things in the world is painted wood! That was my first thought ever when I saw your dining room. I think wood trim can make a place look dated and smaller as well and I think once the wood trim is painted everyone is going to be amazed by the results!
Kylee
I’ve always said paint it! But just to add to the fun…there are houses from that time period with wood built-ins that were ALWAYS meant to be painted. So, the exposed wood combined with the history of the house shouldn’t necessarily evoke anxiety over painting…or sadness.
Sheree
Hi Nicole … I think the trim would look fabulous painted … It is your home and you can’t please everyone!!! Good luck and I look forward to seeing the finished product! Sheree x
Tonya
My feeling is always that the person who pays the mortgage every month has the only opinion that matters. But more importantly, I also happen to agree with you. Paint it, paint it, paint it!
tim'spumpkinspice
what about honoring the wood with the ceruse technique featured in the latest Martha Stewart Living? You stain the wood black, then rub with a white finish? It highlights the natural grain, but would match your wallpaper swimmingly!
Here’s what Kevin Sharkey’s oak desk looks like after the technique:
http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/tour-kevin-sharkeys-new-apartment#slide_19
something to think about.
Christy
I like your thinking. If it’s not making you happy, why live with it? I hope you’ll post photos of the finished product.
sara
agreed! paint away!
Kris Mays
Why do I keep thinking the ceiling would be nice in a green or blue? That was my first instinct when I saw it yesterday.
Oh, well, I think I am just too peached out from canning all day. But I have to go back and do some more, now. I can’t wait to see what you do!
And really, who cares what we all think?
Kris Mays
I actually think a nice charcoal would be nice in that room.
Kris Mays
I don’t have any strong feelings either way when it comes to painting wood. I say whatever is most practical first and then whatever is best design second. I’m just a very practical person.
I personally love white trim. I said I liked your trim the way it was before I saw the photo you posted today of it’s condition, and you were asking for feedback. It does look very pretty as is in the original photo, though.
Anyway, you should definitely do what you want in your own house. I can no longer have white trim in my house, because I have five children and……it’s just not a good idea.
I used something called Tawny Beige in this house, which goes beautifully with my Wood Lily walls (buttery yellow). But I think I would love to go with a medium gray next time, which might also look good in your dining room, too. Trim doesn’t have to be white. It can be any color of the rainbow.
Judging from your other photos, whatever you choose will be lovely.
Natalie
haha, love the “Clueless” reference! I wonder how many people got that :)
Painted trim is, IMHO, the best choice 99.9% of the time. Unless the wood trim is brand new, chances are it has seen better days. My mom has old, wood trim in her house and it is KILLING me not to attack it with a paintbrush every time I come home for a visit!
So thanks for sharing your proof for painting, and for sticking to your guns no matter what nay-sayers have to say!
Jaimie
Wow, this is a topic that really gets some people’s panties in a twist. I have always been partial to white trim. It looks clean, simple, and white goes with everything.
The trim and doors in our house in an unfortunate shade of off-white that wants to be butter yellow. The exterior of our house is butter yellow. I think the previous owner had a bizarre fixation with buttery tones in general. Yellow makes me unhappy, but I didn’t realize just how unhappy until we bought a bucket of Arctic White paint and started to paint it all.
I can appreciate wood trim, but it just looks so heavy, and if it’s not in good condition, why hold on to it? Even if it is “original”. Bottom line, either way, you do what makes you happy, and as aforementioned, haters gonna hate.
Ann
I wouldn’t want to deal with touch-ups on the painted wood, because they will get nicked and scratched eventually. I love the character of wood in an older home, I think white makes it look like everyone else. But, it’s your home and I completely understand the annoyance of having wood that is less than perfect.
kelly
i completely agree with you, nicole, paint that wood white! it’s your home, do with it what you want! plus you are an excellent painter, i can’t wait to see pictures when you’re done. i, too have been painting wood trim in my house, room by room, my husband freaked out about it at first, but saw how nice it turned out. mine is year 2000 builder grade oak, i would like to eradicate all of this icky orangy oak from my house someday!!
Amy
Paint it!
And speaking of sinfully painting wood, I remember you considering painting your kitchen floor… I’m assuming you decided against it since in the most recent pictures, it’s still unpainted. I painted our gross parquet wood kitchen floor, but I did a dark chocolate brown. I wish I had gone with my original choice of a light gray, every little speck of dust and dog hair shows up on my floor now!! I don’t regret painting it, just regret painting it so dark!!
katrina
I hate to see the wood go, but its a personal choice.
If it makes you feel karmically balanced, my FIL just spent the summer custom-making wood trim for our entire 2nd story to match our first floor – 1950s, but all wide dark wood trim w/ picture rails, etc. And I’ve spent the last month staining it all.
So while you are taking away the natural wood, we’re adding it, so the universe reaches balance.
Clearly Composed
paint it and enjoy every stroke. :)
Katie
I recently painted a sewing table that was left to me by my grandparents. I was nearly disowned by the family. I suppose next time I’ll have to have a family meeting to discuss what I should do with my own furniture. : ) I say do what you want with your house & furniture.
nikki
Our home was built in 1916. When we moved in, the bedrooms and bathroom had 8″ pine trim that we painted white (not high quality wood). The rest of our home has 8″ oak trim that was under several layers of paint…we chose to restore the wood, and it was a headache and a ton of work! It’s really gorgeous and while we’re glad we did it, we would never do it again. We would paint before restoring. I agree with the previous comment that said your wood looked like ‘paint grade’ wood. The grain is very similar to what we painted in our bedrooms. You’re probably better off painting.
kimma
First let me say, I’m with you and everyone else who said it’s your house and you should do what you like. However, you did invite comment on the issue so I don’t think its a case of “haters gonna hate” if someone’s opinion is not what you wanted to hear.
We just bought a new house and one of the first comments I received was “are you going to paint that trim?” with an implication that we should. We aren’t and at first I took offence, but then I calmed down and accepted that everyone is going to have a different approach to decorating.
Janet
Oh, and there’s this: I know that we all have to think about resale value to some extent, but with the current housing collapse, it’s clear that we have to stop thinking about homes as just investments and start thinking about them as, well, homes. We live in them! We should make them the way we want them to be.
Janet
We have really beautiful wood trim in three rooms of our 1920’s home (dining, living, and sunroom), and it was part of our decision to buy the house. It works for us and for our color palette/vintage modern style, and I’m happy that it was taken care of so well over the years.
That said, I absolutely believe that you should do what makes you happy, and, looking at pictures of your house, I think the white trim would look amazing. It’s clear that your wood isn’t in fantastic shape, and your aesthetic favors clean white trim (which I have, and love, in my kitchen and bedrooms). I really look forward to seeing what you do!
Comments are closed.