I left the doors unpainted in the front entryway. (Thanks for your feedback.)
The door between the living room and the stairway shows its age a little (it’s original to the house, so 100+ years old), but I think it has character. We, or a future owner, could paint or refinish it someday.
And with that… hooray! All of the trim in the house has been painted — upstairs, downstairs, and in the basement! Happy dance time. I can finally cross that one off my list.
Jessica
May 15, 2013 at 1:02 pmIt looks great! Love it. :)
Jaimie
May 15, 2013 at 1:08 pmWe’ve been painting all our trim too. Two rooms left finally. The house was built in the 1990s so I inherited some pretty atrocious almond trim and doors. White looks so crisp and nice.
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:00 pmOh, almond. I feel for you! White trim is such an improvement.
Catherine
May 15, 2013 at 1:12 pmOh wow, it looks amazing! That door is so pretty as-is, and think of its history. I guess that’s what they mean by, “If these walls could talk!” :)
kristi@SimplePrettyThings
May 15, 2013 at 1:19 pmUghhh I don’t want to think about painting trim. I got stuck doing that job too when we bought our current house over 1 year ago. I have so many touch ups to do already lol! It looks so nice and I would have left the doors too. You can live with them for awhile and if you change your mind you can paint them.
alex
May 15, 2013 at 1:21 pmI’m going to be starting this process… oh my. At least I know it can be done! :)
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:00 pmI’ve taken my time with it, but yes, it can most definitely be done!
Paige
May 15, 2013 at 1:26 pmNice! I love a house with character. Ours was built in 1933 and we have some great things going on in it that I hope we won’t have to change ever! I voted keep the doors wood, btw!
Sava
May 15, 2013 at 1:50 pmTry either Restor-a-finish or Feed-n-wax on your door. I did it on some furniture we inherited and it gave it a whole new life. It will take 10-20 minutes.
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:01 pmThanks — I’ve heard good things about Restor-a-Finish. I’ll give it a try!
Angeline
May 15, 2013 at 1:54 pmLove the unpainted door and white trim – just noticed your art (love, too!) and thought of this: (http://www.leifshop.com/products/dusk-print) that Grace posted on D*S – Lovely!
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:03 pmSo pretty. I love that loose, feminine, abstract kind of style.
jessica
May 15, 2013 at 1:57 pmNicole, rub that old door down with coconut oil. I tried it on my 80* year old school teacher’s desk and I’m amazed at how well it worked. I’ve now done my daughter’s 50* year old dresser and had brilliant results. You’ll still be able to see all the character, but it will bring a depth and shine back that’ll knock your socks off.
Super easy, just rub in a glob of coconut oil with a clean rag, and then buff with a dry rag afterwards. Takes all of 5 minutes.
*I’m guessing on ages of these items
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:04 pmOh, I should have thought of that! I have a little stick of almond oil that works for scratches, but I should give the whole door some attention.
Cheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG
May 15, 2013 at 2:13 pmlooks lovely! I still have that on my to-do list – such a tedious job, bet you’re glad you can scratch that one off!
dyna
May 15, 2013 at 4:37 pmlove all the photos of your home but wondering if you would ever consider posting a video tour of your home? just a thought…
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:05 pmI probably should do something like that. I think people get confused about where my office is, which bedroom is where, etc.
KMP Modern
May 15, 2013 at 5:19 pmThat door with the white trim looks great to me. With an older house you shouldn’t always disguise its character, and it certainly gives it character. Plus the white is like a nice frame. Glad you marked something off your to-do list. I wish I were doing that!
Lisa
May 15, 2013 at 5:50 pmGood job! There’s nothing more tedious to paint than trim. At first glance of your photo, I envisioned a stained glass inset in your door. :)
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:06 pmThat wouldn’t be out of place with our style of home.
Eva@HappilyEnough
May 15, 2013 at 11:41 pmBig accomplishment!! Painting trim is very tedious.
I love that painting in the first picture! Where is it from?
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:07 pmIt’s by Emily Rickard.
Hillary
May 16, 2013 at 8:23 amLove this! The old school wooden doors are so cool!
Brianne Heape
May 16, 2013 at 9:29 amMy husband and I are currently in the renovation portion of our new home and we’ve been on the same “to-do” forever it seems… painting the trim! Sheeze, it’s time consuming. Glad you made it through to the end, hopefully we can check that one off of our list very, very soon.
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:09 pmGood luck! It’s a tedious job, but worth it.
Chasity
May 16, 2013 at 11:58 amOh, I LOVE the painting in the first photo. Who is the artist?
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 12:09 pmEmily Rickard.
Jenny
May 16, 2013 at 2:47 pmI’d love to know what type of paint you used: latex or oil-based?
Making it Lovely
May 16, 2013 at 2:52 pmSemi-gloss latex paint with a good primer underneath.
Leah
May 22, 2013 at 2:11 pmwe have recently bought a home with original woodwork and original doors and I am in the pickle of should i paint the trim or not. I want to leave the doors and window seat alone, but I also want the house to be cohesive. i feel as though we have too much natural wood to mess with it.
I like that you waited a few years before deciding to paint yours, i think that might be our best option. see how we like living in the dark wood trim and then if we dont paint it without guilt!
love your blog.
Lisa
May 25, 2013 at 12:17 pmDo you have an index listing all the paint colors you’ve used?