# Should I paint my original trim white?



## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

i agree with you but then....life is sometimes easier with a little white paint:whistling2:


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## DrumBum (Nov 8, 2011)

it's really a matter of personal preference. if you want a natural oak look...you could always stain it with minwax or something like that. it might help mask the inconsistencies.

without seeing some pictures it's pretty hard to tell, but each case is different. i personally like the look of white baseboards.

you could always check out all new baseboard and trim also.


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## skitter (Feb 23, 2012)

if most of the trim is in poor condition and you cant easily repair/replace the damaged trim, I think I would paint it.

-have the doors been painted or are they the orig wood (and in good shape)?


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## somecallmemike (Dec 26, 2011)

skitter said:


> if most of the trim is in poor condition and you cant easily repair/replace the damaged trim, I think I would paint it.
> 
> -have the doors been painted or are they the orig wood (and in good shape)?


The doors are all original oak paneling, and are in fair condition. They are two panel design. I will add some pictures of the trim and doors in couple minutes.

EDIT: Pictures added to my original post.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

That should be againt the law to paint over oak trim. Clean it sand it and reseal it. Paint the walls a light color if she wants the room to look brighter.


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## somecallmemike (Dec 26, 2011)

joecaption said:


> That should be againt the law to paint over oak trim. Clean it sand it and reseal it. Paint the walls a light color if she wants the room to look brighter.


Haha, that's how I feel. Not sure if an unhappy wife is worse than the sin of painting over original trim.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

the trim and doors look fine other than the peice of casing thats scratched.. just sand it and feather out the gouges.. as for the kitchen though.. sorry its hideous time to update it


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## diyjohn1234 (Jan 30, 2012)

somecallmemike said:


> I have a house built in 1948, with the original Oak trim still unpainted after all these years. Around the windows in the bedrooms and living rooms it's in great shape, but the baseboards and the trim around the windows in the kitchen/bathroom are in bad shape and it looks pretty awful. Also my wife complains that the whole house feels dark due to the dark reddish color of the trim. She would like me to paint all the trim in the house white to freshen up the look of the house, but something inside me says "DON'T DO IT!" and keep the original look. What would you do?
> 
> Some images of my trim and doors. Everything looks fairly nice in the pictures, which don't illustrate the crummy look of some of the trim (the images wash out the imperfections):
> 
> ...


It's really just a personal preference, but then again a happy wife is a happy life..


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Brighten up those horrible turquoise and maroon walls and touch up the trim and be done with it.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

joecaption said:


> That should be againt the law to paint over oak trim. Clean it sand it and reseal it. Paint the walls a light color if she wants the room to look brighter.


 
What? No tearing it all out and re-placing?:whistling2:


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## creeper (Mar 11, 2011)

Paint the walls first before you make a huge decision like that.


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## canoes (Sep 30, 2011)

I'd personally not paint over wood trim for my house because I'm partial to wood. If the house is dark, my guess is that it's because the paint on the walls isn't light/bright enough. I used a pretty soft yellow.

I will admit my dau bought a 70 year old house and someone had painted the wide baseboards and other wood and it does look nice.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Your doors are gorgeous. Try and clean all the wood and give them a polishing. The walls need a painting with light soft colors.
The one door frame that looks damaged, will need some attention. Sand it down and re-stain it.
Your floor molding seems to be in good shape, as well as the molding around the doors.


Paint the walls light, and you'll see how much it brightens up the house.


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## jojoroberts (Apr 1, 2012)

I agree either lighten up the walls or paint. I don't see that this is specifically ornate trim and it doesn't look like oak, looks like pine to me! I grew up in a house with vet ornate wide oak trim like a library look. If like that then no I wouldn't paint it, but your house is dark


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Not sure what the wood is, but it's not pine.
Clearly, it's not flat sawn oak either, maybe rift sawn
oak, not sure...anyhow it's gorgeous wood and doors.


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## Doc Holliday (Mar 12, 2011)

I'd leave the trim alone (outside of refinishing and touching it up) and paint the house, perhaps a nice beige. 

That green kitchen simply has got to go.


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## Janetp (Apr 1, 2012)

Pine is a soft wood. Even pine that is varnished or poly'd is still easily dented. Raw pine.... you can make it a dent in it with your fingernail. Oak is a FAR denser wood than pine, and it looks like oak to me. If it were my house, I would not paint the wood. I agree to lighten the walls, or use mirrors to relect the light more from the windows into your rooms. You can easily touch up those marrs on the molding. You can buy several products in any big-box store that will allow you to do touch ups. You could also just puchase a small can of stain ( early american stain by Minwax may be a good match} and put a little on a old sock and run it across the raw parts to blend it in. Wait an hour or so, then wipe off any excess. 
You kitchen cabinets, on the other hand, are pretty dated, but if they are solid wood, you may want to consider hitting then with a sander and restaining altogether. You can buy some raw, decorative wood trim to add to the cabinets to give them a more updated look, stain all the same color and your're done. Well..you're done once you lose that hideous scroll piece that is below the shorter cabinet , I believe, above your sink by the window. That in itself dates the room. You can add another piece of trim there to hide your under cabinet lighting that would make a huge difference as well. 
With a hand sander on those cabinets, it will take no time to do them, as they are flat. Remove doors and hardware, sand in a few hours, sand the flat trim around the doors, clean throughly, add trim if you wish, stain all together, wait 4 or 5 hours, then wipe off any excess stain, wipe with tack and poly.Stain and poly with the grain of the wood. If your new at this, stain it all before adding trim so it looks good. It's a weekend project is all. To do that, change out that trim, add some decorative trim around the cabinet doors, get new hardware and add a light, repaint, you're looking at around $300-$400 for a fresh new look to your kitchen.
The worse that could happen is in 6 months, she still hates it and you end up painting it. Some consider that almost a "sin', but hey, in the end it's your home. Since we all prefer to live harmonious with our spouses, it may come down to a few coats of paint to keep the peace. 
look at it this way..... a few years down the road when she's sorry she made you paint over oak wood, you get to say " I told you so!!!"
Good luck.


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## jojod (May 8, 2012)

somecallmemike said:


> Haha, that's how I feel. Not sure if an unhappy wife is worse than the sin of painting over original trim.


A Happy Wife is a Happy Life!! ~ can you tell I am a wife??


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

I love the look of good wood, but bought a 2 story 1980 townhouse with ugly mahogany (or whatever) plain trim and cheap boring flat doors. I painted ever bit of the trim white since the spaces are linked to each other and then used the wall colors in each area to identify it and the white drew everything together. My style isnot necessarily conventional because I like a modern touch.

Even though the wood grain was fine and not like oak, it was still a challenge to get the trim looking smooth and tight (sand, prime and several coats).

Because I had 2 very large sliding doors in poor shape, I replced them with Andersen Renewal doors with vinyl and had the installer use 1x2s for interior trim and painted that white and it opened everything up.

In my den/office, I have an open stairway plus 5 doors and a 77" slider. The white pulled everything together in spite of using 3 different colors (dark gray, lighter gray/tan and dark slate doors) because of the effects of outdoor and indoor lighting. The effects of large amounts of outdoor natural light has a huge effect on the appearance of the wall color and I have had people ask me how I got a wall color to change from one area to another, since they did not apply it and question the the paint color matching from can to can.

Dick


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## inthedrops (Apr 30, 2012)

I'm guessing she's picturing the white adding contrast with the wall colors. She'd be right. But painting the walls a brighter color would also add the same contrast, in addition to ACTUALLY making the rooms brighter. Perhaps you can sell her on it that way


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## creeper (Mar 11, 2011)

White trim is a fad. The beauty of natural wood is timeless


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## klmeenan (Apr 28, 2011)

*Can of Worms*

You open a can of worms when you ask if you should paint your trim white. Your going to hear it both ways but on this forum, you will hear to leave it alone. I would think it would depend on the style of your home. Certain styles you need to leave the oak alone. My parents have a 1970's split foyer colonial. All trim has been replaced with larger white painted trim to make it more current. If it was a craft style home they wouldn't have touched the wood trim. 

I suggest that you paint your walls a lighter color. Burgundy is way to dark if your are looking for a lighter feel. I would go for a light creamy color which will help enhance the wood. I love your hutches that you have and I think they are perfect the way they are (Although they could be cute painted white-ducks for cover).

Your kitchen I would take the scalloped piece down from above the window as it really dates your kitchen. If you have a light above it you can replace it with a more modern trim and stain it to match. If I lived there I would be painting the cabinets (leaving the window trim the color it is) and putting up a tile backsplash with some color. Don't forget that you can change your hardware for the cabinets as well and if you decide to paint them its easier to hide the old holes.

Your just not going to be able to lighten up a hallway. I would leave the doors open. Its always going to look dark if the doors are always closed. If possible, add another light source.


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

I had a architecturally significant home built in 1917.

All trim was solid birch from the Greek dental top wall trim (10" high because it had 9 or 10' ceilings) including all doors, windows (including 8 casements in an 8'x10' sun room) and a solid breakfast nook with a 2" thick 3'x8' solid birch painted table top. Everything was painted from day 1!!! Even the wall paper had a note on the back noting the date of installation (October 1917). The kitchen was not usable since there was no way to modernize it and install "goodies" like dishwashers.

The biggest mistake I made was to install new cabinets (modern counter heights) that were oak. It totally made the home trashy/modern and eliminated all opportunities for interior design. When I sold the home (1974), the first thing the new owner did was to refinish all the new oak kitchen cabinets and paint them to provide a fresh pallet for interior decor and color without being hampered by the need to preserve to "old" tradition of exposed wood grain that was actually not new. I imagine the home value went up by a significant amount, but I was in a hurry to to buy a new "modern" home.

Anyone doing decoration has to look outside the box and look at what is possible and not just the current "trend". That is why I ignore the minor trim and use the walls and trim as an opportunity to improve a space. Eliminating the varnished trim makes the space much more open, lighter and larger than the old/new traditional appearance.

P.S. - The old 1917 home also had a flat roof (never leaked or a problem) and was not replaced until about 1980. There is a difference to construction and interior design between then and now. I bought the house in 1968 for $23,500 and tried to buy it a couple of years ago, but it was $500,000 and still was original in a non-volitile price neighborhood.

Dick


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