Your paint decisions aren’t quite finished once you’ve selected the perfect wall color.
Molding or trim helps define a room’s style, adding architectural character and dimension to the walls.
These essential elements present an opportunity toinject fresh colorinto a room or emphasize certain features.
Credit: Carson Downing
Within a room, paint all of the trim the same unless you wish to emphasize elements.
Before investing in enough paint for the job, buy a quart and test it on a poster board.
Place the board against the wall to see how they look togetherbefore you begin painting the trim.
Credit: David A Land
Glossier paint is more durable, and its reflective quality plays up light and shadows.
Whenselecting a white paint colorfor trim, remember that your choices include more than just stark white.
Most paint manufacturers offer a range of whites that vary from warm to cool.
Credit: Joyelle West
For example, painting the trim and woodwork darker than the walls focuses attention on window and door frames.
If you love color, consider painting the trim acontrasting hueequal in intensity to the wall color.
Window treatments, fabrics, furniture, area rugs, and accessories are all excellent sources of color inspiration.
Credit: Adam Albright
Alternatively, darker window trim frames the view of the outdoors like a mat frames a picture.
However, use caution when pairingrichly stained wood trimwith light-colored walls.
Stain contains dyes or pigments that color the wood without hiding the grain.
Credit:Katie Charlotte / Interior Design: Cortney Bishop
Choose your stain color according to the look you want to achieve.
Using stain instead of paint on wood trim highlights the grain and brings natural texture to the room.
The way it reacts to your wood might not match the store sample.
Credit: David Tsay
Carmel Brantley
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes!
Consider pairing white walls with creamy taupe trim or accenting sage green with a more bold forest green hue.
Credit: Edmund Barr
Credit:Carmel Brantley
