Old House Diaries, Part 1: Dark Wood Trim
How to find a color palette that works when keeping that trim au natural
Dark wood trim. Possibly one of the most polarizing topics of the online interior enthusiast/DIY community. To paint? Not to paint? This divisive subject has been known to get heated very quickly.
Thankfully, we can all breathe a sigh of relief because that’s not the focus of this post. I’m looking at what colors work with original wood trim, an area I’ve found little about online. Since moving in to our house over five years years ago I am yet to discover the perfect paint colors that work. I’m looking for something that complements the rich dark red stain of the trim, built-ins etc and the amber sheen of the floors. I’ve done my research, there’s been some trial and error and now I’m going to share this new leg of the journey as I navigate working out a color palette along with getting creative through various mediums. My hope is that it will look fantastic and it could help those who don’t want to pull out the Sherwin Williams and start slapping on the eggshell. So let’s break it down.
The Project
Selecting a color palette that works with an entryway that leads to three different areas of the house (left, right and straight ahead). All three can be viewed from the central entryway on arrival.
Our House
Our house is 124 years old. Which by American standards, is pretty old (I’m English and our country goes waaaay back)! We immediately fell in love with the house due to it’s original features and old-timey New England charm. The entire first floor is trimmed in the original dark stained wood around the doors, windows and would-be skirting boards (though the baseboard heating channels cover those up), matching dark stained doors, two sets of pocket doors, plus three original built-ins to boot. It is a woodworking masterpiece as it looks almost exactly as it would have when it was installed over 100 years ago, minus several scratches. A visitor once remarked on how, if it were their house, they would paint the trim white and though I’m certainly not above any design opinions, not all opinions are welcome if they don’t come from a trusted source dear reader!
Here are my reasons for not painting the trim and keeping it au natural -
I am an original features purist. I relish the history and the story behind the original state of a home as old as ours with beautiful original wood.
It would take me a lifetime to refinish and I am no expert in that field. Using my spare hours when I’m not working a 40 hour week refinishing trim along with three sizable built-ins is not my idea of a good time.
Paying someone to refinish the trim would be $$$ and we have other house fish to fry. Meaning, we have other projects where our meager funds could be put to better use. The hope is one day we can say goodbye that janky 90s kitchen…!
Lastly, I don’t want our house to look like everyone else’s. Though the idea of fresh white millwork does sound dreamy, it would leave us with a house that is no longer unique. The woodwork is the jewel of this home due to its untouched nature. A bland, pre-prescribed home is not for me.
Color
When we moved in to our house over five years ago we painted every wall white. Very slowly I have repainted a few rooms over the years and I’ve observed the light carefully in the different rooms during the different seasons and times of day. This is a luxury if you live in a space you’re decorating and can do this kind of work, but in the interior design world this is not an option. Now looking at it several years on some of these color choices don’t make sense to me holistically with the flow of the house.
I wanted to provide examples of how different a space can look with the trim plus built-ins alongside various shades of paint. Though, *spoiler alert*, so far I haven’t selected any of the colors shown below and made all my own choices. Some are more successful than others. I’ll let you be the judge dear reader.
Dark Blue/Grey/Green-Blue Paint Options
Shades of Green
Wild Cards
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is made for this kind of woodwork and these types of homes. My analogy is that wallpaper most often uses more than one color in its pattern instead of having a solid color like paint does. The variation of color and pattern creates positive and negative space with allows the trim to shine. We found remnants of wallpaper when we removed the cheap wallboard and took it down to the plaster. I lost the battle on keeping any remainder of the wallpaper up, though I did salvage the scraps for another DIY project down the line. New wallpaper was out of my budget. Even with me installing it myself I couldn’t justify the cost of the materials with the thought of that 90s kitchen hanging over my head. Maybe in 2025 me and that sweet janky kitchen will finally say goodbye.
What’s Next?
Over the next few months I’ll be sharing updates on my progress. I’m going to be focusing on two to three areas that I have a lofty goal of completing before Christmas as we’re hosting this year. So, no pressure or anything! Which obviously means there will, in fact, be quite a bit of self inflicted pressure.
Until then,
K
The marigold yellow is amazing — hope it makes the shortlist!
love your writing style!