Question about trim!

Hubby and I own a townhouse, built in the mid-80s - we bought it about two years ago and haven't really done much with it so far. Only a couple of the rooms have ever been painted - two of the bathrooms, the hallway, and the living room. It is clear that the living room was once a garish and wretched crimson (because someone wasn't good at doing edges); it's now a fairly run-of-the-mill khaki color with an off-white ceiling. I desperately want to paint it.

The room is wide but fairly shallow (about 20' by 10'), and is more or less divided into two areas - a conversation area around the fireplace taking up 2/3 of the room, and in the rest of the space is a library area with bookcases and a secretary). It has a couple of dominating features that we can't change. One is a large fireplace mantel, basically a giant piece of walnut attached to the wall. It has not been painted. The other is a set of three glass doors that open onto the flagstone patio. It gets very little natural light because the backyard is full of mature trees, but feels very private. It also has paneling on the long wall, which has been painted - right now it's that boring khaki color.

I don't know why I had to tell you all that to get to my question about the trim. The whole ground floor of the house has walnut trim that matches the fireplace mantel, the hardwood floors, and the kitchen cabinets. It has never been painted. Hubby is adamant that it not be painted. I am indifferent, really.

So I ask you: paint the trim, or leave it natural? Is it wicked retro that way? We do not intend to paint the mantel, and several things in the room (which probably won't change during this round of decorating) echo the color of the trim. The room doesn't have very high ceilings, but is not a hobbit-hole either.

I don't know what color we plan to paint that room. We haven't gotten that far yet.

Thanks in advance!

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February 18, 2007

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About: Just bought a modest (and remarkably beige) bungalow-feel townhouse in the suburbs. It needs everythingMy...

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vincechan

February 20, 2007

Bruno's right. It depends on the trim. I look at value. If the trim you have in there is a good quality real wood trim (maybe with intricate carvings), then painting it would probably be an injustice. If you want it to be painted, it shouldn't be too hard to carefully remove it and replace it with 'cheaper' trim that can be easily painted.

On the other hand, if the trim is not all that special (like pine, or some of that synthetic stuff), then painting it probably won't hurt anybody's feelings.

My house was built in 1923 and all the trim was painted white. As we continue to remodel the house, we are replacing the painted trim with unpainted, stained and varnished trim and the difference is startling. I, for one, really don't like to paint the trim unless there is really no other choice.

bruno

February 19, 2007

Normally, I'd agree with your husband: never paint original woodwork if it hasn't been painted before. However, with houses built in the 80's the woodwork can be hit-or-miss. Sometimes the trim is narrow and cheap-looking, and if that's the case with your house, I think painting it a nice bright white can really improve the room.

We had this situation in our living room (which was a late addition to the home). The trim in there was newer than the rest of the house and didn't really match, so (against my urging), my girlfriend painted it bright white. It was a great choice (shows what I know), and now the room looks a lot better.