White trim on the outside means white trim on the interior? Following her advice, how could anyone ever have wood trim inside, since no house I know of has lacquered wood on the exterior trim? I say do what YOU want. I think you could even stain the outside of your doors that are visible to the downstairs and have them white on the inside of the bedrooms if you want to. I think it was a traditional thing to have stained wood in the dressier, public areas and have painted in the utilitarian/private/less formal areas, like kitchens and bedrooms.

We are having clear-finished vertical grain Douglas fir trim inside our home...Our exterior trim is painted cream. I guess your friend wouldn't like it, but I know I will.

I think the inside of your house should *go with* the outside for continuity and integrity of style, but that doesn't mean they have to be identical, especially in color.

Totallyblessed: Having trouble making the same decision, but I'm still in the planning stage,(unfortunately). We think we are doing stained everywhere. Although I don't think our house is going to be old world per say. I think it is old world meets the mountain.

I love the look of white trim, but the look doesn't love my boys. We have it in our current home, with stained doors. I have such a hard time keeping the white trim clean, but the doors are less noticeable. After a few times of touch up painting, we quit because it just needs repainted weekly LOL! We were at a friends house the other day. They have painted white doors and trim and she too hates it, esp. the doors...hers doors were really marked. So, I think we are leaning towards everything stained because of that, but our only hold back is that everyone keeps telling us it is more expensive. What isn't expensive though????

Good luck with your decision!

I don't really know the answer but I'd always thought I'd have to do white trim/white doors, or stained trim/stained doors. But I can say on extreme home makeover last week they used white trim w/ stained doors and it looked good. That's the first time I'd seen it like that.

I honestly don't know what we'll do.

Pick what you like and what's visually pleasing to your own eye. You have to live there and look at it every day, not her. Even the best interior designers disagree with what is aesthetically "correct" when it comes to design elements. Make your house your own and it becomes a home.

Hello totallyblessed, I agree that you should do what you want! Here is a photo from a Parade of Homes house that might be helpful to you. The house was a beautiful blend of old world and modern and these stained doors with painted trim looked great!

Hey there

As you know I am doing an "Old World" style too. It may be overdone but it's what I like and that's what I'm getting so there...sticking my tongue out! LOL! ;c~

We opted for white trim and dark wood beams, cabinets and furniture. I like the combo alot. To me, the white makes everything pop. I think it looks more formal though than the rustic feel of darker trim. I just love Allison's and Kellyeng's. It's gorgeous!

So what fits YOU? Do you want more of a rustic feel? If you want dark trim downstairs and white upstairs, go for it! I'm sure I've broken many rules of design...who cares...it's what I like!

Lindy

Good Luck!
Lindy

You're free to suit yourself! Did you search here for "painted trim"? There's been a lot of discussion of this topic, so there are probably other ways to search, too. Lots of pics have been posted.

Thanks for your great responses.

even the cat~ You gave me a good laugh. I almost spit my coffee out I laughed so hard! "meets the mountain"... that is hilarious! You know, we have 5 children, and in our current home have a white painted bath vanity in the guest bath. Yuck... it is ALWAYS dirty with grimy little hand prints. I agree... I could repaint weekly and then my house might look the way I want it too (meticulous.... call me obsessive). Our white doors in this house are marked up as well. Sigh....... that is probably my answer right there, huh?! ;O)

Lindybarts, you said you did white trim, and then wood tones for beams, etc. Are your doors white or wood toned? You know I love your house!

wisconsingal~ Thanks for the photo. I can't remember ever seeing the two mixed. You're right.... it looks nice.

I'm drooling over Allison's dark doors/trim photo she posted over on our master closets thread. I think I'm going to do something similar (I am SUCH a copier..... but anashamedly so. I'll leave the creativity/originality to others... it's the gift that passed me by... LOL). Kellyeng shared some gorgeous stained doors/trim too..... so I'm definitely leaning towards my original choice of wood.... at least today. :o) he, he

Stay tuned. In a few more months (well, probably several... LOL) I'll share photos of what we do. :o) Thanks!

It's a good idea to consider the entire color pallet/value range as a whole, not just one element at a time. When my sister redecorated, she chose each element based on what she liked, didn't consider the whole till it was all installed: turned out that everything was on the light side, and the lack of contrast made the space seem small and ill defined.

If you favor rather light walls, I'd go with dark trim and mid value doors: white trim would dissappear.

But if you are a dark wall person, medium light to white trim and mid value doors will probably work better.

Thanks, Totally and Lindy.

Totally, mine was a no brainer. Painted trim and doors would have changed the look I was after (and what the architect classified the home as being) - European Country.

I SO do not agree with you have to carry the exterior to the interior. If you search over in the Decorating forum, there have been several threads about painted doors/stained trim and stained trim/painted doors. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with mixing stained trim/doors on one floor and painted trim/doors on the other.

Stained trim and doors will cost more than paint grade doors/trim. It should cost the same to install and finish (paint or stain). imo, the upkeep of painted is more in the long run - you'll always need to repaint or touch up. Stained will last almost a lifetime. Use a sanding sealer over the stain to keep it from fading. Our exterior doors that get the most sunlight have not faded.

Me, I love the contrast of our stained materials.

What kind of furniture do you have or will you be getting for your new home? I've seen the outside and it is more Georgian than Old World with the brick and columns....but I certainly understand the desire to do the inside to your liking.

I'm rambling. :)

Totallyblessed, there is nothing wrong with copying! We all get some inspiration from things we see (that is a lot of what this forum is all about lol!). "Plagiarize, plagiarize, let no man's work evade your eyes, just remember, call it research" ;-).

Don't worry about the exterior matching the interior. My current house's exterior is a very neutral cream color with white trim. The inside is very colorful with stained trim. Everyone loves this house and it sold within the first two hours it was on the market (we are in a lease-back).

Just decorate how you want and it will be warm and inviting by default!

Totally, yes my doors are all white with the exception of the front door which is stained the same as the beams, cabinetry and stairs. I promise I'm putting together a photo album for the end of the week. I know I've been saying that for a few weeks now but our walk through is Friday so I would "think" I will be able to get better photos then. ;c)

Lindy

Well....we're all waiting now.... ;)

oruboris~ Good point about keeping it all in focus. I think I am doing that okay.... I can see the big picture. I don't know why some of the little details (or maybe doors are not such a little detail... he, he) drive me nuts. I am not one who should be building a house. Honestly, I don't care what kind of doorknob or faucet I have. These little things make me roll my eyes and say "who cares" inside my head. As long as they look "in keeping" with the look I'm going for, I don't care which brand, etc. It's just not my thing. (ooh, did I just commit a faux pas admitting that on GW? he, he). Now big things (like appliances, and then of course furniture and all) are what make me excited and thrilled to be on this journey.

Allison~ You know, I wasn't even sure what style our new house is. Thanks for the clarification. :o) I want to do an old world/sortof HOrchow looking interior. We will have iron railing, travertine flooring, some faux finish on the dining room wall, etc. Velvets, silks, chenille. Tapestry's, huge candle holders, muted browns, reds, oliveygreens, golds. The flooring will lean towards the lighter end of the spectrum, which is why I felt the darker doors would look nice. (crossing fingers wildly that it will all look the way I plan when it is finished!)

wisconsingal~ OM! You had me laughing at your funny little quote. I love it! It's totally me.

kelly~ I'm glad to hear it. You know, I thought her comment about the interior and the exterior a bit strange. But then, I haven't gone to design school, so I thought "what do I know"? I can see it being nice to decorate an interior in keeping with the exterior, but I guess I am not doing that in our home anyway. LOL!

lindy~ Oooh, I can't wait to see the "album". And walk thru this Friday..... woo-hoo!! ;O)

Your choices sound like they would look wonderful with stained trim and doors, as long as you don't go too dark on the walls. Light to medium.

Good point Allison. The walls in the main living areas will be some sort of neutral biscuit type color I think... maybe leaning towards a golden tone in them. Hoping to find a great artist to do a mural type scene on the biggest wall in the dining room..... wanting it to look frescoed. The master bedroom will get a faux finish of some sort.... maybe the leather look.... I am planning to go darker and dramatic in that space. The garden room may get a cloud/sky scene on the ceiling only. We've got one in our current dining room and I LOVE it!

The 2nd floor bedrooms will just start out with a warm white, until we decide what bedding and decor the children will have (unless we can get that chosen before painting takes place... we'll see). That's the part I get excited about.... the part I find really "fun"... the decorating and seeing it all come together. Yay. :o)

I have oak trim and stained interior front door. i want to paint the door. do I paint the trim around the door or leave it oak stain. also the base trim that meets the door is oak stain.