Do you think this? Betty - November 10, - AM. The original wood frames and detail was beautiful but you have done it justice with the quality white paintwork. We lived in a house painting victorian woodwork and we painted all the trim in the house painting victorian woodwork white. Sash: the movable elements — doors, windows, shutters. I think we talked things over on a Wednesday and they could start as soon as that Friday, but we moved it to Monday of the next week to give us time to clear out the rooms and move the painting victorian woodwork stuff to the center. If so, how did you handle this transition?

I too wish there were more recent photos out there. I know the trend right now is white, white and white but stained wood is a classic and it works w white. Natural light and layered lighting plus plants can make wood feel organic and fresh. But in the end you have to feel comfortable in your home. I do suggest waiting and trying out different things. I am glad that I did not paint my wood, and if my hubby would have agreed, I would have. I have seen and been in older homes totally painted and they are lovely but I really cherish the natural variation and dents and such in stained wood.

Anyhow love the site, the advice, and the comments! Your home sounds gorgeous! One of my paint collection colors is Deep Royal. Hubby and I replaced the flat hollow doors that came with the house with solid paneled doors which we, of course, stained. You are absolutely right about men thinking wood must be stained, never painted. Did they all decide this among themselves in the high school locker rooms? Thanks for the beautiful post.

I think the stained wood goes back to when we lived in caves. I see a lot of blue and white love blue and white which is a stark contrast to the dark trim.

Maybe should have had a pattern that incorporated some brown in it to soften the blow. Got to side with the hubby on this one, love gorgeous old woodwork. My condo has cheapy-looking maple.

But sucking up and putting up with it for now since the pocketbook is empty. Long live blue and white!! Here, here for blue and white! Very large windows and natural light help—a lot. As does white most everything else.

A bit of black?! Simplicity in decor is most helpful. As all of your examples illustrate. And…after years of negotiating, have finally, painted out the trim. Glory hallelujah! My advice: just do it!!!!! He will love it too. Great story and true in my experience as well! If one is fortunate enough to have original stained wood trim, then it would be a mistake to cover it. With the right paint colours, it will still look fresh, and the contrast will lend warmth.

A lot of interiors today tend to be very blanched and overly sterile in the name of being fresh and that is not a good thing.

Humour him! Pick your wall colours carefully and you will be very surprised at how much you like it. Be true to the house. It was designed to be that way. Actually, while much was stained in the late 19th century, not everything was.

Part of it might be regional. Not quite sure about that one. But, both are absolutely correct and actually, I find that painted is far more common. My point was to go with the fictional hubby based on real hubbies and still get the light, airy sophisticated look she was hoping to have. I have to say that I am drooling over the beautiful huge window in the bathroom and the subway tile — absolutely gorgeous. If my moulding and trim were natural dark wood I never would have been able to paint my kitchen walls dark blue.

So white or natural its what works for a person and their tastes. Actually, despite popular belief, I think that one can paint the walls dark blue with dark trim. But I think the examples look great.

The examples are wonderful, I would never have thought dark paint and dark wood trim go could happily hand in hand. Thanks so much, as always I appreciate your fun blog.

I worked on the Atlanta Symphony Showhouse and that fabulous Barbara Westbrook room already had the wall mural antique fabric! It is absolutely beautiful too! Thank you for that insider info. I did notice that all of the trim is stained in that showhouse which of course, made it great for my purposes.

I can understand why some designers were pulling their hair out because it is not part of their vocabulary. But perhaps, it was a learning experience as they figured out how to make it work and brilliantly too!

I have found, though, that when I use the wood-friendly colors that our awesome blogger has recommended, pure magic follows! I appreciate the plug. My point here, is to present it a little bit differently. But, then especially, the wood colors are an integral part of the color scheme, more than ever! Just went through this in real life. All the builder doors were replaced with solid oak, horizontal 5-panels stained the same color. Although recently repainted a silvery gray from the original light sage, these rooms are still beautiful to me.

Now, the addition, windows everywhere, a darker large scale rectangular porcelain French doors off a northern exposure and too many pets. The kitchen is glazed white. The designer had everything set up for painted trim.

The Minister of Finance went through the roof. While I was very skeptical, it turned out well. The trim speaks to the kitchen while the windows themselves recede. It works. I like the statement made earlier about using light trim to draw the eye out, but suspect it is not true. The large living room bay here has the caramel stain that seems to make the view of our acreage absolutely glow. It all sounds gorgeous! I took that to heart for a while, and consequently have learned to love wood…but I am over the staining and now love the look of white painted moldings.

That said: I love the images you posted of the light neutral and white walls with the stained woodwork. High ceilings and large windows allow for that airy and fresh feel the writer wants. The white walls make the trim look like, well, wood….

Loving it… Reply Cancel. Actually, painted wood throughout the last years has been far more prevalent than stained, architecturally speaking. Thanks for stopping by. The over-exposed photo is a conceit and I wish it would go away.

I like the rich colors of paint and wallpaper of that era and re-colored and rich colors that are in favor now are beautiful, too. They look marvelous and if I can swing it I will pick it up.

Thanks for the reminder and thanks for the blog. It is a wonderful, rich endeavor that always bears re-reading. Believe it or not, I darkened it up a little! But, it really was not easy finding rooms that were A decent photos, B nicely furnished. The reality is that stained wood trim is definitely not in vogue at this time. Just a question. A decorator once told me, draw your sight outside with white light trim. Keep it in with dark. Do you think this? I love dark trim, but my view is too spectacular to keep it inside.

Try this: place a white border behind a photo. Now try black. You will see that the black mat makes the photo pop. I purposely chose dark stained windows, surrounded by Linen White BM trim. It followes an historic model seen in older homes in Boston, and in historic homes in Virginia. I had a client last year who did black trim with off-white walls. They loved it. Summer of I was given the same advice a very long time ago, Joan. I believe it to be mostly true. Thanks for weighing in Maureen.

I never heard that before. Just gorgeous. I come from a land of painted trims.. In short.. I think these are so, so beautiful, and I think I pinned them all, I totally went bananas, sorry.

Faye, Anyone can have painted trim, but only the lucky few have real wood, and its probably quality wood at that. I once had a home built in with dark stained trim which was not what I was used to seeing.

If I had lived there longer I might have been tempted to paint them, in which case it would have ended up looking like the homes you see everywhere. Lucky you to have such a special home. I love the look of the dark wood, especially with white walls.

Thanks so much Kathy. I would happily commit felonies. I adore natural woodwork more than anything except maybe high ceilings and all the lovely examples shown here are why. Listen to your husband — for just this once —and leave that wood alone! Thanks for stopping by Elle. Laurel Bern Interiors, Inc. Nov 09 Posted in: interior design 58 comments. To soften the sheen, he brushes on a final coat of satin spar varnish left.

A brush lets him apply this finish full strength so that it can form a rich, deep film. How to Refinish Woodwork. By Keith Pandolfi. Pinterest Email Pocket Flipboard. Step 1 Test the finish Photo by Wendell T. Webber Thomas assesses the finish on an inconspicuous area, such as a door edge below , by rubbing it with denatured alcohol.

Step 2 Strip the old finish Photo by Wendell T. Webber Using a wide natural-bristle brush, Thomas paints on a thick coat of commercial stripper, then lets it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, waiting for the surface to turn from glossy to dull. Step 3 Scrape down to the wood Photo by Wendell T. Webber A dull scraper is the best tool for removing stripper-softened finish from flat panels. Step 4 Seal with shellac Photo by Wendell T. Webber Thomas rubs the stripped wood with fine steel wool and denatured alcohol to dissolve any shellac residue.

Step 5 Add color Photo by Wendell T. Webber To even out the maple's blotchy color, Thomas brushes on very thin coats of a water-based glaze that he mixed himself using dyes and pigments.

Step 6 Top-coat the color Photo by Wendell T. White trim paired with black doors. He was all for it. Black paint Painting Woodwork Inside looks better on doors with some architectural interest and you can fake it with flat-front hollow-core doors by adding molding, but Painting Woodwork Color luckily I had a good base to start with. Eventually, my plan is to paint out the entire second floor.

And now they have been made reality in my ORC space! My favorites tend to be a little warmer, with a creamy ivory tone while still reading as white. I used it for the ceiling in a flat Ben formulation, and in satin Aura for all of the trim.

The doors were painted Black Beauty , which is the same color I painted the walls downstairs , but in semi-gloss Aura. I chose Everard Blue CW for the den — a dark blue with plenty of green in it from the Williamsburg historic color collection. It has the depth I was looking for, changing throughout the day under different lighting conditions but always looking good.

And then for the bedroom, I wanted a subtle pink. I chose Regal Select, matte finish, for both wall colors. I did pick up several samples before settling on that perfect pink though.

I painted swatches right on the walls in both the bedroom and the den so I could see the colors under different conditions. My colors had been chosen and I was preparing to paint everything myself when the opportunity to partner with Paintzen came along. They were about to launch in Chicago as I was about to start on the One Room Challenge, so the timing worked out perfectly for me to give them a try!

They make it easy to work with reputable professional painters, and quotes are provided online after giving some basic information about your project. Once you give the go ahead and agree on a start date, they take care of the rest and they send a licensed, fully-insured paint crew to do the work.

You guys. I was very excited about this. I used to paint houses way back when, and I knew how much work there was to be done! The walls needed to be painted, and the ceilings too. And then there was all of that woodwork , going from bare wood to either white the baseboard, door trim, window trim, windows, transom windows, shutters, and picture rail or black the paneled doors and french doors.

A LOT of work, but they were on board. Once I had chosen my paint colors, formulations, and finishes, Paintzen arranged for it to be delivered from a local Benjamin Moore retailer. They also supplied the primer Zinnser B-I-N shellac-based primer —strong fumes, but good adhesion and coverage. I think we talked things over on a Wednesday and they could start as soon as that Friday, but we moved it to Monday of the next week to give us time to clear out the rooms and move the big stuff to the center.

We had planned on staying clear of the two rooms while work was underway, so that gave us the weekend to still be able to sleep in the bedroom. Come Monday morning, the crew met the paint delivery truck out front and then came inside at to start work for the day. They had the holes to fix, of course, but they also went above that and fixed any hairline cracks in the plaster they came across. One section was particularly bad, but they fixed it right up! I was impressed by the attention they paid to the trim too.

No cutting corners. They cleaned and sanded the wood, used an excellent primer, and sanded between coats for a smooth finish. They sprayed all of the woodwork, so it went faster than it would have with a brush, and the finish was nicer.

The painting crew did an amazing job, and they rocked it out in five days. They were here from 8 a. I would still be in there working on it.

A huge thank you to Paintzen for sponsoring the paint job — they were so awesome to work with. After the two spaces were painted and cleaned up, and the furniture was put back into place, the rooms started to shape up! I went ahead and ordered the ceiling fan, and I picked up a pair of vintage slipper chairs. Same goes for table lamps. Oh, that big blank wall. Thank you for describing the paint colors in such detail.

Picking paint colors is one of my favorite things to do. I geek out over the undertones and subtle differences. OMG You have made quite some progress! Im obsessed with the white trim and black doors, what an update! I am so excited to see the final result. And I have all the heart eyes for that crisp white. Please keep the updates coming! The Everard Blue is just so swoonworthy.

I love your woodwork downstairs too, but the black and white is just stunning. I wish the hallway was done. It needs a ceiling first!

Can you tell us the painters method to get the paint off the French door window panes? It looks great! They taped off the panes, and then used a razor along the edges after everything was dry to score the paint before removing the tape. This has me thinking hard about maybe doing the rest of the upstairs….

I adore painted trim and these rooms look so fresh with it! Black doors are also a love of mine and the wall colors are perfect. I love the paint color! And I am so jealous of your beautiful house and all the fun little details! I love the mock-up and your saturday appearence on the improvement show featuring plants! Oh, thank you! It has aired a few times, but that reminds me I should go and look for it!

Like, ON IT. What on earth are you going to do? It looks amazing! The black doors with white…and then that dark moody blue.

With my husband. And two cats. This is so timely! I need to have a bathroom painted, and this service sounds fantastic! They did a wonderful job- impressive! I think all the wood looked very busy with the trim sort of clashing with the floor. The white and black looks sophisticated and clean. Much better IMHO. Have you considered flip-flopping the bedroom and den?

Small Wood Painting Ideas Quiz Flush Trim Router Bit For Acrylic