Wood trim colors for hardwood floors

[jeffg]

While looking at houses we stumbled on one where the owners couldn't seem to make up their minds about wood trim colors, especially baseboards and windows. Light woods, darks, mediums and several in between:



What kind of wood trim generally looks best with these floors? My least favorite is the first shot, almost like raw wood. As far as I can tell the best answer (at least for baseboards) is to paint them the same color as the wall?

Thanks for any info or opinions.

 

[whirlcool]

I like the last photo. The woodwork is the same color as the windows are. That's what you normally see in new homes. But why they finished the cabinets below in that blonde finish is beyond me.

You could also finish the woodwork in the exact same color as the floor. I have seen that as well and it looks nice.

I don't like the woodwork in photo 2. It makes the woodwork look like it was an after thought to the room.

 

[ovrphil]

Well, since you're going to put in wall to wall shag carpeting.......(just kidding! )....

First photo -Choice is personal, but at the least - the window wood stain should(in order of my preference)match the floor and baseboard OR match the stairs and ceiling if they are the same.

Second Photo - light colored wall with window stain - needs to match the baseboard color(paint?) and stain the baseboard to match the fireplace-paneled wall. I would do a few other things, but they're not stain-related!

Third Photo - my answer depends on what style/interior design you are reaching for, and no absolutes or strict rules, but just at a glance .....1) if traditional-contemporary, as Whirlcool suggested, match the window and baseboard stain with floor. 2) If more country-rustic, a darker stain floor to match the old-English looking stain of the windows and baseboard(I know it's more of an expense). The lower cabinets should either be painted to match the wall color or if you must, leave to match the lighter stain choice I mentioned above. Personally, the cabinets would be better not seen(hence, painted) or use a non-arched door for them(square corners).

 

[hydralique]

The big problem with trying to match wood stains is they won't match unless the species is the same, and even then there can be significant variations. Oak is common for floors but there are many species of oak, and different ways of sawing it. For instance, it may not be easily possible to match an oak veneer used for furniture to solid oak floors. I was recently in a  large and exceptionally nice home that featured oak throughout stained a super-nice muted grey. Ceilings, floors, windows and doors all matched beautifully, but the house was on the market for north of $15m; at that price level you can make things happen that are otherwise not possible.

 

In general, I recommend painting baseboards, windows and doors. Windows in particular are prone to moisture stains and sun fading, and doors and baseboards get banged into regularly. With paint you can repair the damage, but with a stain it can be impossible without completely refinishing the item, in which case it will likely no longer match the rest of the woodwork.

 

[sudsmaster]

I'm sort of partial to glossy "warm" white paint for interior trim. You know, with a touch of cream to soften the whiteness. It tends to blend well with the generally warm stained wood tones it's next to. And as previously mentioned, the paint will hold up better and be easier to maintain on windows where it may be exposed to a lot of sunlight.

And I agree, the golden oak finish on the wall cabinets in the last photo looks a bit out of place. These also could be painted off-white or some other neutral warm tone, or painted to match the windows (which look painted not stained).

As an aside, that brick fireplace encroaching on the window looks a bit awkward, and why isn't the free-standing cast iron stove centered on its platform? Overall the place looks kind of cobbled together. Maybe the landscaping makes up for it.

 

[ovrphil]

Easier said than done

Hyrdalique and Sudsmaster are "on" ...it makes so much more sense to paint these casements and baseboards.

It just depends on what you're MOST interested in achieving, in looks. This is just purely a personal view, but if you have wood stained baseboards and windows, they work really well with furniture and accents that would be craftsment-like (or pure Stickley if you can afford it). Painted baseboards chip-serviceable, but stained baseboards can be sanded and re-stained or retouched. (I stripped the white paint from the 7" baseboards and the two old weighted sash windows in my upstairs bedroom in my parent's 1927 Dutch Colonial..years ago. What a pain -worth the effort, for the look I was trying to get.

Most windows look/function design-wise ... better in paint, imho. But I would not hesitate to work out a solution for staining if it was priority to me. Good luck and have fun house hunting(?).

Phil

 

[jeffg]

Thanks all for the advice.

Rich, they may have used a wide-angle lens for these photos, to make the rooms look larger. The angle is the exact same in all three. So the stove might be centered on its platform?

No argument about the fireplace and overall feel of the place. Funky. The blonde cabinets in the last shot may have been part of a matching bed/bedroom set.

 

[hydralique]

"They may have used a wide-angle lens"

There ain't no may about this, someone did the classic Realtor pose of plastering his/her tail against the farthest wall and then whipping out the wide angle to make the room look really big - take a look at the proportions of the open riser stair in the top photo. Regarding the wood stove, I hope somebody beefed up the floor framing (assuming a raised foundation) before laying all that brick on the wood flooring!

 

[danemodsandy]

If You Paint, PLEASE....

....Don't paint the quarter-round trim at the bottom of the baseboard, also known as "shoe molding."

This is one of my very most pet peeves. The quarter-round is supposed to be left unpainted, so that it will not chip when impacted by shoes, vacuum cleaners, chair legs, etc.

I have stripped one hell of a lot of paint off one hell of a lot of quarter-round over the years. It really makes a big difference in how long your trim's paint job can look fresh.

I know there is plastic quarter-round out there, in white, off-white and Ye Olde Fayke Woode Graine. I have only one thing to say about it:

FEH.

 

[mattl]

To each his own. I HATE shoe when it is not painted to match the rest of the trim., it simply draws attention to something that should blend, draws a visual line if you will. You have to be pretty aggressive if you beat up your shoe. The last picture shows MY pet peave-- stupid mini trim in a massive room. Looks totally unbalanced. In an 8' high room I use 5" tall trim, that room could support something much more massive.

I've gone into homes and ripped out every bit of the old 3"OG trim and beefed it up. With the old 3" trim if you add a decent carpet you might see 2" or so, not a look I like. I also beef up all the window and door casing, usually just slightly narrower than the base. A built up crown goes along with the larger base, though if part of the wider base is covered with carpet the standard 3 1/2" crown can suffice.

Again to each his own, but for me wider, more decorative trim looks more appropriate.

 

[ovrphil]

Room Pics

Definitely wide lens - kind of common. Then you have the software enhancements to photos. How do you know what's really there? Gotta be...Up close and personal.

 

[jeffg]

This image enhancement must be costing realtors a fortune. Several times we went out to look at houses, and what we found beared little or no resemblance to what was presented in the photos. The images are substantially brightened as well as this wide-angle nonsense.

I was going to start a new thread about this other property but decided to add it here. Possibly the exact opposite of funky, although I think the same image fixing is going on. I love looking at these boat anchors to get design ideas, and in this case there are a whole lot of ideas. It's one of the most masculine homes I've ever seen:

Oops!

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, for $13 million that Los Gatos estate should look pretty good in person, as well. The photography is excellent but I'd settle for the guest house. Even the stables are bigger than my current abode, which by the way I'm very happy with. It just needs a little "staging", lol.

 

[jeffg]

Rich, unless they get a Chinese or other foreign buyer with lots of cash, I think chances of the house selling are close to nil. If my math is right one needs an income over $4M/year to qualify for that mortgage, and how many people are making that kind of money these days? But I'd never buy one of these boat anchors even if I could afford to. Sooner or later one gets "over" their house, regardless of how nice it is, and what remains is a money-sucking monster that requires constant staffing, maintainance, heating/cooling etc. My fave in this house is the 125-ft. hallway. Just for comedic relief I'd do the far wall in frameless mirrors.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, yes, I suspect the monthly utility bill would be more than my mortgage payment. Not to mention the taxes and the upkeep. I'm not a big fan of long narrow hallways, though, too much like those railroad flats so common in older SF housing. Sure the market for these multi-million dollar estates is limited, but then our CEO's are making record incomes, and for many such a sale of a fraction of their stock holdings could net this real estate. It might not be quite ostentatious enough, though.

 

[ovrphil]

ostentatiousness

Very beautiful place, with everyone making decisions on how they would outfit it. I'm from the small sq.footage school - grew up in a tiny house, lived it in for 10 years when married (flat above parents), and had some bigger houses. I saw a news show today about a couple who are building a 98K sq.ft Versaille palace - utterly insane in size...am lost in size these days but admire any builder/owner who can actually make big feel small and cozy. I'll opt for the little guest house or carriage house, as it might be called....nice place.

 

[danemodsandy]

Phil:

I'm another fan of small houses. It's true that you can't shoehorn everything your little heart desires into them, but they're great when the bills come - square footage you don't have is square footage you don't pay to own, rent, heat, cool or pay taxes on.

My own house is perhaps a little extreme - 480 square feet, with just one bedroom. But it works for me.

 

[ovrphil]

WFM2

JeffG - we do the same - look at these montrous homes in shows (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Home Show, Roswell Women's Club home show, and others). You do get some ideas and some form of torture if the home is exceptional.

Danemodsandy - well, your place is 30 sq.ft. larger than what I was referring to; at least it's easy to clean!