Having lived in a hundred year old house with gorgeous wood trim painted over a thousand times and walls plastered with millions of layers of paint and wall paper, I swore I would never (1) paint wood trim (2) wallpaper anything or (3) paint over wallpaper.
Believe me, I have tried to avoid it. But the time has come for me to break promise #1.
Why would I do such a fool hearty thing when we have
1. MY OCD
We replaced our flimsy 1970's original windows with
Unless you have a big budget you can choose replacement windows in white, white, white, or some really fake looking wood stuff. Even my decor-challenged self knew that we would probably have more options with white.
I love the windows. They aren't drafty. They make the house so much quieter. And I can clean them from inside which makes me all giddy.
But the contrast between the wood trim and the white windows has always irked me.
I tried covering up all the white with with wood blinds but that didn't do the trick.
2. I LIVE IN A CAVE
The sun is blindingly bright outside and I have to turn on a light at 3:00 in the afternoon to see.
If I could paint every surface to reflect light I would probably do it.
White would probably beat out walnut trim in perking up my spirits any day.
3. OOPS.
Who can turn down their kids' enthusiastic efforts to learn how to paint and acquire a real world skill?Not me.
We had fun painting together. And now both kids KNOW why we think very hard about our color choices before painting.
Neither of them are anxious to paint another ceiling again anytime soon!
But somehow I missed all the cool marine blue on the trim until it was too late.
So if you are already sanding and having to fix the trim...
4. AS LONG AS YOU ARE AT IT...
The most dangerous home improvement words ever.
If I painted the wood trim around all the windows, then all the rest of the trim in the house wouldn't match, and that would annoy me.
And then the cabinets, doors, ceiling beams, and bookshelves that matched the trim wouldn't match.
So that first brushstroke would lead to a huge project that I couldn't knowingly undertake without some guidance.
My husband already calls me Lucy because of my big ideas and their low rate of success. hehehe
5. DESIGNER MARIA KILLAM TO THE RESCUE!
She suggested that painting the trim white to match the windows is a good thing.
Her decorating blog assured me that I couldn't go wrong with a timeless white kitchen should I start down the path of transforming the trim and ending up painting cabinets.
Her blog and ebook even guided me to picking the right color white.
Armed with all the information and design advice, I'm ready to boldly and courageously begin the transformation.
Knowing this could take a while I'm really glad to know that white is timeless and will still be stylish whenever I do finish!
Knowing this could take a while I'm really glad to know that white is timeless and will still be stylish whenever I do finish!
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Some tips:
-- How to paint trim when you have carpet
-- How to paint kitchen cabinets
-- How to select paint for kitchen cabinets
*Disclaimer. If this was an older home with historic windows I would have wanted to keep the character and charm and avoid the landfill by restoring them. My friends have pointed out that it's not the old windows that leak, so much as it is the sealing around them. During any remodel please consider taking the old items to a local Habit for Humanity ReStore.
