dark trim verse white trim
Emily Oster
Over the weekend, we knocked the den off our painting list. The walls were cream so only one coat of Benjamin Moore Normandy was required. This made the project a relatively easy one as I cut in around the trim, base and ceiling and Jeff did the rolling. I also downloaded and listened to the entirety of David Sedaris' Holiday on Ice which made the time pass much more quickly. I am really excited that we were able to get this room done as I was able to unpack the last few boxes. This means that the house is now box free for Christmas decorating!
With the den complete that brings our painted room tally to three. The house hasn't been painted in who knows how long so all this painting is really just round 1. This generally means we are just tackling the walls and not the trim. A lot of the trim will need to be sanded and stripped and in some cases replaced so round 2 is probably going to be an even bigger project in certain rooms than round 1. This is definitely the case for the den. In round 2, we will have to strip a pair of french doors and potentially two windows before giving all the trim and casings a fresh coat of paint. We also will need to paint the fireplace and figure out what to do with a shoddy built-in (pictures to come I promise!). The big question at this point will be dark trim or white trim. Since I first began thinking about this room, I have envisioned it as this super cozy sort of a jewel box of a room complete with dark trim. At work, we have done several rooms that are top to bottom one color and I just love the monochromatic look. And while the look is rather on trend what I like about it is that reminds me of a traditional English parlor (not sure if this is justified but its what I think of).
Since presenting this plan to friends and family, I have gotten a good amount of push back with such comments as "I love the contrast between the white and blue" or "trim is so impossible to paint let alone when its dark" or "it will be so difficult to repaint back to white". These are completely valid thoughts and concerns which is why I am taking them under advisement....But there is just something about rooms like those pictured below that I just can't get out of my head.....
home of Aerin Lauder via Mark D. Sikes
room in Oval Room Blue via That Kind of Woman
home by Lindsey Coral Harper via House Beautiful