Painters will be coming in a few weeks to do a major paint job on our home which has lots of wood trim and slab interior doors. I am ready for a change from this 80's style and want a contemporary look, though not severe. I am panicked at the idea of how it will all look painted and how to coordinate it. Baseboards in hall, kitchen, entry, and eating areas are being replaced with tile trim that matches floor--a medium shade of gray with rust. In living room floor trim will match the walls. My biggest uncertainty is how the slab doors will look down the hall--have a total of 5. A decorator friend suggested going dark on the doors. Have a hard time imagining it. We also have Hurd wood casement windows with lots of trim that will be painted. The trim is narrow and flat. It's not worth drawing attention to it with a contrasting color except there is a lot of it around double windows. Any pictures that show painted slab doors would be helpful. Also would it be best to go with a glossy paint on the window trim that matches the walls?

Will you be painting the trim around the windows also? Right now the trim is white and your garage door is white. I think they should match. You could paint trim/garage door beige like the little molding below the stone part of your house. That qould look good, I think. Your front door could be any color...mine is red and I love it.

Yes. Definitely. I would paint all the doors and trim white. The trim is small, but when the door and trim are painted, they will become one larger unit. Baseboards - I hesitated earlier to tell you to replace with something more substantial (taller), but since you are going to be replacing the carpet, you will need to remove the base. That would be the perfect time to replace. In the areas where you don't have carpet, you could replace a room at a time if budget is an issue. Save the stairs for last. If you think they need something, paint the rails. It would be tedious work, but I think they should hold up quite well, being vertical, they shouldn't get a lot of wear and tear. If the bannister is showing wear, clean it well, lightly sand, and give it a couple of new coats of poly. Are you french doors the same wood as the other doors? They look nice in the picture and would hold their own if you don't want to paint them. They are close to the stairs and could match the bannister. But pictures may be deceiving and they may look better painted if you do the other doors. Looking forward to seeing what you do :) Tuesday

I love the Galaxy, but I think your instincts are right that it won't be enough contrast with the siding, and may end up looking like a bad matching job. What colors appeal to you? With the siding and trim you have chosen, you can practically do anything. A rich teal could be wonderful, I could see a really deep orange, or a wonderful deep golden yellow, like fall mums. Reds would work, but are probably the 'safer' choice, not that there is anything wrong with that. But we also should consider your landscaping, any stone or brick on the house, etc.