I painted all my bedroom trim, baseboard, and crown before install. To me, since the ceilings were so high, it was MUCH easier. One thing to check. Does your wood have knot holes? Despite my urging, my GC brought pine that had knot holes, the best for the price I could afford, and I primed with ordinary primer then painted with an off white satin finish. Well, it didn't take long before those knot holes bled through. Make sure you use a primer especially made to cover knot holes (can't think of the name right now). I had to go back and touch up the trim and baseboard knot holes with the special primer and repaint with another finish coat. That was three years ago and yellow spots are still appearing. :(

When we built our house 12 yrs ago, I thought the MDF trim would be a good idea---less expensive, paints really nice and smooth, etc. However, now that I've lived with it for that many yrs, I see the downside. The trim in my boys bath is looking really bad (baseboard). MDF and moisture don't get along. They take extra steamy showers (and that's a problem with almost everything, actually), and apparently splash water outside of the shower. The boards start to swell at the bottom where the dampness has accumulated, and you can't sand it to make it look better, Painting again helps hide it, doesn't fix it back to normal. Also, the window above my kitchen sink is large and almost sits on the cabinet, which I love. But, using the sprayer always causes some water to get on the trim and window. It is easy to wipe off if you think of it, but eventually it sits on the trim and seeps through the paint causing that MDF to become a problem. I have slightly sanded the edge, and repainted, but really need to have that piece pulled off and replaced with wood, or better yet, a granite piece when we get our countertops upgraded (the granite I've been wanting for 12 yrs). The rooms without the water problems still get some nicks that are more difficult to smooth out, too. So---I vote for the real wood---it can be sanded and repaired much easier than MDF.

Thanks guys :) Here's a photo of the dresser: (wi-sailorgirl, can you believe I'm doing something so vintage?!?!?!? It's so not my usual style... but this is the second bath: it's the general household-use bath but ALSO my teen daughter's bathroom. And she REALLY didn't want sleek and modern!) I don't have a photo of the sides of the drawers, but they are mostly still raw wood, except the person who painted it last slopped the maroon paint around the edge onto the dovetail joint. I guess I will try to sand that off and then just paint the fronts. sailorgirl, the lower two drawers won't have glides, they'll remain as-is, with just old-fashioned wooden guide rails. The top two drawers need to be cut back pretty severely, and their center rail removed for the sink, so those two WILL have new, undermount glides installed. I'll try to take some pics of the drawer insides and sides, too... I have a gorgeous piece of Vermont White quartzite (pretty grey, actually) that's been cut to fit the top, with the curvy front, and a white Kohler undermount sink. I'm thinking about doing faceted crystal knobs, too. it's a real departure from my normal style :) I've just laid the radiant floor heat wiring last night and will be pouring the self-levelling compound today. Can't wait to start tiling! Stacey

I really like that door, but worry that our existing storm door would take away from the look. But we live in Minnesota, so they are necessary. And having boys (8 &11) and all their friends in and out, I don't trust them with a storm door that is all glass. But that is the look I want. Unfortunately, I can't have any plants in the house - real or fake, even. The cat is obsessed with them, and even a pineapple sitting on the counter while I put away groceries is too tempting for him. I really have no idea what to do with that channel. The boys (husband included) pile stuff on there and the cat knocks it off. Felix the cat seems to think that is the best place to lounge and keep an eye on everyone. When we moved into this house, pretty much everything was original 1966 (including the KITCHEN carpet!) or cheaply and haphazardly replaced when the owner's children got it ready to sell. We are slowly changing out every almond light switch and outlet, hinges and door knobs are on the list as well. It's a hot mess of outdated drabness! But after a complete kitchen remodel and the entire level flooding after living here for two months, my dream of sweeping through all the cosmetic updates it needs fell by the wayside as my husband spent 6 months renovating the lower level. He needed a break from the inside and is now spending his spare time on building a treehouse. I'll get him back to it one of these days...