If all the windows are stained, and all the trim is painted, I think you are fine. As long as it follows a pattern, that is ok. There was another thread earlier about doors and paint vs stain and I think the conclusion was the same. If all the bedroom doors are one finish and the closets another, it is ok to mix. Just come up with a plan, follow it and you will be ok. There is no "one size fits all" here. Personally, I think stained trim can be lovely, but sometimes it can also be overload. I think having some stained and some painted may be the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the input. For some reason I cannot picture my crown being white with the other trim elements being stained. Dunno why. But if you say yours looks good, I do believe you. My house is a little ranch style 2/2 that we are remodeling from builder grade stuff to 'us'. It is a dwelling that is on a large piece of land that we use as our facility for training horses so I can feel pretty free to do what I want, since any potential buyers down the road will likely be more interested in the barn and land than the house, LOL! I have put rough slate on the kitchen floor, scabos travertine on the backsplash, and pretty much done it up in the kitchen altho I did not go custom with cabinets - used Ikea - and am thrilled, BTW. It looks great, IMO. The Acacia wood floor is so cool - natural graining and lots of movement. Altho I like the crisp, creamy trim against the darker wall color, I think using stained or even raw cedar boards with a sealing finish would be very appropriate. I also have some great cypress logs that I would like to bring into it if I can find a way. None of that - IMO - marries that well to the rather colonial looking white moldings that I presently have. Hub will be puzzled at my wanting to redo what looks pretty good right now, but as an artist and first time home redecorator in my 50s I aint wantin' to do it any way other than MY way! LOL! If I did NOT want to keep the crown white, does anyone have any suggestions / opinions? Pics are always appreciated, of course and would not mind seeing pics of that 1926 Tudor, if you have any. I dont really know how to post pics but would do so if it would help and someone can point me to directions. Ceilings in my house, BTW, are 8 feet. I am open to creative ideas and only limited by money as the husband is open too!

I truly appreciate all the responses and ideas. I am stumbling in the dark on this "small, easy, room upgrade" that began in freakin' June. I am thankful for any ideas, guidance, or suggestions offered. ChiSue - My home is 60+ years old and in some places the ceilings aren't quiet 8' tall. It was cobbled together by a man with a heavy drinking problem - seriously. I've met him. I've got a lot of restrictions here! LOL There are many good reasons I've named it "Little House of Horrors on the Prairie!" It lives up to its name. Just Got to be Me - No the room isn't manly; it really doesn't have a set "look." It's just a small "living room/TV room/breakfast nook off of the kitchen. Original oak floors (no bevels!), two windows, both are too big. The room is too narrow, 11'10" wide, and about 14" long for the living room area. Sage green walls, brushed nickel ceiling lights (2) and brushed nickel ceiling fan/light that goes with nothing except I love it. It looks like a steampunk view of an old aeroplane propeller. Peonies and Posies! - I really don't want to mix the trims, and if I do it won't be for long. I would like all the trim to be the unstained, satin finish color of the 60-year-old white oak floors, except for the crown molding. I ordered the trim from a small sample to try to match the new front door, which was also chosen from a small sample. I have baseboards for the entire room and moldings to go around two windows and two doors. The lumber yard salesman totally insulted me and I cancelled the door order from him. The trim was already non-refundable. The new door does not look good with the trim. Of course the new door is out in the garage right now so it's not too much of a problem - yet! LOL I love the door color; I don't care for the trim finish. It is non-returnable. Susan JF- I do have two women, who have painted two rooms for me, available to come Wednesday and "fix" the horrible paint problem. I'm choosing between two "sage colors" and may go with a cream color on the ceiling - if I can find an off-white/cream color with no yellow or green undertones. I have a painted ceiling in the den and the bright white crown against the "camel" ceiling is amazingly beautiful. I plan to leave for Arkansas in a couple of weeks. What's not finished before I leave will probably not get finished until Spring. Since the contractor and electrician show up for about 15 minutes every weeks, I know not everything will be done. I'm hoping the outside window trim, and the damaged steel siding will be fixed. That's about all I can hope for. My options are... - Install this trim, as is, and live with it until Spring. At least the windows will be trimmed and the cut plaster and protruding insulation will be covered. - Order new trim, finished without staining, wait a month or more for it to arrive, and then have it installed (hopefully) in the Spring. - Install the trim I have now and hope I can cover the too-red stain with cream colored paint. Since the two big dogs are in this room a lot I don't want to fight with the painted baseboards and moldings like I have to do in the three rooms that are "all painted trim." - Pray for a tornado.

I drove myself crazy with this question. The painter insisted the crown over my sink had to match my stained cabs. The crown over the cabs is stained the same color as the cabs and that works for me. The crown in the rest of this house is white. Stained over the cabs looks good, white in the rest of the house looks good. But that one piece over the sink doesn't look good to me no matter whether it is stained or painted.