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Need new trim -- what to pick?

15 years ago

We are just starting a semi diy kitchen remodel on a budget. Today we pulled off the trim from around the kitchen doorways and don't plan on reusing it as it is original to the house (1963) and ugly. DH suggested that we look for a shaker style trim to match the cabinet doors, but I think the trim should be uniform throughout the house. The trim in other areas of the house which has already been replaced is very traditional.

Please help settle this minor disagreement before it reaches epic proportions!

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

cat_mom
15 years ago
We kept the Golden Oak stained oak moldings and door jamb on our remaining kitchen doorway (we removed most of the other wall, so that doorway went bye-bye) despite putting up cherry cabs in the kitchen. Our contractor had suggested leaving the oak molding on the wall outside the kitchen, and then changing the molding on the kitchen side to cherry (and leaving the door jamb oak), since we had to take down the molding on the kitchen side anyway during the demolition, but we wanted to stick with the oak.

We left it mostly because we liked it (we installed it/had it installed within the last 6 years), and it matches the rest of the molding we installed at the same time, and it also matches the railings and our front door which are visible through that doorway.

We did however use cherry molding (provided and finished by the cab manuf to match our cabs) around the new bow window in the kitchen, and then had that (pine) window stained to match. We did so because the window and its molding butts right up against the cabinets on either side, and it made sense to everyone involved to do it that way.

It all looks really good to us, so I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. FWIW, we used the same type of (flat) molding for the window as all the other windows and doorways, just 1/4" narrower I think, but that style works with our kitchen and the rest of our house.
rosie
15 years ago
It was fairly common in the past to use a simpler, less expensive trim in the kitchen and other "back" rooms, so really you can both be right as long as the new trim was generally harmonious with the old. What we dignify with the name "Shaker" these days after all is really just a simple utilitarian style very commonly used in many homes whose living and dining rooms were much more elaboratedly finished.
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annz - Thanks for your reply! Ideally I'd like more time to choose. I took Forever to pick the wall colors, and drove DH up a wall (I'm surprised we're still married - ha ha!). This is my way of sort of making it up to him, lol. Although Benjamin Moore has some no voc paints that we can get locally, we choose American Pride b/c it's supposed to be non toxic (we have a baby and are renovating the entire house - which we've yet to move into, so I'm trying to be as green and non toxic as possible). sueb20 - Thank you for your suggestions! Yes, I agree that we should paint the doors and trim the same color. (Thanks for setting me straight!) And, thank goodness that the ceiling doesn't need to match the trim exactly. Atrium White and Decorators White are very pretty, but the lighting in our home was not doing them justice. And so, the winner is - Simply White! It looks white, without any gray or blue tint to it. And I like how it has a touch of warmth - as most of our colors are warm, and we have a lot of northern light. It's not my favorite white for our one Beacon Gray bathroom, but it will still look nice. As for the bedroom that will have Mascarpone on the bottom - I'm still a little concerned there b/c Simply White is very close in color and doesn't "pop" like a cooler white would, but hopefully the semi gloss sheen will help with the contrast a bit. We'll see... Overall though, I think Simply White will work really great in our home, and I'm excited to see everything painted! Thank you all again for your replies! You're the best!! :)
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ci_lantro
15 years ago
Either way you go is fine. With my remodel, I plan to frame the new windows in the great room with a Craftsman style trim even though the rest of the house has the mundane ranch trim, albeit lightly stained oak that I have refinished. I can't really change that trim because too many doorways are too close to corners so I don't have the space I need to do a more interesting, wider style.

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