Wall/trim color suggestions with espresso hardwood floors?

12 years ago

Hi All,

I'm at a loss and need some help. My master bedroom finally had the hardwood installed yesterday and early next week the painters are coming to finish it off. I need some help with color choice though. Currently the room is painted with 15yr old grey (walls) and darker grey trim. Very bland and boring and frankly looks terrible with the espresso colored floors. Any good ideas for colors? Here is a picture of the floor. Thanks a ton for any ideas!

J.

Featured Answer

musicteacher

12 years ago

I too had dark wood floors put in and the rooms that look the prettiest are the colorful ones with white trim. Soft aqua (like Wythe Blue) in my DR and bright yellow and white in my kitchen.

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Comments (13)

dakota01
12 years ago
I have very dark floors also (hazelnut) and my trim is Chalk Grey - which is actually a creamy white. I too am searching for the perfect wall color. I hired someone to help w/my colors and she gave me a light grey - OMG it looks depressing and blah....
I am considering a gold tone for my FR which is my largest space in my open concept home.
I did put a turquise/teal with gold tones wall paper in my dining room and it looks GREAT.
I may need to hire someone else to help me find the perfect color to give life to my FR.
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yayagal
12 years ago
Palladian blue with SW roman columns trim looks gorgeous. If you like a creamy color wall then SW steamed milk also looks great with the roman columns, that's what I used in my master and then used color as the compliments.
treasuretheday
12 years ago
I did some searching on Houzz.com for you both and came up with some inspiration pics...

Bedroom with a color that was described as "close to Sherwin Williams' Renwick Golden Oak"

[contemporary bedroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2103) by sacramento interior designer Bruce R. Benning

This is one of my favorite inspiration photos... a living room with Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige:

[traditional living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by chicago interior designer Michael Abrams Limited

A dining room with what is believed to be Benjamin Moore's Grant Beige:

[contemporary dining room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2103) by chicago interior designer Michael Abrams Limited

This is a hallway/great room with what is believed to be Benjamin Moore Traditional Yellow:

[contemporary hall design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-hallway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_743~s_2103) by boston architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

This great room was done with a very soft blue (no paint color given):

[traditional living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by minneapolis design-build Schrader & Companies

If you're looking for a strong color, this office was done with Old Navy by Benjamin Moore (and lots of white!)

[traditional living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

Personally, I love espresso floors with a warm taupe, warm white trim and beautiful lighting! I'd avoid cool grey tones.

Cruzmisl, your picture didn't post. Could you try it again?

Hope these help... good luck!
cruzmisl
Original Author
12 years ago
That's great advice! I'm leaning towards the beige walls and light trim but I do like the blue options......my gut says the beiges will be warmer and more cozy which is ideal for a bedroom.

I do have a few more questions though. My master bath is painted in cool blue's/grey. Is that OK to have different color's in each? I know they're different spaces but had to ask since they are so close together. Attached are pics of the master bath for reference. Hopefully my isp will cooperate.
Thanks!!
J.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}
suero
12 years ago
Of course, you can have different colors in each, but pick a color for the bedroom that won't be jarring next to the bathroom walls. You might want to use the same color for the trim in the bedroom as in the bathroom, though.
CaroleOH
12 years ago
I have very dark brown floors in my house and have painted the entire downstairs Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige. It is my favorite go to color! Looks great with all colors - warm or cool. Very neutral tan - the color strip its on is a more taupey tan, but IRL Kilim Beige is a true neutral color and is a very pretty color too.
In my living room:

back hallway:
cruzmisl
Original Author
12 years ago
I was looking around and using some of the ideas above for reference. I saw this at the BJ website.

I was thinking of the Middlebury brown for the walls, white vanilla for the trim and maybe little falls for the ceiling. Thoughts?
vsalzmann
12 years ago
I have the exact same floors in my house. Some rooms are painted behr wax sculpture. The rest are behr mountain snow. I used behr espresso bean for accent walls and it looks amazing with the floors.
janealexa
12 years ago
I have natural white oak floors, but our cabinets and doors are dark walnut. We painted our walls SW Kilim Beige and the trim SW Alabaster (white, but not stark white). Also check out SW Pavilion Beige for the walls and SW Westhighland White for trim.

Blue looks great in the bathroom! In our current house we have a taupe color throughout the house. Except for the master where we have blue as well.

Regarding the ceiling, I would paint it the same color as the trim. Or I would go with the lightest (or a lighter color) on the same paint strip of your wall color. Middlebury brown looks fairly dark on my screen. White vanilla looks like it has a pink undertone on my screen. But it doesn't really matter what it looks like on my computer. Get samples and paint them in your space.

Good luck!
cruzmisl
Original Author
12 years ago
I went to look at the middlebury brown and wow was it an intense color. Too much for me. I have decided on colors and here is what I came up with (all BM colors)
Cotswald for the walls
Metropolitan for the ceiling
Vapor for the trim
Here is what they look like together on the interactive BM page,

I think in my space since the ceilings aren't flat it will look pretty good.

{{!gwi}}

I painted an area using the sample cans and it looks really nice. Much more dramatic than the interactive picture suggests. I'll post pics next week when its done.
patty_cakes
12 years ago
I have similar hand scraped dark floors and have *warm* tan walls. IMO it's very 'classy' looking. ;o)
User
12 years ago
The current craze may all be for white and light trim, but I've always been a fan of dark trimwork. One of my favorite rooms ever was one I did uh-hmmmm years ago in a old house a bunch of us rented together while going to college. It had dark oak floors, and we used a taupey greige for the walls and used an almost black for the woodwork. It was stunningly sophisticated for a bunch of barely twenty somethings!

So, I'd suggest inputting a pic of your room into one of the paint sites that will let you play around with color. I think Sherwin WIlliams and Behr both have that? See what looks good, but do try something close to the color of your floor.