Not sure if this is regional, I have lived in 6 or so houses and all have had white trim. I'm in California.

I feel like the bigger builders tend to use the white and the smaller builders use the stained wood.

When I was looking at existing homes the majority appeared to be stained wood.

The main point that came up was bumping the broom and vacuum cleaner into the baseboard. Then the paint will begin to yellow overtime.

Then for the cabinets since they show so much they tend to get over cleaned and the paint just starts to erode.

Can't say I have an opinion per se, just more or less curious what others have experienced.

Just curious where you are located - I'm not familiar with building norms all over the country but I know in certain areas (many parts of WI for example) they'll look at you crossed eyed if you say you don't want stained trim!

My personal opinion is that white trim is classic but may look out of place depending on the house style and may be a resale issue depending on the house location. None of that matters if it's what YOU want and go into it with your eyes open. White cabinets are classic, not a trend but they've have been VERY popular for a while to the point of over-saturation in magazines and on-line. That leads to pent up desire for something different with some buyers IMO, but what could possibly be more timeless than white cabinets in a classic door style? Go with your gut - there's a reason you're drawn to it.

We chose to go with white trim. White trim is totally classic, though I agree that depending on the style of your house could look out of place. If you're going for a more traditional look, paint the trim. I'm not a fan of stained wood trim, but I'm not a fan of the craftsman style in general, even if it is common here in WI. Our painter is using a water based enamel in a high gloss (per my request) and said it was a good choice since it will be tough as nails, and won't yellow nearly as much as an oil based enamel (if at all). He did ask me where I was from, since that's an uncommon choice here (he was right...I'm not from WI). If you do go for white trim, I would recommend doing at least a semi-gloss.

Just an FYI...one of the reasons some builders regularly show white painted trim is that they use MDF, not wood. You can't stain MDF. Some people think it's a shame to use hardwood trim and cover it with paint, but not me. Painted wood will always look better than painted MDF to me.

As for cabinets...

When my mom remodeled her house she chose white painted cabinets and said that was really her only regret (she also has white trim and has no complaints there). Between my younger siblings (it was worse when they were still little kids), their pets (they eat in the kitchen), and a clumsy husband, she says they're impossible to keep clean. I think she's right. In fact, they were cleaned so often, especially on the trash cabinet, that the paint did start showing some wear.

I also think they're super trendy right now and may be seen as passe soon. If you're really set on white cabinets, think about doing white uppers, and medium brown lower cabinets. It'll keep things bright, but the lowers, which are the ones that will really get dirty, won't show everything. We did our cabinets this way and even though the kitchen is still under construction I think it looks great.

All, thanks for the feedback!

DLM,
I'm in SE WI. Are you currently building in WI?

halycon,

Would you mind sharing a pic of your kitchen? Looks like there are quite a few images on google and I'm not if I like it or not. But it makes total sense.

Who are you building with by the way?

We have a mix of stained wood trim and white trim in our house. Stained wood trim in the common areas and white trim in all the other areas. Go with what you makes you happy.

It's a total unfinished mess, but at least this gives you some idea. I can post another after countertops go in tomorrow if you want.

We're in the Madison area, and ended up building with Alterra Design Homes and they have been great. Their sub-contractors are all top-notch. Brio is also one we would have considered if we had wanted to go a with a more outside the box design. Their designers seem to do an excellent job, but I have a feeling we would have spent waaaaay too much money with them. We weren't very impressed with the construction quality of some of the other bigger companies in the area.

Our cabinets are from Legacy Custom Remodeling and are Amish made. Josh is a joy to work with and we really love our cabinets. To make it even better, they cost about 1/3 the price of the expensive showroom cabinets we looked at, have more features, and are made with better materials. He also provided all our custom trim and it's absolutely perfect and beautiful. I know he has done some work outside of Madison, so it may be worth getting in touch if you haven't already found someone.

If you create a well designed house both in terms of how it flows and in terms of what you do with it design wise, you'll have no problems selling it no matter where.

whaas - we're building in western NC but till last Nov livee in NE IL, Highland Park specifically and I'm familiar with WI from Minocqua to Milwaukee! We used to own property in Oxford so we're honorary cheeseheads or FIBS depending on your point of view ;-) - I have friends in Neenah, son went to school at Marquette, niece to Madison.... WI is one of my favorite states but people there can be funny about the 'sanctity of wood grain' if you know what I mean!!

I painted my oak trim white 13 years ago. It was cream in the previous house. To be perfectly honest, the white trim chips and dents and needs touch ups. Wood doesn't show the problems. But I still prefer the white. A few touch ups every few years is worth it to me. And I feel I've had it long enough that it's not just a trend for me.

If you're in zone 5...you probably have a pretty long winter. I'd find a way to warm that white up, if you choose it. What looks good in summer may look cold in winter. White can be beautiful (I doubt it would ever look like crap) but it can have a bit of a gray cast, in the wrong light.

All, thanks for the additional comments. Always interesting to read the various view points.

halycon,
if you get a chance a pic with counters would be appreciated!

dlm,
Can't say I've run into too many that say WI is one of their favorite states, but I sure think it is!

It is always so fascinating to see what the norm is in other regions. Where I'm at, white trim is standard. Doesn't seem to matter the style. We've walked through traditional, craftsman, etc. but they all have white trim.

As for white kitchen cabinets, we installed new kitchen cabinets in our current home roughly 7 years ago now. I have to say it is the BEST part of my house! My kitchen looks so bright and up to date. Other than a little chipping here and there, they've held up superbly. No yellowing. They ARE hard to do touch-up paint (at least in my experience). I've found so far those little chips are best just left alone.

When we redid our kitchen, it took several tries to find a designer/contractor who weren't morally opposed at that time lol.

PS - I have beige walls and I LOVE how it looks! I incorporate color in rugs, curtains, accessories - but I just love the white cabinets next to the warm beige. It's like coffee in a cup lol.

Oh yeah - just have to add, I have 2 boys, a cat and a dog. I don't have any trouble keeping them clean. I do have to wipe them down occasionally, but it's nothing major. I do have a corner kitchen though, so it may not be as highly trafficked as some layouts where there's a pass-thru.

One of the kitchens we are considering looks like the one at the image. The white and beige combo you mentioned brought this to mind.