Help with choosing a new color

6 years ago

So we decided to bring our house interior into the 21st century. We recently bought the house and all wood finish is very dated. The baseboards, crown moldings, kitchen cabinets are the same color (see pics). we're debating whether to stain it with a darker shade (walnut maybe?) or paint it with something brighter? White or Benjamin Moore Texas Leather color.

I think for us, the most difficult task is to choose the right color/finish. we're even considering replacing the whole wood work around the fireplace and modernize it. Paint may do that but the style is still dated. We're open to any/all suggestions no matter how drastic that is :)

TV cabinet next to the hearth room fireplace can only house a 46" TV and we spend a lot of time there. It's also in the corner, which isn't ideal. Any suggestions on what to do about that? we've considered mounting the TV above the fireplace but I think it will be too high!

Few design standard questions we have are:

1. Should the kitchen cabinet and crown molding/baseboard color be the same?

2. Should the crown molding and baseboard color be the same?

3. Should the fireplace trim+mantle and crown molding/baseboard color be the same?

Featured Answer

jhmarie

6 years ago

The woodwork in your home is lovely and an upgrade from white painted MDF, which is what is in new homes. Your woodwork has value and cost a bit to have installed. I have seen a lot of wood trim in new homes - the Parade Homes this year had about half with wood trim and the newer design pics are also showing some with wood trim - often mid tone warm wood. These were on This Old House site last week:

If you feel you must paint the trim, do only trim. Do not paint wood paneled doors - again of much more value than white MDF doors, and white doors have much more upkeep than wood.

If you want to change your warm tones home into a cool toned gray/white home - it will cost a great deal and you will finish about the same town the gray trend ends - some of the pros here say it is fading already in some area.

The cabinet door style of your kitchen is not current, but the kitchen has been nicely refreshed. You can paint the kitchen, but that won't change the door style. I have similar cabinets - but I am not bothered by the door style. I have considered new doors, but that would be expensive for the number of cabinets you have. You can do a new white kitchen and still keep the trim wood.

Do not be overly influenced by design sites like HGTV. While it is fun to see new designs and sometimes use them when they work in your home, HGTV is a marketing device used to get people to dislike their stuff so they will go out and buy new stuff. Unless you are quite wealthy, you will not be able to keep up with the change of trends.

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Comments (17)

PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
Texas leather

IMO molding and baseboard have their own life. They do not have to be the same color as FP.
Stewart Colley
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I like the wood and walls the way that they are. I'm not a fan of carpet however.
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Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
celerygirl, that looks really nice. Thanks for the effort. What tool did you use to change the color? btw, Texas leather is grey, right? the color you used looks like walnut maybe? with this color in the fireplace, what color would the molding and baseboard be? I'm adding a picture for the kitchen cabinets as well.
PRO
Flo Mangan
6 years ago
You should keep the crown molding the same throughout adjoining rooms, but it could be white or off white to a cream. The fireplace could be different as pointed out earlier. I would go and paint the whole unit a darker gray which would bring it more into today's looks. Need more photos to be sure, but I think I would put the sofa in front of the windows and put the TV on a console on the wall opposite the fireplace wall. Not above the fireplace for sure. No more room there and height is an issue. Can you remove the side built-in from the fireplace effectively? I would remove it if possible. Just isn't useful for today's life styles.
Project in Tiburon · More Info
You could paint the fireplace this deeper gray and even do white trim and other features white as well if you wished. Would brighten and update the whole look. But has to be done professionally if you want a good, durable, lasting look. Not a task for DIYers. IMO.
Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
Flo, that grey and white combination looks fantastic. what color is it? we did consider putting the TV on a the other side, the only issue is that the cable is wired inside the cabinet. if the basement was unfinished, I would definitely try to rewire things. I'm seriously considering removing the tv cabinet. I'm attaching another angle of the hearth room.
Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
also need some lighting advice for this room.
PRO
Flo Mangan
6 years ago
If you click on that picture it says the paint is Emulsion color I am not sure but a gray green. Which would look good with your existing wood. Then you could change out the wood blinds to a fabric Roman shade to soften things up with a soft print picking up some of the fireplace surround color you choose. As to lighting, your ceiling is low probably 8' but you could find a nice one I am sure. I will post a few but you have to make other choices first. Lighting last.
Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
jhmarie, thanks for your valuable comments. I know that the quality of the wood is nice in our home and it would be a waste to cover them with paint, but the finish isn't very nice. I'm a fan of darker stain but at the same time, it's a lot of work to refinish the woodwork.

A true dilemma!
PRO
Flo Mangan
6 years ago
I think some judicious painting while maintaining some of your wood can be done without sacrificing the beautiful solid woods. It is a matter of degree and that will be your choice. As to lighting you can take this in many design directions. The wood is very traditional but you have a fairly modern leather sectional. Here are a variety of choices.
Kim Bhoot thanked Flo Mangan
Abid Rahman
6 years ago
How abt this...
Kim Bhoot thanked Abid Rahman
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
Texas leather for me is brown/gray, it called as taupe. I use Texas leather to show how it looks like.

Ohhhh boy! Too much wood you have. I would go with gray or white if you want more contemporary look.
PRO
Flo Mangan
6 years ago

paint · More Info
I have used SW Cyberspace. It is a great color and I think would work well in your room for the fireplace surround. It would also really calm all the other wood in the space.
Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
If we decide not to paint, what are some staining options to make it not look dated?
PRO
Flo Mangan
6 years ago
Staining would require stripping the existing finish and that is a ton of work. It is also tough to kill the yellow undertones with just stain. But it can be done. Do you have a spot that isn't visible where you could experiment? I might try using some Ebony (black) and see what look that might give you. But I would not want to do all the wood that way, just selected spots like the fireplace surround. I would start with that and that is a "manageable" space. Preparation of the surface is the key to any surface change, so consult with your local paint shop (Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore) and their key person can help you determine what of their products would work best and how to prep for that product. Good luck. I wouldn't attempt this myself, I would hire a pro to do this. A lot of work for sure.
Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Can anyone help identify the stain/color used for this project? https://ml.houzz.com/AzGf/T05EIekX0G
Kim Bhoot
Original Author
6 years ago
After