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Paint Design Dilemma Before & After

Should I paint our walls the same as the trim?

6 years ago

The trim in our house BM OC-8 (elephant tusk) and the walls are SW Whole Wheat. I'd like a more neutral look and am thinking about just painting the walls the same as the trim, but in a different finish. Should I do this or paint the walls just a tad darker such as BM Clay Beige or Muslin??

Featured Answer

PRO

Home Interiors with Ease

6 years ago

I love the look of a flat paint and trim in a semi gloss same color...beautiful look!

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Comments (13)

PRO
Storm Interiors
6 years ago
I would definitely NOT paint the walls and trim the same. I am not sure what you are going for but we consistently use a semi-gloss finish for trim in BM white. The of the finish and color on the walls in trim makes undoubtedly makes the space richer.
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From your description I would advise you not to paint the walls white. White needs light to come to life and becomes drab when you don't have enough light. With the flooring you selected I would stick with the taupe colors for your walls. Taupe can be tricky. I have found that many of the taupe colors in both SW and BM tend to either be too gray or have too much purple. The nicest taupe I have found is by C2. You can order samples and paint from the company if you don't have a C2 store in your area. Test the color Filament and Archival. The first BM color I would test would be Pale Oak. It is a bit more gray than the C2 colors, but is a light taupe. I would paint the ceilings the same color as the walls.and would use white for the trim. The white should be the same hue and the white counter. Please test paint colors using large samples. I like to paint my samples on 140 lb watercolor paper - it simulates walls pretty well. Spraying paint creates a slightly lighter color and colors look lighter when they are on a perfectly smooth surface. Most pre-painted samples that you can buy are sprayed and on slick paper. Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Amazon have watercolor paper in a variety of sizes. For neutrals and whites I like the larger sheets (18x24). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NQ49PLM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1
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Kim Q
6 years ago
No! Oh man, the last house we were in came with everything the same shade of boring beige. Painting the doors and trim white made a dramatic difference and made everything look much happier.
noladesign
6 years ago
I like painting everything the same or painting the trim 2 shades darker-it's very sophisticated. I'm kind of tired of white trim everywhere.
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
6 years ago
So gorgeous!
Rawketgrl
6 years ago
This is a pretty neutral look.. What is it that you don't like about your current colors?
tatts
6 years ago
Home Interiors With Ease: Except that's not what it looks like in real life. No room you've ever been in looks like that in real life. To achieve that look in the magazine or online they have adjusted the gamma curve to the near breaking point. That room owes its look entirely to Photoshop.

Rawketgrl: Yuck. My reaction to that is far from neutral. I could never live in a house dominated by that color. And I don't consider it neutral at all; it's a color that lots of people are trying to get away from, judging by the posts and photos in this forum..
mnmamax3
6 years ago
We too have cream trim (BM OC-6 Feather Down). We had a very similar combination (our walls were Spice Gold) and recently painted our walls a mid-tone grey. It's hard to find a light color that is saturated enough to hold up against a very creamy trim. In your case, if you are not looking to add another different color, I think a monochrome look would actually be your best bet and the cream will keep it from being too stark. If you do it, I'd love to see pictures because I have been considering that look for my home too and your trim color is similar to ours.
laxmom thanked mnmamax3
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
6 years ago
Tatts do you need a snicker bar? Believe me I have seen many all white homes in my 20+ years in design and it is a gorgeous timeless look! I did not claim this was your every day house image it is gorgeous so I thought I would share...please stop calling me out..just post your thoughts and move on....
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
6 years ago
SW whole wheat is very dark...
palimpsest
6 years ago
I am doing a series of rooms where the trim and walls are in the same color at different sheens. It's a contemporary house that lends itself to this, but I have also only done this on the bedroom floor, which is relatively closed plan. I will probably do this on the first floor as well but in a very light color.

However--when we bought the house. this had been done over the entire house to neutralize it:

It photographed fine for the listing photos, but in real life this color really darkened the house.
Diane
6 years ago
We painted walls and trim same color BM distant grey changing the sheen. We love it no regrets and get lots of complements as it works for our interiors. Not for everyone or every home, but then what is? I think finding what works for your space is what makes a house your home.
tmewis
4 years ago
14 years ago we painted our walls and trim the same color and I'm planning to do it again when we re-paint the entire house very soon. Our house was built in 1938 with an addition at some point in the 1950's, but there's nothing remarkable about the details or the trim. We chose 2 colors for most of the house - a light to midtone for the front, or public part of the house, and a darker color for the private bedrooms in the back. The child's room was a completely different color, but all 3 work well together. Having the walls and trim the same color gives our older home a more contemporary, minimal vibe.

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