Dark mahogany cabinets...and doors...and crown...and baseboards. Help
4 years ago
So, my house was built in 2006.
Some upgrades for the area at the time...granite, crown, fixtures, gas fireplace in master, etc.
Trying to decide on color scheme - will be updating with stainless in the kitchen, and walls will be painted greige most likely.
The house has A LOT of wood throughout, all stained with Gemini Gem Tone Dark Mahogany wiping lacquer. All of it.
Baseboards. Crown molding. Living room 'columns'. Wall above both fireplaces. Kitchen, bathroom and laundry room cabinets. Over 20 interior doors and door facings.
All carpet (except the upstairs bonus room) has been replaced with a dark wood pattern laminate. It almost matches the trim/cabinets.
We're thinking the cabinets will stay stained the dark mahogany color.
Would it be 'acceptable' to paint the crown molding and baseboards white?
If cabinets in all locations stay the mahogany color, what trim pieces could be a different color? Should all trim, including doors and door trim match? What are the rules?
Any help is appreciated.
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
should trim be uniform in a house?
Comments (15)Quit listening to your Mother and MIL :) My mother thinks what I do is goofy quite often, but she's sweet enough to say she likes it anyhoo. But she and I often do not agree about decor stuff and if it's my house, I get my way, her house, her way. I value her input, but it's just input and fits the way she lives, but not always the way I live. I do put mirrors by doors, but not all doors (I have nine LOL so I have different things at each). For the ones the family uses when going out I do have mirrors. For the others, art typically. In my townhouse I have trim in self contained rooms that does not match the room next to it, but when I do this I make sure that there is something else that unifies the rooms, be it wall color (subtle differences but same tone) or window trim etc. In that house the kitchen has crown and toe molding that matches the cabinets because it blends in better than a change of molding, but the window frames are painted to match the other windows in the house. The same for my son's bathroom and my master bath, which have crown that matches the cabinets and windows that match the rest of the house. In those rooms the baseboards are stone. Sounds like a lot of different stuff but it all flows quite well. It's kind of builder basic to have it all exactly the same (IMO). If you look at good decor mags, notice that the trims in one room are often different than the others. I personally prefer to paint trim when it makes sense (especially newer stuff that isn't high quality wood) and also leave the gorgeous stuff stained if that makes sense. I will come back and post a pic later, but I have one room with white trim and a dark door (wild cherry 100 years old so it's pretty dark) and it looks terrible together so think about that when considering painting doors. On the other hand, a light wood door as someone mentioned above would flow really well with white trim. In that room I'm going to be lazy and paint the trim navy blue so that it's dark against the dark doors and when DS is older I'll strip the wood because it is great wood. I just don't want to do it now while he's a small child (fumes) and it's the quicker fix. This is historic wood so it's worth making it all wood again. You see that in many historic places by the way. The wood on the main floor is often quite nice quality and then on the family floors and servants floors you'll see it painted because they spent their money on the floors for "show". As to that cabinet. In my case, the cabinet in my dining room flows into the wood wainscoting so I'd not paint it and leave the wood unpainted or visa versa. But in some places it's a good option. Honestly if you post a pic here you'll get a few opinions, maybe something you haven't even though about :) I'm a confident decorator, but I absolutely love to post a room and pick the brains of the wonderful people here. They often come up with something I wouldn't have thought of or they'll agree with my idea or disagree, but they're always honest and give a range of opinions which helps me think about a direction to go. So post away :) We love to play in other people's houses LOL By the way, I'd consider not doing stark white for your trim if you want to leave the doors...a lighter cream like ralph lauren's startched apron or writers parchment, will flow better with your unpainted trim. (Both read white, one has a slightly pink tone and the other slightly yellow tone so you would use the one that makes sense with your carpets etc)....See MoreJoann - cabinet staining directions . . .
Comments (36)I found my old directions that I used for my doors. One thing I see different is diluting the BLO with turpentine, and the poly was gloss diluted 3:1. I bought a plastic measure paint cup from Lowes so I could use the lines to guesstimate. And I think I applied the BLO mixture with a disposable foam brush. The only other thing I did differently is I used the Minwax wipe on poly in satin for my final coat to get rid of some of the shine. I was too chicken to sand and rub it down. I worked in a closed room in the basement with fan in window pulling air out. We have a golden retriever and this room was off-limits and I had no problem with hair in finish. That would have bothered me, too. Directions from JoAnn: Here is the way we finish everything, especially flat sawn oak. Flat sawn red oak has dark characteristic cathedrals -- they are the dark part of the wood and take the stain dark. This is why you first have to seal the wood with Boiled linseed oil (BLO) first. I thin the BLO with a little turpentine and wipe on lightly on with a rag. It can take 2 to 3 days to dry. It needs to be thoroughly dry before applying the stain. wipe on the stain wait a few minutes then wipe off the excess. The BLO makes the stain take evenly and not soak deeply into the dark part of the oak... After the stain is dry, (24 hours later) lightly sand with a fine sanding sponge and then wipe down with a tack rag. then you're ready to stain... wipe on the stain wait a few minutes then wipe off the excess. I use minwax oil based stain. We use Golden Pecan and English Chestnut. The base we use on our stuff is mostly Golden Pecan with a splash of English Chestnut. We always apply all finishes with a soft rag. wait 24 hours until the stain is thoroughly dry then lightly sand and tack rag it again before applying the poly... For the final finish, use minwax oil based gloss poly, that you thin with about 3 parts gloss poly to 1 part turpentine. Again, apply the poly with a rag. (we never use a brush) Now your probably thinking 'I don't want shiny doors.' You can control the amount of shine with a light sanding between coats with the sanding sponge. Apply three coats of poly -- wait 24 hours for the first coat, and the second and third coat can be applied in about 12 hours if the environment is warm and dry. Sand and use the tack cloth between all coats. After the last coat of poly is applied and thoroughly dry, lightly sand with the sanding sponge, and then rub down with a rough rag like a piece of denim until you achieve a soft luster. I'll get some photos of things we've finished in this method. It takes time, but it's worth it, if you want a professional looking outcome....See MoreLyptus, Cherry or Maple. Which won't compete with Fir trim.
Comments (7)I have virtical grain fir trim which has rubbed on oil finish through out the house. (this is not varnish or shellac. This is wet sanded with oil finish. You need 3 to 5 coats of finish on the wood. This is expensive if you are paying someone to do it. It is quite easy to do yourself. My trim has been placed over 10+ year period. (expensive remodel that got done in stages....) Main floor:2001 Basement: 2005 Top floor:2010 Surprisingly, after a few months, you don't notice the difference in the age that much. I have some cherry furniture with rubbed on (wet sanded) oil finish and VG Fir veneer cabinets with factory conversion varnish. The cherry was not, stained only finished with oil. Fir darkens significantly. It starts immediately and continues over the first few years, much like cherry. The color you see immediately is not what you will see after a short while, as shown above. If you are staining to match fir, this is nearly impossible because you don't know where fir will end up in a few years. Since you are taking off old paint from the wood, my guess is that the fir under neath will not have darkened. But old wood may have been darkened then painted. I think it is better to pick woods that darkens over time and let those wood darken together over time. This is why cherry works well with fir. My floors are red oak that has Osmo on it. I had Swedish finish before. Osmo brings out more red from the oak than the Swedish finish did. I like my wood unstained. This is my preference....See MoreIsland preference (match cabinets or accent color)
Comments (53)We just recently did a remodel/redesign of our existing kitchen that is only 6 years old. I have always liked the look of a contrasting accent island from the perimeter cabinets, but wasn't sure if I had the courage to take that risk. I also worried that it might date the kitchen too soon after spending such a huge amount of money, but my youngest DD finally put it into perspective when she said it's basically the same as only putting out your best linens and dishes for company. Why worry about about 10 or 12 years from now (I may not even be here tomorrow) when I could be loving and enjoying it today? Since we were remodeling the living room and adding a fireplace, as well, we thought we would have the cabinet makers do the fireplace surround in the same finish as the Island to have the areas complement each other. Please overlook the new laundry room door that hasn't been painted and without knob and also the ceiling still needs to be painted. Perimeter Cabinets are Oak with Mahogany stain, the Island is Glazed Ivory. New Fireplace Mantle Surround in Living Room to complement the Kitchen Remodel...See More- PRO4 years ago
- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
PRO4 years agolast modified: 4 years agomike, your first pictures are very tiny, so it's hard to really get a good look at them.
everything is very dark. I think lightening it up a big would do wonders. don't know about greige though. are you keeping everything in the kitchen? it's very 2006. up to you if you want to switch it out.
My kitchen looked exactly like that and I just redid it. painted the cabs, new countertops, flooring, etc. what a diff. 15 years is about the time that things need to be switched up a bit.
As for the fireplace, Have you thought about redoing the tile beneath it? If you did something in a white marble or stone, maybe hung some art,,,
just a quick photoshop idea:
I'd also paint the crown and the baseboard a nice white. It would 'lighten' the room up a bit. start with that and then see if you think the other trim needs it.If it were mine, I'd bring in bigger baseboard. what you have is really small for the size of this house. 5" is the norm now.
ditto w/your door and window casing. I'd do something a bit wider and simple.
even switching out the silver round door knobs to something a bit more updated, would make a big difference
i like the other dark elements (like the large trim on the doorway passthrough) and think it would look better w/a diff wall color and the white crown and base.The laundry room could really use a bit of love. that would be relatively easy. paint, something bright, new countertop, and a new tile floor and removal of the florescent light fixture.
Mike thanked Beth H. :- 4 years ago
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