Trim Advice Requested- Window, Door Casing, and Baseboard

A Naka

last month

Hello,

We have a contemporary house and would like to know if the trim colors need to be consistent.

The house has:

black interior windows with a black window trim around the frame. It is a 3/4” trim so it looks like it is a part of the window.
white interior doors with black hinges and black hardware.
baseboards are 1x6.

For the interior doors, can I paint the casing (probably 3”) white and the baseboards white - same color?

Will it look mismatch since the windows are black? Or will it be fine?

Thank you for your input!

Featured Answer

millworkman

last month

Pictures? Type of home? Other furnishings and their colors? Context is key.

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Comments (15)

A Naka
Original Author
last month
@millworkman thank you for the response. Unfortunately, I do not have any photos because the work is not yet done. It is a modern California style home with a flat roof. 1st floor has 10 ft (8’ interior doors) and 2nd floor (6’8” interior doors) has 9 ft ceilings.

Walls will be painted white. Floors will have 5” natural white oak floors. Interior doors will be white with black hinges and hardware.

Furnishings will be modern; 1st Fl open concept where the kitchen will open to Family room with a linear fireplace.

Windows have been installed and has black stains. The trim around the windows will also be black (not yet done).

Question is- with the black stained windows, if we put white minimalistic (maybe 3” or less) casing around the white interior doors and use 1”x6” modern baseboards also painted in white, will this combination work with the black trim windows, or must we put in black door casing and black baseboards.
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I love your warm stained doors and woodwork and I would never paint them. They also look to be in great condition. My doors and trim in my home are done just like yours , stain color and all. It is one of the best features of my home, I think. My front door stained trim is also done just exactly like yours and it looks fine with a large wreath placed on the door. It draws the eye off everything else. The wreath co-ordinates nice with the wood trim. . Once you paint stained wood work there is no going back. Unless you want to rip it all out. Crate and Barrel has some nice wreaths that would look great on your door, in particular their Red Berry Wreath would look nice .
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The finger joints frequently telegraph through the paint and become visible in a year or five. It probably depends somewhat on just how evenly the wood was dried prior to fabrication, but also on small variation in seasonal movement from piece to piece of wood from different trees. The former can be solved by acclimating the wood to the house and sanding it even prior to finishing, the latter can't. Something to bear in mind-- if that's going to bother you, upgrading to poplar will solve the problem.
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PRO
Virgil Carter Fine Art
last month
No black casings and/or baseboards. White will be fine. All the same white.
Joy M
last month
Just because your interior window trim is black doesn’t mean your baseboards and door casings must be. Seems like designer Jeff Lewis does black interior window trim too. With 10’ ceilings you may consider larger baseboards and trim though. I’ll try to find the article referencing architectural dimensions.
Joy M
last month
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-size-interior-trim-for-a-finished-look-stsetivw-vs~2934773
A Naka
Original Author
last month
Virgil and Joy, thank you so much for your input, for the informative link, and most of all for reassuring me that white baseboard and casings can be used.

From Joy’s link, this home with the floating stairs (we will have 4” white oak threads with black stringer) resembles the modern home we are building.

If 6” baseboards are used, then door casing should be 3” or is there another dimension recommended for a modern look? Not certain what is used in this photo.
Joy M
last month
Yes, door trim would be half the dimension of the baseboards. Are you set on 6” baseboards? We have 9’ ceilings and used 7” baseboards based on the recommended 7%.
A Naka
Original Author
last month
Hi Joy, good point. In that case, the 10 ft ceiling on the first floor, will it be the 7” (same as 2nd fl) or 8” baseboard? I was planning to use the square edge boards.

With the higher boards, do I need a quarter round or just leave it like the photo from the house above?
Joy M
last month
For consistency I would probably use the same size baseboard on the first and second floors. I wouldn’t use quarter round but this is all IMHO. Be sure to share pictures when you’re done.
A Naka
Original Author
last month
Hi Joy, thank you again for all the recommendations! 😬😬
J Sk
last month
I posting a few picture from my house. Maybe it will help you. Ceilings 9ft, baseboards 5 1/2", door casing 3", window (didn't catch mistake) 3 1/2".
A Naka
Original Author
last month
Hi J, thanks so much. The photos really help! Your home looks beautiful. Love the glass on the stairs! 😍😍
A Naka
Original Author
last month
What style of shoe moulding will you be using for the baseboards (if you are using them).
J Sk
last month
last modified: last month
@A Naka, we didn't plan to have any, we hoped/expected for the baseboard to be better with no significant gaps. We are leaving baseboard as is for now. We had a long and exhausting built and we need to take a breath lol
A Naka
Original Author
last month
Hi J, I am also leaving it off but the builder said he can’t guarantee there will be no gaps between the hardwood and baseboards. And yes, I am feeling the same. So far, everyone had told me it’s worth the wait. 🤞🏻🤞🏻