I do some freelance work as a historic homes color consultant. My neighbor and I chose colors and he painted his foursquare red with ivory trim - he has a black roof, it looks great. I'm painting my home olive with gold trim to contrast with his. They are a great pair of old houses that have definitely inspired others in the neighborhood. Id recommend NOT using the same color on the roof as anywhere else on the house. if you use red as the body, choose a non-red color for the roof (perhaps a deep deep green - it looks GREAT). And be careful of the shade of red you choose - Another neighbor replaced her original faded red standing seam roof with a new aluminum one in fire-truck red. it was not great, but I thought, at least she chose the "same kind" of roof. Then she painted all the trim RED - it looks like a KFC. Its horrible and an embarrassment to the neighborhood. Look thru Moss's exterior color books - he's the best man to research when it comes to exterior colors on historic homes. And please don't paint your house lavender with a red roof - just, please, don't

wow wow wow! I've never seen anything like that trim. Boy does it make the view pop! Can you post other photos of black trim in your house, Sandy? Or other photos of your home? That picture just blows me away. Did you paint the black yourselves? The high gloss looks terrific. I know it's very hard to get a clean finish with such a glossy paint. I'd love to hear more about what you did, how you did it, what the negatives might be, other positives that aren't immediately obvious...and where you live! We're on a quiet lake in western Massachusetts, just south of the Quabbin Reservoir. I noticed that what's shown of Holly Dyment's work all features white trim. Also noted that she does not use much textural contrast--mostly silky shiny surfaces and sheen. So much to think about! Thanks so much to everyone, and a special thanks to forhgtv for leading the way to Holly Dyment and sandyponder for posting her amazing trim. These developments have officially Rocked My World. Thanks everyone for your suggestions about colors and paint experts on the forums. I will hold back on the shout-out until I have photos to show what's happening here already.

seems to me the cabinets could remain as is but take down some uppers ..or just reface the uppers to white and get some glass doors on the uppers. then white counters and backsplash and under cabinet lighting. You would save all the cost of the lowers and if you remove some of the uppers that cost would diminish.....whether replace /paint /or reface those. You need white surfaces at counter level and up the walls ....the lowers in that wood tone are okay. the views shown are just barely adequate to give good feedback but just giving you my first impression. Shown: wood with white higher up.....accomplishes a lot and much less complicated /cheaper than what you are putting together as a proposal.

Yes, great thought! I am currently leaning towards arctic white. I also have a sample of cool white from a previous project I can try as well. Thanks!