Should My Window Trim Match — or Contrast With — the Sash?
The short answer: It depends
Jennifer Ott
August 30, 2016
San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's work has been featured in many print and online publications. Her recently-published book, "1000 Ideas for Color Schemes," is a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-navigate guide that takes the guesswork out of selecting the perfect color palette for your home or special event. For more information on Jennifer Ott Design, visit http://jenottdesign.com/.
San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's... More
One of the most common questions I get during exterior color consultations is whether the window trim should be painted the same color as the sash. It’s a good question. And the answer is frustratingly complicated. But before we dive into it, let’s start with a quick primer on a couple of key terms used to describe the exterior of a window.
There are many parts and pieces that make up a window, but in the interest of keeping it simple, we’ll limit our discussion to the sash vs. the casing or trim. The sash is the frame that houses the glass. The easiest way to think about it is that it’s the part of an operable window that moves with the glass. The casing comprises the stationary trim pieces that frame out the window opening and add a decorative, finished look.
When the window is viewed from the exterior, we mostly see the front face of the sash (a purple-pink in the first photo and dark gray in the second photo) and the casing or trim (white in both examples).
With a few exceptions that I will go into later, I prefer to see the sash and the trim painted contrasting colors. It’s a great way to add a small slice of interesting color and can help break up the facade of a home — especially helpful for tall or large homes.
With a few exceptions that I will go into later, I prefer to see the sash and the trim painted contrasting colors. It’s a great way to add a small slice of interesting color and can help break up the facade of a home — especially helpful for tall or large homes.
Here’s another example of contrasting sash and trim, but in this instance the sash is white and the trim goes dark. The dark trim really defines and accentuates the windows and also contrasts nicely with the light siding color.
Confusion tends to arise, however, with newer window units that have extra, visible trim elements built in. Here, the sash is a neutral color, but so is the additional, attached frames around the sash. The outer trim is then painted a contrasting dark red.
Many people, myself included, feel this looks out of proportion. A contrasting sash looks best when it’s a single, simple line of color. This unit’s frame has so many extra planes and edges, it looks clunky and overdesigned to me. And the contrasting outer trim calls even more attention to the various extra framing pieces.
Many people, myself included, feel this looks out of proportion. A contrasting sash looks best when it’s a single, simple line of color. This unit’s frame has so many extra planes and edges, it looks clunky and overdesigned to me. And the contrasting outer trim calls even more attention to the various extra framing pieces.
It’s especially problematic when the outer window trim is very thin. Here, the window sash and built-in frame piece, both in white, are thicker than the surrounding casing trim, in dark brown. The outer trim just isn’t beefy enough to work as a contrasting element. The sash looks best when it’s the finer, more delicate element.
You could, of course, keep just the sashes white and then paint the white frame piece around the sashes to match the darker outer trim, but this can void the warranty of the window, so it’s not an option for everyone.
You could, of course, keep just the sashes white and then paint the white frame piece around the sashes to match the darker outer trim, but this can void the warranty of the window, so it’s not an option for everyone.
My preference, then, for newer windows with these extra built-in frame pieces is to paint the outer trim the same color as the sash. It cleans up the entire unit, and helps camouflage the additional planes and edges.
Another option is to paint the outer trim to match the surrounding siding. The thick bands of the dark red sash and built-in trim don’t appear as chunky here because the surrounding elements are the same, or similar, in hue. They help knock down the thickness of the sash and its matching framing trim piece.
Here’s another example of window trim that matches the siding color. It’s a clean, elegant look. The window trim blends in and doesn’t compete with the strong black lines of the window sash and frame.
Stay tuned for ideas on coordinating window sash and trim colors with your overall siding color.
More: Which Window for Your World?
Stay tuned for ideas on coordinating window sash and trim colors with your overall siding color.
More: Which Window for Your World?
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Thank you for your thoughts!
We are currently getting new siding on a home we are renovating and are trying to decide on this same question. We are planning to paint the siding an off white and accent with brown. Would love to hear some ideas or suggestions!
A lot of different comments on this question which is what I’m looking for. I keep going round and round about the color for the window trim. There have been some construction compromises which I would like to minimize by accentuating other features. We had some warm days last week so I painted the front of the house with my chosen color but not the gable and band trims.
The roof is Owens Corning Estate Gray which has light green and gray blue specks. The body is SW Oyster Bay which is a gray green. I painted the double window trim SW Acacia Haze and the single window SW Sandbar which matches the vinyl. im thinking of painting the center gable shingles SW Castiron ( dark gray green almost bronze) along with all the fascia while the right side shingles and thick trim the Oyster Bay of the body. I plan on painting the door a lighter reddish color, SW Rojo Dust instead of the Firebrick Red.Thoughts?