Who says honey oak trim can't be modernized? These days, oak and wood trim seems to be an epidemic that most homeowners are trying to find a workaround for. Most homeowners feel it’s either too expensive or would take too much time to do something about it. Dependent upon your attitude, time, and budget, here are several ways to fall in love with your trim again or lose some of it for a refreshed new look.
LOVE IT!
The good news is that oak trim is not necessarily bad for everyone. It can be done very well with the right design. Paint choice and decor makes an oak-filled home feel warm and welcoming.
The right paint:
To work around your oak trim, here are some basic paint rules. Think about the tone or how dark or light the wood trim is before you make your make your paint selection, then pick a color that offers a contrast to the tone.
For example: if you have a medium toned oak wood you would either want to make a neutral paint color selection that is either dark or light in tone. You almost never want to choose a medium color or medium toned paint color for a medium toned wood. This is why a warm white or a very light beige or gray will almost always work with the medium toned oak wood. The same is also to be said about deep charcoal color, because they are both contrasting the warm toned wood.
Earth tones always work well with your oak trim. The reason behind this logic is because both the earth toned colors and the trim are so close to the natural outdoors. Again, the same tone rule applies even when you’re choosing a color off of this chart. Make sure you choose a tone that will contrast your oak trim.
Updated furniture and decor:
Choosing a few quality contemporary furniture and decor items over a collection of many is key. Focusing on living in an airy, neutral design plan with pared back decor accessories and vastly decluttered belongings brings out a sense of peace in wood trim homes that is, simply, stylish, homey and peaceful. Be inspired by the photos below.
LOSE IT?
There are some homeowners out there that feel that their oak trim is just bad and dated. It may take up the entire house and they feel as if it’s everywhere and they can’t escape it, so they lose it. They make the choice to paint every piece of their trim and cabinets white. This is labor-intensive and costly to hire it out.
Some homeowners, however, also feel a guilt complex for wanting to paint over an oak or a wood trim. Some ideas for those in this category are to mix it up between oak and paint, add ceiling molding, paint cabinets, and/or stain it darker. Yes, your wood trim can be an essential part of a newly refreshed design scheme. Be inspired by the photos below.
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