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We Painted Our Trim White

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There’s a project I’ve been wanting to tackle for the three years that we’ve lived here, and it’s finally done.

Well, almost.

Two weeks ago we dove into the project and didn’t look back. We primed all of the trim in the living room, dining room, and hallway (here’s a house tour with the rooms). It took a whole week. This past weekend we gave the trim the first coat of paint (Valspar Bistro White), the second, painted the living room walls (Valspar Stillness), and took off all of the tape. If you want real time updates or more before and afters and sneak peaks, I’ve been have posting on my Instagram and Facebook. Those are like my other blogs, haha.

This is not the after. This just the during. 🙂

paintcolors

Before anyone yells at me or gets secretly angry or sad (I know there are many wood trim lovers out there!), the trim was in bad shape. Beat up after 76 years of living, paint splatters, huge gouges, and a filth that washing couldn’t take away.

Tonight and tomorrow, we are going to re-tape the trim and paint the hallway and dining room walls two different shades of greige (gray beige, or warm gray). We are almost done. The end is in sight.

 

I am exhausted. My hand is swollen from painting so much. I don’t want to paint ever ever ever again. I have a lot of work ahead putting this room together and you’ll soon see why. (I can’t tell you just yet).

But holy cow.

I am so blown away with the results and am so happy we dove in head first. Stay tuned…

Comments

  1. It should be illegal to paint. wood trim in old houses. You deny the grain, warmth, and character for sterile uniformity that might as well be MDF underneath. What a shame.

    • While I respect your opinion, I feel differently if it’s in bad shape and making the house look junky. Not everyone can invest in refinishing old trim, nor handle the fumes involved. It’s not always a new look, I’ve seen old homes with old painted trim. I love the look of wood trim in the right space, but for us we chose to go white and maintain it as need be.

  2. I have been trying to do that with out wood. Repaint instead of replace. It isn’t going well. Can you tell me how you did your? Primer type, paint etc. I would love to keep the wood of the old house but it is in BAD shape painting it I think will save it.

  4. Ok, wonderful! I am so glad to hear that because I really have had my heart set on this color since seeing your room! The room is burgundy now, so that’s probably really confusing my eye. I will definitely email you some pics once we get all painted and set up! Thanks for responding so quickly…I’m even more excited about my “new” room now!

    • keep me posted, and don’t forget to take before pictures!!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that. I’m excited to see how it comes together!

  5. Hi, this is gorgeous! I found you after googling light robin’s egg rooms to find the right paint color, and this was EXACTLY what I was picturing in my head! We, too, live in an old house, and this color adds the perfect amount of charm! I went and bought a sample of the paint, but it’s looking very white on the walls. Did yours look more white than blue before the whole room was painted? I’m just worried mine was mixed wrong or something. I’ll anxiously be waiting to hear from you! Thanks!

    • thank you, Whitney!

      It did look more white than blue. Also, next to the old beige it looked like a dirty electric neon mint color. I was so scared, haha! We almost stopped painting a few times because it looked so bad. Although I would hate to tell you to keep working even if it looks bad, I’m going to do just that. 🙂 The room looked like a completely different color when the whole thing was painted. I was still a bit nervous at night and when it was wet, but in the morning it was perfect.

      The color really changes with the light and looking into it now, it’s more minty. When the sun is coming in really bright, it looks more baby blue like in this post: http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/mom-cave-makeover-reveal/

      Let me know if you have any questions and if you need to email me any questions or pictures, feel free to! amheasley (at) gmail (dot) com. I would love to see what the room looks like (and I’m not just saying that)! 🙂

  6. We are thinking of doing the same thing to out wood trim.

    What was your prep process and what primer did you use?

  12. It looks awesome! Honestly, I had never seen dark trim until I started reading blogs. Maybe it’s because none of the homes in my area are truly older? (We refer to anything prior to 2000 “old”, only because a hurricane usually comes along and wipes everything out every 30 years or so.) But I love the white and blue – it looks so fresh and clean!

  13. WOW! I would have hated to paint the trim (but after what you said I can understand why you did). But your room looks amazing!!! Jaw dropping amazing. And gorgeous. The paint color is so pretty. Great job. What paint did you use and the name of the color-if you don’t mind sharing?

  14. Wow! What a difference the paint made! Love the white trim; we did the same thing in our house when we moved in last summer. The room looks so bright and airy now. Great job!!

  19. I love the white trim and it will be so much easier to keep clean and in great shape compared to wood. I’ve lived with both and will take white any day! What a beautiful change!

  22. There is pretty much nothing I love more than white trim! We’re planning on dry-walling over the paneling in our living/dining room and painting it almost this exact color. Fingers crossed it looks half as good as this 😀

    • thank you, Kelly! It makes me feel like I have a whole new house. 🙂

      Two more days and I will. Two more days… Can I start counting down the hours? I don’t wanna paaaaaaaaint!!! 😉

Instagram

  • Day 2 of drywall taping in the dining room, mudroom/laundry room! The first time we walked into this (former) kitchen, the seller’s realtor laughed and said “everyone walks through here with wide eyes and big plans, but Chip and Joanna Gaines aren’t going to bust in the door to help out!!” Unfortunately he was right and they haven’t busted in. 😏 We knew there was potential in this “tear down” property. We knew we could transform things, and yet I had no idea how or if we would get to see it happen. If you’re living in construction mess or dreaming of the after, take heart. You’re not alone! We will get there!

About Ann Marie

Ann Marie Heasley

Hello! My goal is to help you seek beauty in your everyday life. Here I’ll share my experiences and offer tips on how to simplify, seek beauty, create a home you enjoy, or declutter through my annual #40bagsin40days challenge.

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