apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It also makes the ceiling seem higher.

What do you guys think about using molding 3/4 up a wall and painted the same white as the ceilings and baseboards to show off high ceilings?

We have a 9 foot high wall on the exterior and the ceilings slope up the 20' pitched roof. So he have ample space but it seems very boring.

When the tenants move out and we move in to our new house I will send photos.

I see that you even painted the door the same color. Is that a closet door?

and is more contemporary. Crown molding and basebards are more traditional, by design. I love this look!

Funny- I am right at this moment moving into a new rental... the baseboards and doors are painted the same color as the walls and I can't decide if I hate it or if I can live with it. Only a time constraint kept me from repainting the entire thing prior to moving in, and now I have a wait and see attitude...Maybe once my furniture is in place I will like it more. It is definitely NOT a fun vibrant color like the yellow above.

I don't like it.

i don't like it either

Is something missing? Are the wood floors supposed to have a 1/4 round thing near the baseboard? Or is that painted too?

it looks bad.

I like it. It does simplify an overly complicated wall--too many openings.

It's the poor folk's version of minimalist, no molding walls.

I agree with johnjames. This reeks of high school rec-room, hs senior's pool hall... rooms decorated by lazy and overbold adolescents (think indigo no trim colour). It just looks cheap to me. In fact, in my house, the walls, door and trim were all painted like above and it drove me nuts. I ended up painting ONLY the trim (because I too am lazy, espescially when it comes to improvements on my rental that my landlord refuses to fund or support in any way)

And you definitely need quarter rounds.

it reminds me of the movie 'But I'm a Cheerleader' but they didn't go all the way with it.

Painting everything the same color gives me the impression you are cheap, and lazy.

Just spent the last MONTH painting my living room to NOT look like this. Each wall has so much trim and detailing and though it's white on white I like the subtle variations in sheen,

Are the doors very tall or the ceilings extremely low? Why not go really far and do something about your switchplates?

Quarter-round moulding is used to cover up sloppy floor installation. For that matter, baseboards cover up a lot of sloppy sheetrock installation. It takes more time, skill and attention to install walls without moulding.

David Hicks made details like doors go away by covering them in wallpaper to match the surrounding wall. It lets one concentrate on the decor rather than being distracted by the utilitarian aspects of a space.

NO.

I am not loving this at all. The color, however, is great.

Besides looking, um, "bad," (sorry) the main thing is that when someone paints existing moulding the same color as the wall, it looks amateurish - like the homeowner didn't want to bother taping it off, was in a hurry, or was trying to hide mistakes. The sort of thing one sees in an apartment in a college town, where the landlord just doesn't care.

Also, pvett is right that one purpose of mouldings is to hide sloppy installation (important for most people have no control over choices made by drywall installers years earlier). But another purpose is to protect the bottom part of the walls from routine damage from vacuum cleaners, stubed toes and whatnot, and to protect doorframes and other vertical edges from routine soiling and damage from passing people's hands and the things they carry.

If you have a hodgepodge of painted and natural wood mouldings (a mixture sometimes CAN be a good look after all), a better solution is to unify them by painting the natural ones or replacing the painted ones. This, btw, is one reason why so many mouldings ended up being painted - because of the cost to go backwards, it usually ends up being a one-way journey.

Well you've officially changed my mind on this. I'd never think to paint the baseboards the same as the wall, let alone the doors. I'm planning on painting my bedroom a bold green hue and I think I just might take your advice on this. Thanks! Btw. I'm reading "The Eight Step Home Cure" and loving it. I'm planning on giving it away as gifts to friends. It's a great read.

No, really. Look again. There's almost no wall above the doors. Contrasting trim would make that look all stupid. I'm also not in love with this color, it's the same color as the hallway where I work, which nobody can remember why it was chosen.

I love this. I love it so much, that I've done it in my kitchen. I painted the wall, frames and door (that houses the washer/dryer) all the same color.

It's not a look that every room can pull off, but in the right ones, it's fabulous.

GORGEOUS!

Not so much a fan. The color is not my taste, and I like the contrast of trim VS wall. I bet the space is amazing but it's hard to tell since there's not much for actual "space" shown, rather lots of "stuff".

Dreadful.

We did this in our apartment, but used flat paint for the wall and pearl paint for the trim. I think it looks great

Forgot to mention one more nitpick - it sure looks from the picture as if the closet door hinges also were painted. That's another classic sign that someone took shortcuts instead of taking the time to do a clean job. Why not just slather over the doorknobs, outlets and the light switches while you're at it. ;-) Sry, don't mean to be harsh; it's just a gut reaction.

If your lighting is not well-blended and ambient (and perhaps even if it is), you'll still get shadows that will visually pull the moldings out of the wall. Since that'll happen, I find it a bit implausible that merely painting everything the same color will move you toward a less complicated visual space - presumably your goal.

I'm glad you like it though, and grateful that you've shared it with us. I wish some of the negative comments were a bit more detailed and constructive since I think it's a great question generally.

I'm about to paint a whole lot of wall, and I'm tempted to pull all the trim, baseboard and molding off the wall, repair the drywall, and then paint. What you've done is the alternative, and it's great to see it.

I don't like this at all. It looks sloppy/ amateurish. I really dislike the color as well. I tried to imagine this in another color (to be sure I was reacting to the paint process and not the paint shade itself), but I still dislike this. But, everyone can't agree. It is an interstesting idea.

I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.

Our trim and walls are both white, but the trim is semi-gloss and the walls are in flat finish. The subtle difference sets the trim off from the walls. But I also think all white is a different look than this is going for...

I really hate the color, so maybe that is affecting my opinion, but I don't like this. Maybe if it were all white I would like it more. In general, I think it looks unfinished.

I don't know... it looks lazy. Not in a sexy-messy way... no... in a "Cletus forgot the painter's tape" way.

I personally hate quarter-rounds, as it's easier to tuck flat furniture (such as tall bookcases) tight up against a wall with just shallow baseboards.

As for the walls above ... I don't like them, but I don't see why all the crazy "cheap and lazy" comments are necessary. Geez. They were going for a look, whether you like it or not. I am in the process of painting my bedroom all one color (trim, doors, etc.) for the first time in my life ... I've always liked crisp white trim as an accent. But the room and color seemed to call out for it. I can tell you, too, that it has not been cheap or easy AT ALL. You still have to tape off the ceiling and floors, remove outlets and switches, etc. Plus, I installed crown, chair and picture moldings to create some texture/shadow. Very time consuming, and certainly not cheap. I still have another coat to do to the whole room (and I have to re-tape because too much time passed and I had to remove the last batch of tape before it permanently stuck), but when I'm finished I know I'm going to love it. Actually, I already do.

Ridge-Van-Winkle, good luck! I did it in my kitchen and LOVE IT!!
People forget that some rooms call for certain things. My room and your room obviously call for this.
If you force it into a room that calls for trim, then Yes. It will look fugly. But you must go with the call of the room.

very interesting checking out the divide in this thread... personally, i love it... in the right space. i dig the color, too.