I would take the trim down one room at a time as my budget/time allowed and then save up for a major kitchen re-do!

Personally I would paint it all (and have done so in my house) but be aware that many people feel it is a "sin" to paint wood so may make it unattractive to those potential buyers when you move one day. It is a pain painting it all and I did it little by little since painting trim is the most tedious of paint jobs. But I think it would be odd to pick and choose and paint just some of it and not all.

I'm facing a similar dilemma in my kitchen. Here's what I would do:
DON'T paint the stairs and dining-room hutch.
Paint the cabinets in the kitchen and all the trim in the kitchen, dining room, and living room.

Paint the trim

I want to be one of the first to comment because you are about to inundated with 'don't paint the wood or i'll steal your first-born!' comments, and I want you to ignore them. Comments like that drive me nuts. Yes, wood can be beautiful if done correctly, but this color and style is dated and tired. If you have the urge to paint then go for it and paint! My gut says that if you decide in the future that you want to re-incorporate wood into the look of your home, it isnt going to be wood that looks like that...

My recommendation is to paint everything or nothing. If you only go half way it wont have the visual impact you are looking for. Look around for inspirational imagery. Most likely, the styles that you appreciate will encorporate elements that you would be scared to tackle in your own home. Bite the bullet and step outside your comfort zone and im sure you will be happy with the results.

White will look very clean and if furnished correctly, make your house take on a very minimal, simple aesthetic, but you might also want to consider adding in a vibrant color, maybe in the kitchen?

Good luck and dont listen to the nay-sayers!

I think you can paint one category at a time -- for instance, do the base board and crown molding and chair rail all at once, then do the window and door trim, then do the doors if you want to, the hutch if you feel like it, then the cabinets, then maybe the stairs. So long as all of each thing is done, I don't think it will be weird to have some things painted and some things not.

Also, I am generally not in favor of painting wood, but 80s oak gets no sympathy from me at all...

Oak is tricky--it's got such a strong grain pattern that when it's stained a honey color, the grain really jumps out. And not in an appealing way. I would prefer to see it stained rather than painted, but that's my preference. A darker, walnut stain would be beautiful and would compliment the appliances very nicely. That said, I don't think it would be a problem to stain one room and paint in another. Just promise me you'll get rid of that flouncy thing over the kitchen window.

A tip! If you're painting room walls, paint the trim first. Then you don't have to be neat, and you'll cover any overlap with wall colour. (WAY faster, and far less tedious!)

I think you can paint crown, baseboard and chair rail without getting into stairs (which will look great when they stand out, instead of being one of a billion oak things), hutch or kitchen... you can make a distinction between more architectural items and trim.

Congrats and enjoy your new home!

I agree with lemonadefish... but I probably wouldn't paint everything... probably just the trim/chair rail. How about staining? Can you do that? I love wood grain, but as others have said that color is outdated, and I think a darker stain would look great. Good luck!

Personally I'd paint the crown molding, chair rail and base molding and call it a day. I don't think I'd paint them white but would paint them the same or similar color to my wall color (for that drenched look). I like the warmth of the wood on the windows, hutch and stairs.

I am definitely one of those people whose stomach gets sick at the thought of painting wood... especially beautiful oak! I agree that color and "style" can get outdated... but I'd refinish to a more "hip" color and get rid of the weird characteristics that tend to date 80's, 50's, 70's etc. Painting is an easy cop out... just don't feel it's the right way to go when you have oak. to each it's own...

I would refinish and stain if it was my place, but...

if nothing else, paint the trim and cabinets, but don't paint the dining room hutch or stairs. That hutch is a very nice architectural detail and paint would really ruin it. Stain if you must.

Do all the trim, don't touch the stairs or railing.

I would paint all of it. Don't touch your stairs until you know exactly what you want to do there. It's a tedious job, so no sense doing it more than once. My advice would be to look at pictures of stairs in magazines and online to determine whether you like the look of a completely painted staircase, an all wood staircase, or whether you prefer to see a combination of paint and wood.

But yeah, paint.

Look through the archives of "Making it Lovely." Nicole Balch, has embraced her wood trim- and her house is wonderful.

www.makingitlovely.com/

Of course, hers is certainly a different style than yours... and you have a LOT of wood going on. I would paint selectively and gradually until you're satisfied!

paint the trim work and if you can promise not to half-a your kitchen, do that as well.

also, id do it similarly to how lemonadefish described.. take it one piece at a time. this way youll be able to step back and look at how each piece being painted will look as a whole.

good luck!

Please !!!! Paint that 80-s oak and ignore the nay sayers!

I think the trim is the most glaring and most dated, so put your energy into that first. I think the stairs look lovely, and won't actually feel dated once the trim is brought up to speed. Same goes for the kitchen.

In general I am a big fan of approaching projects of this magnitude in stages. So trim first. Once you've done that, you'll be able to tell better what you'd like to do first.

Good luck!

As nice as wood is that shade of stain is inappropriate for a Tudor, it should be darker like walnut as some others suggested.
If you want to be all period you could stain some things darker but frankly a coat of paint isn't going to preclude you or others from staining them at a later date (just make it more of a bear).
Its all preference but that particular shade of golden oak kicks up my gag reflex, so i feel for you.

I'm a lover of white kitchens so I'd do the kitchen and hutch in white (with an accent color on the interior of the cupboards) I'd also do white trim in the other rooms and I agree on doing the stairs last.
Also, keep in mind you could always rip the chair rail off the walls and store it, it doesn't even make sense in the living room where you'll have stationary upholstered furniture.
Good Luck!

Paint paint paint! The oak may have once been pretty, but it's dated now. It will definitely lighten up the spaces. And no need for a total redo of the kitchen, do the trim in all of the other rooms first, then tackle the stairs and doors (nothing like mis-matched trim) and then spend a nice weekend painting all of the cabinets in the kitchen.

Matching trims are your friend. :)

Laura
http://grafxnerd.tumblr.com

Paint it all. The red oak is hideous.

Tough question - long answer!

I love the look of painted white trim. However, I am a wood purist when it comes to quality doors and built-ins. I would paint those kitchen cabinets though, a soft white cabinet would look great with those counters (Benjamin Moore Cloud White is great). You would also probably have to paint that window in the kitchen the same color. Keep in mind that painting windows is tricky, time-consuming, and once you do it, you could be touching up and un-sticking them constantly. I would paint all the wood in the kitchen, all the baseboards, chair rail, crown and window TRIM (not the actual sashes) throughout the house, and then refinish the stairs. This is what I recently did with my stairs, and I love the outcome. Before, they were all painted a solid color with nappy carpet on top. We sanded, stained and poly'd the treads and handrail, then painted the risers, balusters and trim.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/operagirl79/April09092.jpg

I would leave all doors, built-ins and windows stained, or refinished, but not painted. Unless you have cheap hollow doors, in which case I would consider buying solid oak doors and staining to match your floor (is it wood?). Stained doors and windows look great with white trim.

As for color, once your trim is white, any paint color will look great, so you can choose what you like. I would say that if you are able to see rooms next to each other, choose complementary colors like mocha, light blue, creams, and tans. I used Behr Antique Red in my dining room, it would be fabulous in your dining room too for some drama - but still looks beautiful with the other colors I mentioned. By the way, that chair rail is a perfect opportunity to put some picture molding underneath and really make an architectural impact in your living/dining room. I did this in my dining room, picture below. It was as simple as getting small decorative trim, measuring, mitering the corners to make the boxes, and using a nail gun to attach to the wall. A coat of white paint over it all and you have a custom molding look for less. You can see that we still need to strip the paint off the french doors (thanks to our previous owner).

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e147/operagirl79/DiningAfter5.jpg

As for where to start, start in the kitchen to see if you like the look of painted trim, then if you don't you can stop and figure out another plan for the rest of the house. The kitchen is more contained from the rest of the wood trim, so that is the logical place to start.

I would paint all the moldings.
Hutch, cabinets, and stairs--I would stain it darker, like a walnut color

Charmaine: I have a similar problem in my 1976 Brady Bunch home: all the wood everywhere is oak and dark stained. The baseboard trim is narrow and looks dated and tired. YAWN!!!

Paralyzed about what to do for the past 4 years, I hired a designer to give me some advice and where and how to get started on updating Jan and Mike Brady's look-a-like abode. First comments she made: "Paint the wood. There's nothing sacred about oak." She described how painted wood has been used in american homes for centuries -- back to colonial times -- and that using color on wood trim is not a new idea. Trim doesn't have to be Sherwin Williams Dover White. For my family room, she recommended a gray/blue -- including painting out the fireplace. A BIG CHANGE from dark walnut. We'll keep some of the doors the dark walnut because the detail is quite beautiful; otherwise, everything else will see a paintbrush.

The trick, of course, is where to stop once you start. Eventually, I'll paint out all of it but the priority right now is the first floor sans staircase.

Good luck and send pics once you are done with this project.

Oh, you mean 1980s? I thought for a sec we were talking about 1880s. Paint it. Maybe not the staircase or the rail, but definitely the bases, the wainscotting, the mouldings.

Or, you could remove the trim, which I don't think is original to the house or to the period. A tudor house would have much heavier and darker trim; perhaps a paneled lower wall.

I'm going to echo what everyone else says. Do it in steps. Start with the chair rail, baseboard, and crown. It's not great wood so it doesn't matter what color you paint it. Perhaps one day you would even want to replace it altogether.

I would start by just painting the trim, and maybe the balustrades on the stairs. See how that looks, and then go from there. It could be those elements will have such a big impact that the wood that is, essentially, built-in furniture seems less dated. And I think keeping the stairs wood along with the railing always looks nice.

Paint it all. And remove the curvy piece of trim above the kitchen sink.

Looks like 80's oak is universally outdated: first time everyone agrees that you should paint wood !!

You may want to use stain or wax on the staircase. Remove the existing varnish if any, then taint as you please. Personnally, I love a nice touch (a small touch) of cérusé; it's a hard job to do, but you can do it yourself if you're on a budget. You can use cérusé was in a lighter color to make it less heavy on the eye.

(sorry, I'm having a hard time translating my ideas in English today)

The 80s wood is rough. It's a lot more work, but if you like darker wood, I would recommend staining over painting.

If you're set on painting white, you should go crazy and paint it all.

I would paint all of the trim. I love the way trim looks, but I'm not a big fan of that stain for wood. A darker stain could possibly work, but I think staining is a ton more work than painting. There are some great primers, which can be used with minimal sanding.

You could paint/stain the hutch something that coordinates with your dining set and you can paint/change out the banister to fit in with your living room.

I would *definitely* paint the cabinets and change out the hardware.

And I think while you're at it, there are much better colors for rooms and I don't know what's going on with the vents on the floor in the living room, but I would make sure those coordinated with everything else.

It's 80's oak....paint it all, and the sooner the better! It will give you great continuity through out the house! Also, a great update.

The kitchen would look great painted white with new hardware. A very cool and easily obtained new look.

While I live in an apartment and didn't do the actual painting work (thank you landlords!), my apartment got EVERYTHING painted white--trim, baseboards, window frames, even the frame outs on the individual walls (forgive me, I'm not a decorator so I'm not sure if there is a technical term for the extra "framing" on my walls). Granted, it's an old NYC building with plaster walls, but there's a TON of trim in this place and it's all white and I think it looks GREAT. While I don't know if I would have picked this particular color (the landlords had all the say), I've ended up liking it as it makes my dark furniture really pop. I say paint it all and start with a fresh canvas! That oak really needs to go!

Having just cleaned all the baseboards, chair mouldings, windowsills and frams, and other wood-painted-white trim in our (rented) apartment, I will tell you that while it looks nice, white trim showcases dirt and dust beautifully.

I was in my hands and knees with a toothbrush, spray cleaner, and rags. Not the most fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

If you paint that trim white, be prepared to see dirt everywhere!

I would go ahead and paint the crown mouldings, chair rail and baseboards and window trim as well as the kitchen and the dining cabinetry. However the window sashes I might leave alone. As far as the staircase, I'd paint the ballisters, the stringer and the risers, but I'd leave the treads and the handrail alone.

Because this is such a large job, I'd bring in a professional who has the equipment, time and ability to do a great job for you.

BTW - You don't need to tear that kitchen out like someone else posted. Simply remove the curved trim above the sink, replace/reposition handles and knobs of a dark bronze finish (filling in the old holes w/ wood filler before painting)

You might also consider changing out your brass lighting fixtures for dark bronze fittings as well - which would be more in keeping with the style of your home.

I'd choose a nice creamy greyish/ivory throughout in a nice distressed finish with an overcoat of a dark brown glaze that will make the woodwork appear aged.

definitely paint the wood. as much of it as possible...

My parents have the same thing....but painted it all white a few years ago......WHAT AN UPDATE!!

It looked amazing.....very fresh....very modern

I'd do the top and bottom of the walls each in a different shade of white/grey.....but do all the trim bright white

Your house would look great if you used todays house tour in Providence as inspiration!

If you don't like the way the oak looks, paint it. As others have said, do it in sections and be prepared for a bit of time investment. I'd leave the doors, stair treads (painted risers with natural treads tend to look really nice), and built-in dining room cabinet natural to start with I guess.

Don't fret about the 'painting wood is a sin' people - I would hope those same people have unfinished drywall walls, no carpet over their plywood subfloor, no trim and maybe rule out electrical outlet covers as well - Cover the natural beauty of the raw unfinished product? Sacrilegious!

I think they did a nice job here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/house-tour-the-deaners-fresh-start-in-little-rhodyprovidence-ri-084413

Remove the chair rail - it's way too busy. Stain the stairs a darker shade like a nice rich espresso and paint the rest of the trim white or whatever your wall color ends up being. Stain the hutch to a darker color and paint the cupboards white to set off your wall color.

I'd even go further than other posters and say get rid of the chair rail, unless it fits with your decor. And don't forget to do the switch plates and registers (or replace them with white-matching color). But maybe only paint the spindles at the stairs, the risers will get scuffed quickly unless you have a runner, in which case go for it.

Ugh. I hate chair railings. Take it down - it's very easy. Then paint everything else. It's just wood - forget the naysayers.

Why buy a house if it has such a huge unwanted feature that you don't have resources to correct? I assume there are other attractive features of the house that outweigh the wood trim you don't like - why not play up those? I think properly treated, these rooms could look smart and fresh without painting the all of the trim out. 'Paint it all white' has become a lazy cop out for dealing with design challenges. And no, I don't think painting wood is a sin, but I do think nothing makes a house look old and tired as wood trim clotted up with badly done paint.

If you choose colours that render the orangey golden oak less contrasty (the royal blue rug and blue tile backsplash would be the first to go) you'll find that it becomes less distracting. Swop out the cabinet hardware and light fittings, which look far more dated than the wood finish IMO, and see how that looks.

If you choose to go ahead and paint, as so many here have urged, you're looking at major investment to do it properly -- removing all of the mouldings and cabinet doors, taking up the carpet on the stair, sanding and/or stripping, priming, painting (multiple coats!) and sealing -- if you want it to look better rather than worse when you're done.

I have a suggestion for the stairs:

http://www.ftstairs.com/wood_stairs_railings/staircase-stair-railings-pages/staircase-railing-pictures/traditional-oak-staircase-railings-pictures-lepper/lepper.jpg

Paint the risers, and everything else white aside from the tread, the posts and the handrail.

The chair rail, crown and baseboards should all go white as well. I would probably paint the hutch, and stain the cabinets darker, like a more espressoy color to bring them into this century. Plus with an englishy libraryish dark velvets, etc theme the dark dark dark kitchen could look really cool.

One thing about painting wood cabinets, depending on the humidity of the climate, you may get some noticeable gaps. Wood expands and contracts and I've seen kitchen cabinets painted white that will contract during dry periods and show some dark gaps where the wood seams meet. Just something to keep in mind.

I think that a VERY dark stain would update those cabinets much more than white. However, I agree that painting most of the rest of the trim in the house white is probably the best way to go.

Or... if you think that you'd find that too blinding, try a color that would "read" white, but would be a little more subtle.

You might try staining a section it too see how much trouble it is/how you like it.
But personally I would start with the baseboard, chair rails, and crown-molding, one room at a time. Live with it for a while, then think about painting the cabinets, live with that for a few months, then consider the wood around the windows, then consider the stairs. I think if you paint EVERYTHING at once it will be overwhelming, an might end up looking bad.

Thanks everyone! I didn't mention that we are going to have our floors refinished before we move in. Maybe I'll have them quote the stairs too. I'll start with the baseboard, chair and molding first and go from there. Although I've never considered staining the cabinets, I'll probably practice painting and/or staining the cabinets in the basement storage room and see which one I like better. Thanks again!

Sounds like you've got a good plan. I would keep in mind that even if you re-stain oak, it still looks like oak. The grain in that stuff is so deep and distinctive.

I'd paint all of it.

PAINT IT ALL!!! That 80's oak needs to be covered up, stat!

I would take down the chair rail and paint it all white. I'm a firm believer in natural wood, however it needs to be the right kind of wood.

Wow, I'm amazed at the uniformity of the response.

Me, I'd live with what you have for while before deciding. I actually don't mind oak. My previous house had oak banisters for the stairs with white painted rails and trim. So one option, if you learn to like the wood, is to use a combination of wood and paint.

I now have all white trim and it's fine but boring. If I had your trim, I'd seriously consider making some of it darker, and painting only some of it. Unless you use very traditional furnishings, maybe I'd remove the chair rail. (Or add some molding boxes under the chair rail and paint everything the wall color, maybe. A nice look for a dining room, especially.)

But, I think the main thing is to have a strong sense of what you want the rooms to look and feel like before you mess with them.

Good luck!

Remember the old Christopher Lowell shows? "Just because it's wood, doesn't mean it's good!"

If/when you paint your stairs make sure to paint the treads a different color than the risers; coming downstairs when the lights are low can be treacherous because you won't be able to distinguish individual steps.

Also you don't have to paint white. There are lots of other lighter shades that can look very modern and fresh and with those dark countertops white could look a little too contrast-y.

--lin

My first instinct would be to paint it all as well, so much oak seems overwhelming. Definitely pace yourself and don't try to do this all at once. Perhaps start with the kitchen and tackle the cabinets first along with the kitchen window. Getting the kitchen taken care of will make a huge difference with the way the rest of the house feels. I'd save the stairs for last since you might change your mind about them (I'm on the fence as to painting or leaving them as is). Good luck!

Hi there!...

I just purchased a house so similar and not totally loving the oak trim. It's on 3 acres and surrounded by lots of trees and privacy. Here is the link to the house but it doesn't show the halls with the colonial doors that are cream and the trim that is oak. I'm so uncertain what I'm going to do.

Suggestions please and could you tell me what you ended up doing?????

http://bytheowner.com/home-for-sale-caledon-ontario-126108

Thanks in advance...

:-) Donna

I would stain the stairs and hutch and paint the rest. This is just my personal preference but I would choose a light taupe-olive color or a grey-ish brown for the trim.
As for the stairs and hutch I would stain them a coffee/espresso color. Then again they would probably look fantastic painted black.
In all of our home remodeling/renovation projects painting and staining have been my favorite. They can change the feel of a room so drastically.
Have fun! Share the after pictures. :)
tasha

I'm curious to know what you ended up doing with these rooms. Did you paint the trim white? I'm trying to figure out what to do with our home as well.

We have painted all our red oak trim black and we love it! Striking! But now for the stairs - should we just paint the decorative accent same as baseboards and leave handrail, spindles or paint it all?