I just can not be the person to tell you to paint it... But if it makes you happy... you know what to do.

Also, you could always use a photo editor to see what it would look like white. Photoshop works great!

I would paint it. I feel that bright white trim is interesting but not busy, and instantly cheers up a place. But that's just me...

It's so beautiful with the dark wood varnish! I wouldn't paint it, but if it makes you happy, go ahead!

Talk to your paint supplier and get a paint that can be easily stripped later on if you want. maybe a strip-able primer with oil based over that?

I wouldn't do it personally but, your' place now!

Due to the different colours of wood I would probably paint it. Depends on what furniture you've got too, is there any wood finish that wood be clashing with the trim? It looks like a spacey and nice room though, congrats!

I mean the coulour of the floor and the colour of the trim is not the same.

We've seen this room before:

1: Hang the curtains just below the plaster crown moulding.

2: Do not paint/remove/otherwise disfigure the wood trim - 'cause then you'd also have to paint the doors, the fireplace surround and the built-in-hutch. Just use some steel wool to clean up the finish (I'd bet it's waxy buildup and not varnish that you're seeing) and apply another coat of furniture wax to polish it up.

Congrats on your new home! This, for me, is an easy one. Just do what you love.

Whew, that is a lot of trim to paint. I'm partial to white, I just don't like wood trim. Lovely ceilings!

If you want to strip the snakeskin finish then i recommend Soy Gel stripper. Once it is stripped, you will probably see it in a new light. you could stain it differently, lime wash it, wax it for that euro "au natural" look, or paint it white to match your plaster. i myself love the look of plaster and raw wood.

YOU DON'T WANT WHITE TRIM. If for no other reason, it is a bitch to clean. White trim shows every little mark, not to mention dust.

However, you can choose colors that enhance your beautiful wood, and white is not it. Also, you have trim near the ceiling that looks like it has already been painted. I would consider three colors for this room, all in the same palate. I favor dusty rose for mahogany, but others may be able to give you better advice on color. I would consider using the darkest color in the palate on the already painted trim, the middle hue on the ceiling, and the lightest of the three on the walls. I think one of the reasons you don't like the trim right now is it looks like someone painted it on. Once you get more attractive colors that enhance or commemorate the wood, I think you will like it more. Right now, the wood pops so much, that is all you see.

Your hutch is gorgeous. Please don't paint it. Other reason not to: resale value. I think painting over that wood would be like driving a new car off the lot, when a sizable chuck of value flies out the window.

A picture is not a good way to judge color. But all wood has a color. Believe it or not, cherry wood gives off a chocolate brown that pulls well with a rose. My personal favorite stain color is half cherry and half dark mahogany. Both pull brown under a rose. A decorator at a paint store can help you. I recommend Benjamin Moore paints, and I have always found their stores to be helpful.

This site has all kind of professionals who run it and check in. Maybe someone can help you with a color for your wood if rose isn't up your alley. FYI Rose is considered the most comforting, soothing color. I am on my third residence with Benjamin Moore Historical Color 63. My first house I restored had wood so close to this, which is how I discovered HC63.

Good Luck.

I don't know anything about restoring wood finishes, but if you're looking for color inspiration, check out this house tour. They did a fabulous job of finding paint colors that work with wood moldings.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/jenny-and-cristinas-rustic-modern-apartment-house-tour-106867

The wood looks great with the white coffered ceiling, and I actually like that the floors are a little lighter than the trim.

Sanding/priming/painting all that wood is not easy either.

There is a helpful post at http://www.desiretoinspire.net/blog/2009/2/6/to-paint-or-not-to-paint.html in response to a reader with a similar dilemma. You can see a photo of a room with the same elements as yours (dark trim, lighter floor, similar ceiling), it may inspire you.

Really it's a personal preference. I prefer white trim. Too much dark wood can really weigh down a space. So if you want to paint it, go for it.

i'd paint it. :) in my former home in sf, the entire house had ugly, sticky, brown, textured, varnishy?, paint over all of the base mouldings, and some of the doors. the best thing we did was paint all base, trim, crown, and doors a matching creamy white. it took some time, but was so worth it! i don't get the obsession with keeping dark woodwork, even if you don't like it.

It's YOUR place so paint away! Personally, I also like painted white trim -- it goes with every wall paint color. Congratulations on your lovely new home :)

I like the dark wood, however the fireplace looks very odd right now and the crown moulding is white so for those reasons I say paint it.

paint!

I am also a lover of crisp high gloss white trim. I don't think you'll regret it! I had a similar problem in a 1950s house we bought that was heavy on medium brown panelling, windows and trim. It wasn't quite as dark as your wood but it had to go (sorry, dark wood lovers!).
First I TSP'd all the wood (frames and trim). (If there's much texture, you may need to sand to smooth, but you want to do something to give the paint some bite.) Also I paint my trim first and deliberately extend the paint onto the wall, that way when I edge with the wall color, I can get a nice "cut". I use an edger but even if you are edging by hand it is easier to cut in the wall than the window trim.
You will also need to use an oil-based primer like Kilz. I started mine with latex primer and it wouldn't block the stain that was on the wood. Two layers of latex primer later I switched to Kilz oil-based - can't remember if I did two coats of Kilz but you'll have to do it until the stain doesn't show through the primer.
I then painted 3 layers of latex white gloss - I have some before and after photos here (http://housepurchase.blogspot.com/2006/12/day-286-family-room-update.html) before all the latex white gloss layers where on the window frames. Hopefully it will give you an idea of how it will look.
Hope this helps.

Yours to do as you wish with, of course---but do know that unpainted original trim is rare and highly valued among many lovers of old homes, so you may be painting away some of the home's value. (Which is fine, so long as it's a tradeoff you're willing to make.)

Before painting, though, I'd take the varnish off---you can do it fairly easily (at least compared to stripping paint!) with several of the eco-strippers, and if there aren't too many layers, you may even be able to skip straight to denatured alcohol and a fine steel wool. If you do paint, this will be a much better surface to prime---and it gives you the option of testing a small area to see if the natural wood with some new finish or shellac might be light enough for your tastes. You'd be surprised how different wood trims can read once they've been stripped and refinished. Good luck, whichever direction you go!

I would paint it white too. I really appreciate wood, but that trim looks so heavy and dated. We have white trim and doors in the place we're renting, and I just love it.

Painting the walls a yellow, green, blue, or some other interesting colour would look beautiful next to the white trim! (Our living room is dark red, and although I'd never plan it that way myself, it looks gorgeous!)

I hope you'll share photos when you're done with what you decide! Good luck!:)

It looks nice as is, so you could leave it for now, paint the room the color you want, and think about it until you're sure what to do. Plus if you choose the color that you want the room to be, that may help you decide whether it will look better with white or wood trim. But since you either want to refinish it or paint it, I wouldn't worry about the resale value. If you paint it and decide you don't like it, you could always hire someone to strip the paint and refinish it when your budget allows. Just do what you like best and what works for your space. If it were me, I'd leave the wood and try to work with it since to me it's cool architectural feature of the space.

If you're unsure about what you want to do with the trim, for now paint the walls a blue/grey or mustard yellow (or anything that will reduce the contrast between the white walls and the dark trim). Maybe you'll find it it doesn't look as heavy. Changing the wall paint is much easier than stripping the trim. Also, I suggest painting the area around your fireplace a softer white.

Personally, I like the way wood trim looks, especially your hutch, but understand if the finish is poor or it's not your style.

Yes, we have seen this post before. Again, the reason the wood doesn't look good is because the wall color is doing nothing for it! Paint the walls and ceiling the right color, and your trim will look spectacular. The woodwork will be a feature and selling point. (And do hang the curtains, finally, after you paint.)

Why not paint?

Like others noted, you would need to paint EVERY trim surface in order to get a consistent look (doors, windows, built-ins... everything). Do you really want to do that? You really can't go back -- at least not without great effort and expense. Despite other comments, there is no paint in existence that is easily stripped. And wood that has been chemically stripped never looks the same.

Painting this much trim is a huge job. I've done it. The prep alone is a huge job. Especially when you're looking at covering old varnish that has "alligatored." (That is the rough texture you're describing.) In order to get a clean finish, you need to sand that (yes, sand) that off.

And I don't care what anyone says, novice DIY paint jobs seldom look good. You can get away with a lot of painting ignorance and imperfection on flat walls... but trim is something else entirely. A badly painted wall can simply be repainted. Badly painted trim has to be sanded first (brush strokes, drips, errors).

If you do decide to paint, hire a pro unless you are an experienced and skilled painter. Be prepared to spend a lot of money, because the prep alone is a big project (like I said...).

I'd say keep it and work with a nice greyish/whitish'blue colour.

I rent and have as much trim as that but its stained a horrible honey/caramel colour and it drives me crazy, so i'd prefer you trim to mine anyday

but do what you like!

I would try using perhaps a soy stripper or even some denatured alcohol and rags on one section of the trim-see what happens. Varnished finishes darken and orange with age, and it may be possible to get some of the layers off to re-create a more neutral wood tone. You may like that, or you may wish to go on and paint. If you do, do yourself a favor and buy a palm sander, gloves, respirator, and several grades of sandpaper--start rough (low number, like 60) and end smooth (high number, like 220). Either way, you can't just slap some latex over all that varnish and expect to get anything other than a bubbling, peeling mess.

Regardless, I agree that painting the walls and ceiling will lessen the shocking contrast between the trim and the walls. I appreciate the high-quality pigments in Benjamin Moore paint, and a high-quality primer, like the Zinsser brand, will make your expensive paint go further and look better.

That trim is beautiful. Cleaning and stripping (if necessary) gets my vote.

If you don't like the look of wood, why did you buy a historic home - you said it was 100 years old? Leave it alone and take the suggestions here about painting the walls and hanging curtains. Like somebody else said -- a bad paint job on trim is really awful looking. How many hours will you want to spend on this project to get it to look decent?

so.........

i just bought a house with similar (but heavier colored!) trim and panelling and built-ins, etc. The varnishing was haphazard and very dark... and there is one unvarnished fireplace and window frame that makes me think if i just stripped the woodwork it would be so fantastic.

Downstairs is varnished and upstairs is painted white, oddly. Upstairs is great--bright bright bright and clean, but a different world from downstairs in terms of lighting (i have a lot of trees). Right now I am going to live with all the woodwork, and paint the walls colors that complement it. In a year or two, I will make my decision on woodwork painting.

To be honest, at first i wanted to paint it all. But after 6 months I actually really really like the dark wood, now that there is colored paint on the walls, and new lighting fixtures. So live with it awhile, then decide.

Good luck and congrats :) Your built in is great no matter what!

Personally I would paint out the fireplace and the top ceiling molding only. Then hang curtains at ceiling height. I would leave the rest of the trim dark.

If you paint over the crackly old varnish, the paint will look crackly too.

I just stripped the 140 years worth of paint and varnish and who knows what else off my banisters using Peel Away 7 -- it was very easy and came off really quickly. You might want to try some of that (found at Home Depot) on an inconspicuous spot to (a) see what the wood's like underneath and (b) see how much of it you would need to take off if you do decide to paint.

I did not want to repaint my banisters, and after Peel Away, I gave them a light sand and applied boiled linseed oil -- they look (and feel) great.

Good luck on your decision!

On a limited budget, you would be better off painting the walls a better colour; more of a jewel tone that will work better with the wood.

Leaving aside all issues of heritage, have you really considered how much work it will be to strip, sand and paint ALL of that trim? Simply painting the walls will be easier and cheaper.

Terra cotta looks good with wood. Also rich jewel greens, reds, and blues. For inspiration you could rent the video "Twelfth Night" with Olivia Bonham Carter, which was done in the nineties and set in the nineteenth century. It has gorgeous wooden interiors with rich fabrics (mostly red and orange). Of course, it's a manor house, but even so.

OMG it's gorgeous. Leave it alone! Those architectural details define the space. I love it.

I struggled with this for five years. I was tricked into thinking my trim was in good, unpainted condition when I first looked at the house, but after moving in realized that the previous owner had only partially stripped the oak with a heat gun. So there was wood finish to remove, as well as paint in the tight grain of the wood. I agonized over whether or not to paint, because I thought it was "wrong" to paint, but stripping the woodwork was a much bigger job than painting. Long story short, I painted the trim white, and I absolutely love it - not just because it was easier, but I prefer the look in this space. I did strip/stain the drawers of my built-in buffet but painted the rest of it, which created a sort of mid-century look (my house was built in 1915). Not historically accurate, but it looks great.

Paint it. I never have understood the obsession some people have with not painting wood. And considering the condition of the finish, I'm not convinced that painting it would lower the resale value. Leaving it would be just as much of a turn-off to would-be buyers who don't want to put any work into a house as painting it would be.

So many people worry about the resale value... I'm sorry, this kind of bugs me. It's a transitionary frame of mind. You're living there now. Make the most of where you are now. Decorate it, change it, etc. whatever way makes you the most comfortable and happy now. If and when you're ready to sell, staging can work wonders on making the sale--even if the woodwork is painted.

The trim in my uncle's apartment looks very similar to yours. His place is loaded with dark wood and antique furniture, and he uses a lot of rich colors to accent it. I think his place looks really great, but still... if it were mine, I would paint it all! I love the look of white trim and cheerful colors on the walls, even though there's something deep inside of me that's mortified by the idea of painting over nice wood trim.

So... it all depends on the style you're going for!

Normally, I am also partial to white trim but your trim and hutch are beautiful and I can't stand to think of that trim being painted over. I saw try to clean it and polish it up and maybe go with a nice, deep butter yellow or dark-ish cream. The color would offset the color of the wood and really bring its beauty to the forefront. And if you have any wood furniture that is that color it would look great too.

I would definitely paint!

I´ve often had the same problem to chose whether I really wanted to go for all-white (in a room, on a furniture..) but I promise that you wont regret it once you have painted it. Unless you want to paint all the walls a darker color and opt for dark and cozy, you should go for white trim. It will make the whole room alot more light and spacious and it will go with almost all furniture. And it really isnt that bad to clean.

The current setting with white walls and dark trim just looks strange, like there were lines drawn all over the place.

Paint!!

To make it even shorter:

Small and cozy? (paint the walls)

Big and light? (paint the trim)

Simple as that really.

Paint it - you have such great natural light and it really closes the space in. It will be slow hard work for you but it can be done on a budget with a little bit of patience.

I would paint it all white and then paint the walls a nice warm but still pale (not yellowish) beige. Then you can have lots of fun with your furniture and accessories with colour and have a finish that will last you years and years.

i have a similar situation in a victorian home we just purchased last year. my husband is dying to paint it all white but our compromise was to paint the walls first and see if we could minimize the honey oak of the trim. we painted the walls and are thrilled, not only with the colors but that i don't have to waste weeks if not years of my life refinishing every nook and cranny of this old house. take a sample of your trim with you when you pick out paint and just try it before painting the trim.

I personally like them painted better. White trim all the way for me.

I think it depends on what kind of style you like. Personally, I love modern things so I would definitely paint it white because I think wood trim is too traditional looking for me. If you do decide to paint, you will have to strip off the layers of varnish so you can get a smooth finish. If you decide to keep it as is, maybe you can go with a taupe color on the walls that would compliment the wood trim but would still keep your place nice & airy.

I am tired just thinking about anyone painting that much trim... If it were mine, I would paint the picture rail (around the top of the room) and then the window frames, and probably the door frames. Possibly, if I hadn't by then lost all of my will to live, I might paint the base board (though I do like a dark base trim). I would leave the doors alone certainly, and probably the fireplace surround and hutch.

my preference is for fully painted trim because i like very light, airy spaces.

however it's just fine to do a mix of both painted and unpainted if you want to meet in the middle.

you can paint the baseboard, crown, and ceiling-rail (not sure what to call that) trim while leaving door and window unpainted. this is a pretty common treatment and i think it looks great.

Don't paint the trim! Spend your money on good wall paint and new light fixtures.

Hi all, that's my place, thanks for all of the feedback. Sorry for the double post, I sent in two different questions about curtains and trim hoping one would be answered, and after a few weeks they both were.

So a quick update, the trim is being stripped by professionals as I write, got an amazing price but it doesn't include the hutch, that will have to be a future project. I am going to see it all in its natural state tomorrow at which point I decide whether to keep it natural or paint.

The professional assured me he would use a primer that actually protects the wood underneath if I do decide to paint, so that in the future I or a different owner could revert it back wood, although it certainly wouldn't be cheap or easy.

I'm still leaning towards white because bright and airy is much more style than dark and cozy. I bought this building (my first) in part because I do really love the vintage details and character of the place, however my style is not victorian and I'm not trying to re-create the era. I have seen some pretty amazing interiors done with Victorian buildings that blend vintage details with more modern styling (and always with crisp white trim). When it's done right it can pretty fantastic.

I'll send in a picture of the natural trim after I see it tomorrow for reference, and I'll be sure to send in a photo of how it ends up. But this place will be a work in progress for quite some time, so it may be a while before I can show results that I'm proud of.

Thanks again!

Paint! I love my white trim. I'm glad I didn't have to make the choice, it was like that when I got here... phew!

I would paint it white. Looks so much better. The hutch will look beautiful painted white. I would paint everything except for the doors. But, if you decide to keep the wood trim, use earth tones.

lulu/lisa - are you in dc? if so, do you mind sharing the contact info for whoever you hired to strip the moldings/trim? let us know how it turns out!