Vestige Home Favorites, Painting Trim and Millwork
We’re digging into some of our favorite ways to paint trim, millwork, and other architectural features
so that you can bring some of the vestige HOME look into your own space. In case you missed it, we already rounded up some of the most requested paint colors from our projects and a few other painting tips here.
When it comes to painting your trim, a lot depends on the look that you are trying to achieve but let’s break down a few examples. In most of these we specified matte paint finish in a high quality paint like Benjamin Moore Aura for millwork like baseboards and crown and a satin finish for bookshelves to better handle daily wear and tear.
Coordinating Trim
At vestige HOME we love to wrap a space in color - we lean toward muddy or muted tones and by using that same color on the walls, trim, and any millwork, the color reads as a neutral base with a lot of personality. This look lets the eye move freely through the space, creating a clean, calm backdrop so that special pieces like the arched bookcases below or a sculptural lamp can take center stage.
Images from left to right: (Image one and two) At our #ArtfulEnglishRowhouse project, we wanted to highlight our client’s extensive book collection and art collection so we used Benjamin Moore’s “Oxford Grey” on the walls, millwork, and bookcases to make the space feel collected rather than cluttered; Arched bookshelves add drama and architectural interest without dominating the space at our #TraditionalGraduate project since the color (Benjamin Moore’s “Sea Glass”) flows throughout the first floor. Images by Rebecca McAlpin
Contrasting Trim
While we love to use coordinating trim for the majority of our projects, using a contrasting trim can be a great way to add definition to certain elements of a space or to draw the eye to an extraordinary feature. When we can’t paint window sashes, we have painted the window trim a contrasting color to create a stand-out feature in a space. Contrasting trim was also commonly used in historic interiors and can be a great way to bring the feeling of that time period into a space. A soft grey can be used to gently define the millwork, or a more bold, colorful hue can be used that ties in with other elements or textiles in the room. You can see a work-in-progress shot from our #CharmingCountryColonial project below (middle) where the trim and doors are painted in a striking green - the contrasting trim here is perfectly at home with in the 1800’s house.
Coordinating with Wallpaper
We love wallpaper. We love wallpaper even more when the trim is painted to highlight a color within the pattern. This can be an especially intriguing choice if you pull one of the more subtle shades within the pattern, creating immediate visual interest.
From left to right: We used black on the millwork at our #HighlandHouse to ground the soaring modern botanical wallpaper; here we used a greige that’s soft enough to compliment rather than compete with the delicate wallpaper; for this bathroom refresh we pulled a saturated green from the thistle wallpaper for the interior door and trim color. Image one by Rebecca McAlpin
Highlighting Features
Sometimes we like to use paint to draw the eye to special features in a space. At our #PhillyStoneQueen all of the window sashes are painted in Benjamin Moore’s “Onyx”. Just like eyeliner, the black makes the original windows stand out and highlight the garden views beyond. Here’s a great before and after that shows what a big impact paint treatments like this can have! We also love to use a contrasting paint to draw the eye to special features like a fireplace. This is a great trick to create furniture zones within a large space.
From left to right: The first two images show the dramatic impact of painted window sashes at our #PhillyStoneQueen; to help define the seating area in our primary bedroom, we painted the fireplace in Farrow and Ball’s “Off Black”; at our #ArtfulEnglishRowhouse, installing this mantel in a contrasting color allowed us to created a seating area with a dedicated focal point in the long, narrow space. Images 2-4 by Rebecca McAlpin
