Keeping home in fine trim
It’s well worth putting in the time and effort to get this right
It’s the little things that count. Especially when it comes to a home’s interior. It’s easy to fall into thinking that once you’ve chosen your wall, your de´ cor decisions are complete.
But trims — skirting boards, doors, window frames and ceilings — have a visual role to play. You may be painting trims in a new home or retouching existing ones to give a room a new lease of life; whatever, it’s worth putting in the time and effort to find the right trim colour for your home.
Trims endure a lot of wear and tear, being a ground level where the dust and dirt collects, and muddy shoes are not far away. So, keep them well maintained.
“Trims help emphasise the wall colour, and in more modern architectural homes help highlight the architecture of the home itself,” Amy Watkins, colour consultant at Resene, says.
“The general rule is to go with a lighter variation of the main undertones in the wall colour. This variation helps reduce undertones coming out on the walls.”
Ultimately, you want your trim to complement your wall colour. If you have a yellow-based wall paint such as Resene Rice Cake, Amy says, drop down to Resene Quarter Bianca on the trims for a contrast.
“In bungalows and villas that have features such as crown mouldings, paint these in a lighter colour to help emphasise colour undertones in the walls,” she says.
Experiment with different trim colour options on cardboard first, leaning your sample against the wall to see how it compares with the wall colour.
Staying in a similar family of cool or
Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream makes a complementary choice for trims as it carries a hint of green.
While Resene Alabaster is a popular trim choice due to its versatility with almost any colour, another favourite white for Rachel O’Connell, interior designer at Style My Abode, is Resene Quarter Wan White in semi-gloss.
Once placed on the trims and doors, it provides a clean, coherent look when paired with Resene Wan White on the walls and Resene Half Wan White on the ceiling in a flat sheen. Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss on trims is easy to clean and allows the light to reflect, contrasting with your walls.
If you do adopt a white scheme, remember to layer accents for interest and depth, whether they be in bright coloured vases, rugs and cushions or mats and baskets in natural fibres and soft neutral throws beside lush pot plants.
On dark walls, trims can play a dramatic role, providing crisp definition to the deep hue. Evoke a sense of drama with the rich red brown of Resene Cab
Sav on your walls, highlighted by Resene Quarter Villa White on the trims.
If you have architectural details on the structure of your walls, such as archways with ornately detailed trims, white can make such details shine, especially when paired with dark, sumptuous wall colour. Try trims in Resene Carrara against walls in smoky Resene Blue Bayoux or Resene Dingley. Or walls in the soft vintage pink of Resene Blanched Pink will resonate with a ceiling and trims in Resene White Linen.
Colour selection can have a big impact on a room or home’s appearance, Jay Sharples, technical paint expert at Resene says. “Using a stronger colour on your trim will highlight it, turning it into a feature, you see this used more on building exteriors,” Jay says.
“But there is no reason why you can’t do this on an interior, it depends on the size and shape of the room and the look you are trying to achieve.”
Whether you choose trims that are darker than your walls will depend on your room size; dark trims can look good in a large room, while in a small room, dark trims can enclose it,
To add colour to trims to surround neutral walls in Resene Rice Cake, try skirting boards in Resene Tablelands or Resene Just Dance for a warm, welcoming feel.
If you have a large room with tall windows and plenty of light, trims in this room will suit a dark colour. The height of the room and abundance of light will allow for it, without making your room feel closed in.
Remember, trim paint is a different style of paint to that used on walls.
“The recommended paint for use on your timber trim/skirting/joinery is Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel,” Jay says.
“We recommend using a waterborne enamel in these areas as it is a harderwearing product compared with a standard acrylic paint you would use on the ceiling or walls.”
Exposed rafters in your home offer another way to get creative with trim colours. Here you can even extend your rafter colour down a feature wall. Then coat the remaining three walls in a lighter hue from the same family.
Try inky Resene Rhino on your rafters and feature wall, with Resene Neutral Bay on the walls and creamy Resene Quarter Bianca on the ceiling and trims.
Or for a greener option use Resene Destiny on the rafters and feature wall, Resene Jet Stream on the walls and Resene Quarter Villa White on the trims.
For more advice on how to paint all areas of your home, see your local Resene ColorShop. Or use the free Ask a Resene Tech Expert service, resene.co.nz/ techexpert.