Because I tried something different (lighter walls with contrasting dark trim) and it didn't look good. Somehow looks brighter with white trim.

Anonymous wrote:And if you want to be daring.

Awful. Would hate to sit in that room.

The photos posted on this thread all make the rooms look small and/or not clean. I am all for creativity but there is a reason that most people choose bright white trim and neutral colors. They are more pleasing to the eye, they look clean and fresh and can accommodate any decor.

Those black moldings are ghastly, IMHO as is that overly claustrophobic taupe study or whatever it is. And forget the purple.

A problem with semi gloss or satin on the walls is that it shows every imperfection in both the painters work and the walls- wherever I see this it looks really really bad.

There are practical reasons for this. Having the same color trim throughout a house lends a sense of continuity, which makes the place seem larger. One could use any color on trim throughout the house and get the same sense of continuity, but if the different rooms will have different wall colors, it becomes hard to find a color that works with every wall color.

Semigloss is preferred because it is more durable and washable than flatter finishes, which matters because trim tends a lot of abuse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because I like the way it looks and the semi gloss is easy to clean.

Frankly, I consider myself lucky that I managed to convince my husband to put any color up on the wall.

This. My ILs have colored trim with white walls, and while it looks nice, I feel like it can and will look dated later. White trim is classic, it won't go out of style. Boring? Maybe. But I don't have the money to have my walls and trim painted to keep up with the latest trend.

I thought white trim was a more modern thing, and wood trim was *the* classic thing --but at one point people began to paint it.

Anonymous wrote:In the living room I have dark bronze crown moulding, and hickory stained floor, door and window moulding. The walls are light brown with a bronze focal wall around the fireplace. Its hard to describe and I'm too lazy to link a photo but it looks really nice and I get a ton of compliments on it.

OP here. Congrats! Sounds great!

In the living room I have dark bronze crown moulding, and hickory stained floor, door and window moulding. The walls are light brown with a bronze focal wall around the fireplace. Its hard to describe and I'm too lazy to link a photo but it looks really nice and I get a ton of compliments on it.

Anonymous wrote:Because I like the way it looks and the semi gloss is easy to clean.

Frankly, I consider myself lucky that I managed to convince my husband to put any color up on the wall.

This. My ILs have colored trim with white walls, and while it looks nice, I feel like it can and will look dated later. White trim is classic, it won't go out of style. Boring? Maybe. But I don't have the money to have my walls and trim painted to keep up with the latest trend.

I should have said, all of those look very interesting, and so e look absolutely great!

OP here. Thanks, 22:54pm!! Some of those look great!

Not "everyone" does:

Some of us enjoy color.

My friend Tom's place in NY done by Miles Redd. The room glows when he lights candles:



Jean Louis Deniot's apartment where he had the walls painted to resemble the sky:



And in the dining area where he used marble powder to create shimmering stripes:


A strong color makes a statement sometimes:


More high gloss purple on 5th Ave:


Garrow Kedigian's NY place showing his custom blue lacquered office and his black lacquered trim:




Side note: He throws great parties as well!

One of my favorite spaces by Alessandra Branca:


And a little fun for the kids:


Alex Papachristidis is color/texture crazy and I love him for it:



The point of my post is to say that color and interesting use of materials is alive and well! Just because you're so used to seeing people be "safe" with color and texture doesn't mean you have to do the same thing. Color is out there. It does however pay to have very interesting architecture.

Can you guess in which city most of these photos were taken? (Hint: look at the floor).

Anonymous wrote:

Is that some kind of sex toy/Mickey Mouse combo.

Brownie points for Audrey Hepburn photo. Always