I would paint out the baseboards and door and window trims in the same white as your doors. For the stairs you might want to paint the spindles white but paint the newel posts and railings in a darker colour like Benjamin Moore MIDSUMMER NIGHT 2134-20 which is a warm brown/black. OR you could paint the whole staircase white except for the dark railing. I've attached a couple of pictures to show you the difference.

Nice remodel. I would at least paint the trims around the doors and baseboard white. The oak stair handrail is a bit tricky since you can leave it or go with Cynthia's suggestion.

I just felt the railing was a little light in relation to the other wood in the room. However, there are a lot of different tones in the floor so maybe it would be alright as is. It would be more durable left in the wood finish, certainly. Good point, Dytecture.

I did to my stairway what Cynthia suggested and I LOVE IT! My staircase looks like her photo "Magnolia-interior." The white spindals are so fresh and clean looking. I would paint the baseboards and door trim white, too.

Thanks for your input. It's a hard decision because the entire house is done with the oak trim and all the windows are in oak casing as well so it will be a lot of work but I'm sure it will be worth the effort. I was a bit concerned about the white being too stark because of the rustic look that the floor gives, which is kinda what I'm wanting. I have pine furniture with the brown leather couches but would like to stay away from continuing with too dark of colors and not enough contrast. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I hear you! But there's no reason why you need to use stark white. You can tone it down with one of the more antiqued white tones. What colour is on your wall to the left of the kitchen? Perhaps that's a colour that could be matched in trim paint and your doors and all trim painted in it. I'm thinking of Benjamin Moore MARITIME WHITE OC-5 or something like that. Check it out at the paint store and see which of the many whites would work with your decor.

I like your white stair rail idea; the top in a dark color would be a nice contrast. And can I just offer tha the start white door in the hall would be painted the wall color to make a nice blended in feature. I did that in a small bath and it make the space feel very pulled together. Looks like a nice remodel

It might seem overwhelming since the entire house has the oak trim so I would make a plan of attack and just gather all the materials in one day, prime on another day, and then you can paint it all on another day. Cynthia's suggestion about a soft white is a good one if you want to stay away from stark white. I believe when you have your door frames and trim painted, you will stand back and LOVE IT. My first house had oak trim and when I finished painting all of it, it looked SO MUCH BETTER! I never regretted it.

Thank you! Sorry for the delay in the reply, I was on holidays. I may just but new trim rather than dealing with the job of sanding etc... I will keep the casings and redo them. That way I can get it done in a more timely manner. I don't have much time before life becomes hectic again in the fall with back to work and kids in school etc..... Thanks for your ideas, seems like everyone agrees on the same idea. Fingers crossed!

Definitely paint your trim and the stairs as Cynthia Taylor-Luce suggests. My husband resisted painting our stained wood trim for years. I finally convinced him and we both love it. The entire house looks more open and spacious and even cleaner! We've had white trim for years now and he still occasionally comments on how much better it looks painted. The stair rails will look absolutely classic once you paint them. Don't get overwhelmed. Just commit to one doorway or section of the railings at a time. It'll look great by the holidays, right? :-). BTW, a Fabric roman shade would look great on your kitchen window. Nice job. Enjoy your new kitchen.

Cynthia - do you suggest a semi gloss or gloss for this? Thanks :)

For your stair rail and treads I recommend getting a 'porch and floor' formulation which is extremely durable. Some manufacturers make only a limited number of colours in this, but there are some who can mix it in any colour. Not sure what brands are available where you are... For your risers and spindles and baseboards, doors, etc. you could go with a pearl finish which balances shininess with scrubbability.

You're very welcome, and I am sure you'll be very pleased with the transformation :)

A lot of info... Thanks Cynthia!

Thank You! Im excited to get this done, sit back and relax!

Love Cynthia's suggestions, and it will indeed look so much better when all your trim is white or dark brown (or a combination, as with the stairs) like your beautiful new kitchen.

i have the stain wood package in my house, all my doors, door trim, basboards, window sills, stair spindles--and i have wooden shutters in a bay window half way up in the kitchen. I am planning on adding cream/ivory distressed kitchen cabinets (currently I have oak cabinets) the island will be red---the only doors that are white is the backdoor to the deck and front door-- will be replacing carpet and put hardwood in the kitchn and family room ---with area rugs---------when i put the floor down--would you match the baseboards to the floor and leave the rest of the wood stin alone or consider ivory/off white??

psykora, would you mind copying and pasting your question into a new discussion? It doesn't really relate to Sherry's design dilemma and you'll get more response if it's a new question! Thank you :)

But since I'm here, I'll also address your question. If you match your baseboards to the floor, then they will likely not match your existing doors, door trim, etc. If you aren't prepared to paint your trim and doors, then your baseboard should match the stain on the existing trim.

When you're choosing hardwood, go for a stain that's significantly lighter or darker than your existing wood trim. Otherwise it will look like you tried to match it but it doesn't match. And definitely don't match it, because it's way too much of one wood colour.

My preference is to paint the baseboard, but only if you're painting all the rest of the wood trim and doors as well.

Thanks for letting me know about cut and paste---and for the advice----my husband asked the question and I don't think her knows how much additional work he will have to do

Thank you for posting the before pictures with your railing! My house has all light oak trim/cabinets/stair-rail/windows edging and I'm looking to put down a wood-looking laminate floor - but have trouble finding images to help me mentally picture what different wood colors/patterns would look like with the light oak.

Also, I really like the flooring you selected. I'd be very interested in seeing what the after looks like from changing over the light oak to white if you have time. Thanks!

Hi Kate! I will post a picture of the railing soon! We actually restained it a dark stain to match the cabinets. It looks Great!! I love it with the floor. We are still in the process of changing out the oak trim & casing to white. We have the kitchen started on that so I can take some pics of that as well to show you how it looks!

Thanks! I've also added your kitchen photos to my collection of split entry with L kitchen & island images for my FUTURE remodel, mine is similar design but laid out a little different (fridge to left of stove, dishwasher right of sink, big pantry in center instead of a island.) Someday I want a island, but will be sad to loose all the storage.

Also, I just noticed, we have the same dishwasher! :) I've had mine for over a year now and love it, but just recently noticed it's also magnetic! Which I find exciting! I made 2 magnets out of the sticker magnets the size of a business card you buy at a office store, covered 2 in cute paper, wrote 'dirty' and 'clean', and then I have them stacked along the edge and flip them when a start a load and unload! Works great, but I might need to laminate them to protect from splashes/wet hands.

I will have to add the original layout photo to this as well. It was a U shape. Fridge was to the left of the stove and dishwasher was opposite the stove. We had no Pantry so we created the one to the left of the stove and also added another one near the eating area with a 3 sided fireplace coming out from there as well.

Yes, this is relatively similar to my current kitchen size and look, except my pantry really blocks the open feeling yours already had...I really like the re-configuration you did. Instead of door&window i have a sliding door there, but about the same amount of kitchen space based on appliance sizes. Were you able to keep the entry door there with your new fridge?

The second picture I'm posting is from painting/pre-move in, notice the yard furniture inside! haha, but you can see how much it keeps the space from being open (but the extra storage is great!)

Yes they are quite similar. The door is the same one, didn't have to change any of that. I am so happy with the new layout. The island added some much needed counter space and we are always sitting there. The kitchen is so much more functional. Adding the 2 pantries to the space was a must as the layout before had literally useless cabinet space!

I love the colors you have the walls painted! Can I ask what these are? Thanks!

Some more recent pictures with new trim and stained railing. Two Paint colors : BeautiTone Melancholy and Iced coffee

Yes, I am Loving This space now!! Thanks!

Wow! What a great transformation, Sherry! Very pleasant pallette. Your deep cabinetry, quiet walls, white, and black leave just the right amount of textural "space" in the room for the fun color variety in your floor - which features ocassional boards which perfectly match your cabinetry.

I can see only one (small) '"finishing touch" suggestion - If you switch out your white can light trim for the recessed black baffle variety, you'll eliminate most of the visual distraction that these spots of light introduce into this beautifully comfortable scene. ...and when the can lights are off, the white rings with their matte black centers will nicely join in with the rest of your black and white elements. See photo - upper right for one of this type with light on.

Hope you get to spend a lot of good time here! Mark

oops - two of em in this shot, and not at right. lol.

I see what you mean and I do like the look that has! Unfortunately the lights will have to stay this way for now as they did not come cheap! The lighting was surprisingly very expensive!!

I can certainly understand that you're ready to be done spending money, Sherry. And it's true that well made canister lighting is not cheap. When/if you explore this idea - neither the canister itself nor the bulb would be changed. Just what is called the "trim" FYI - for the Halo H5ICAT cans we generally use, the trim model would be 5001 mb. Mark

paint them white gloss

What brand and what color stain did you use? Thanks!!

For sure, white trim to finish off your lovely kitchen. The oak window frame is the first thing that jumps out at me and it shouldn't be a feature. It takes away from your pretty cabinets as it is now.

Hi Lisa, check out the pictures I added on this thread earlier this week. The trim is now a Tahitian Vanilla. I love it!

Amanda the stain is Varathane - Kona (#275)

I think it looks AMAZING! Love the dark wood!

I realize I am late on this discussion, but Sherry Roberts, what kind of wood is your floor? It looks nice!

Thanks, we love the floor. Its Acacia. We got rid of all the honey oak. Redid the railing. All the trim etc.. is Tahitian Vanilla now. Also put acacia nosing and tile on the stairs.

Sherry - Do you have a full picture of your stairs? We are going to be putting down Acacia flooring and trying to decide what to do with the stairs. They are currently carpeted but that will be removed and either replaced with wood. We are trying to decide on putting the Acacia on the stairs but the bull nose is extremely expensive or just Oak to match our Golden Oak railings.

Hi, sorry was away on holidays.. Stairs are so expensive to do!! I searched some Houzz photos on tile/hardwood stairs and liked the look so this was something we did ourselves and it went well.