I would so love to do this room with a rugged west look (a la Ralph Lauren) using china blue, China red accents, and a pale sagebrush green as backdrop on the walls. In those terms, I think of the wood trim as a saddle color and then the rest just comes together.

At Home Depot, Behr has a color called Ripe Wheat. The paint code is 310E-3.

HI -- Yes cdas you nailed it and read my mind a little . I love the Ralph Lauren flavor.Your right to class the wood as the leather element . It is so rich looking .

Archive #227 or String #8 Farrow and Bal

anything goes! it could be a tan, a sage or even a powder blue... :o)

Colors are dependent on several things... the first being the amount of light a room gets and what time of the day it gets that light. Next is the decor and style/era you are going with. And finally what you are using the room for... If you first do not take these things into consideration and you just pick a color to go with the trim... it will never work. You need to observe the room at different times of the day and determine when you will be spending the most time there as well. You must also take into account the adjoining rooms and their use, color and decor as well.

I have the same woodwork and after pulling all the wallpaper off I had a hard time finding the right colors. I finally decided on two Benjamin Moore Colors Urban Nature in the living room. I can't find the golden color I used for the dining room and hallways but it was in the same Affinity group as Urban Nature. Everyone comments on how lovely the room colors are. House happens to be for sale so you can see more pics here: http://www.newenglandmoves.com/property/details/503770/MLS-71434465/43-Amherst-Street-Worcester-MA-01602.aspx Good luck! I love this woodwork color. It's so beautiful.

I agree with Mei Ling.

I like to scroll through photos on Houzz that have a similar design. By adding them to an Ideabook you can begin to see the look that appeal to you. You could try a search for natural wood trim and see what comes up! Good luck!

Your dilemma has been posted on Houzz's Facebook Page. http://www.facebook.com/houzz. You'll find a ton more suggestions there. So nice to have so much advice and ideas to choose from.

Look up some of the William Morris historical prints and pull colors from a favorite print and paint sample boards and as the Blair Design Group stated, note what happens with the colors at different times of the day. Are you using any printed upholstery?

Seeing that is appears to be so neutral, almost any color would go well. What will your accents and furniture look like? there are so many nice colors in the almond family that would go well with any decor. Good luck!

I also like the idea about the gray!

The gray with a green tint in it would look fine. Painting out the wood white would be awesome! Don't be afraid just do it!

The room wants a soft, soft moss green on the walls with rolled shades in the windows. Please don't cover the wonderful woodwork. Please DO NOT paint out the woodwork.

I would for sure do the trim white and add picture frame molding on walls with wall color in a soft bluegray.add crown molding. Large area rug for a pop of color and a nice large crystal chandelier .curtains light and airy hung very high and to the floor around size 96 length. If its standard eight foot walls. 120 in. If taller. Don't forget the celing it would look great with a deeper color of wall paint to stabilize the room. Add mirrors everywhere you can for reflection .Hope this helps. Just know that if you leave the trim as is you will always wish you would have painted it because you said I would like to paint it white. Do what you want it's your room. Good luck ! I would love to see what you end up with.so maybe you could post a picture after you complete the project .

maybe you could find inspiration in period when building was built (1912.). Here's some;

http://pinterest.com/ambungalow/historic-paint-colors-palletes/

http://pinterest.com/pin/92112754849369640/

http://pinterest.com/pin/92112754849348794/

GRAY GRAY GRAY! Opposites always attract ! The warm honey wood with any shade of a cool gray is ideal for this room!

Benjamin Moore historical colors are wonderful choices. Greens and reds (warmer tones) would look best. Great space!

Here is one - gray walls with wood trim. Beautiful!

First, let me say with others that in no circumstances should that beautiful historic trim be painted. Second, let me agree with those who have suggested gray-greens as an option if you don't like lighter shades. Personally, I love the look of ivory walls making the wood trim pop, but darker shades are beautiful too.

I recently purchased a home in downtown Toronto with the same gum wood trim and with inspiration from the fashion world painted the trim black and the walls a soft candle white. I also added crown moulding and a medallion on the ceiling in black giving the ceiling equal pizazz! The reverse would be equally dramatic (black walls and white trim)!

Yes, please, for the love of all that is holy, do not paint that wood trim!

A light grey (BM Grey Cashmere) or light blue (BM First Snowfall) or a sage green (BM Seedling) would go very nicely.

Ivory or creamy white would be the most traditional. I think it's a gorgeous combination, and you can bring the colors you love out in the furniture and accessories. Try BM Navajo White, Dove White, or Mayonnaise.

You could even do a patterned wallpaper if you wanted to keep with the era of the house. Another poster above mentioned the most famous company of the era -- William Morris. You can get reproduction William Morris wallpaper online if your tastes run to that.

You have a HUGE advantage that all the wood in the room matches. If you want something monochromatic, go for a yellowy cream. What seems like a test area of beige is too dark and too blue. Use a paint that is more yellowy.

If you want to push the boat out you could put dark aqua or a medium blue, like one of the ones on the chairs. However, you are probably better off going monochormoatic aas you are not painting your base board.

You said you would like to paint the trim white, then you should, don't listen to others its your house. By painting in white the room would look much bigger, as it looks now all I see is trim, it is overpowering for today's styles. If you were using all antiques then I would say keep the trim dark. But again I say it's your house, it should be your style.

I love gumwood with a warm, pumpkin orange. I once used Ben Moore Butterscotch 2157-30 in a hallway with no natural light. The wall color blended with the moldings so they didn't stand out so much. Your furnishings can go traditional or modern or anywhere in between.

silvery sage green!

Someone else said that it was your house so you could paint the bits whatever colour you wanted. I agree with them. Life will be much easier if you allow yourself to paint the baseboard.

You have to take into account that gumwood is an endangered species of wood. Your beautiful original trim could not now be replaced at any price.

What you have is an extremely economically valuable piece of history. To destroy it by painting would be to waste that resource.

You bought a historic home. Work with that home to both preserve what is beautiful and valuable about its history, and to enhance its aesthetics in your eyes without doing any harm to the house.

Think of when you resell. What will you tell the people looking at the house? "Under there is the original trim, but you'll have to strip my paint job and you'll never be able to restore the original lacquered finish, so essentially it might as well be 1970s oak as 1910s gumwood -- but I like white trim."

Really -- don't do it to the house, or to yourself.

I couldn't agree more, Roots. What is the point of spending the money to buy a home with historic features only to transform them into bland, modern details that you can get in any house built today? Putting aside for the moment the argument for the intrinsic value of historic preservation, there is a substantial market of buyers for homes with original historic woodwork. You lose that market if you paint the trim. So yes, of course it is your house and you can do whatever you want with it. But erasing the very features that make your home unique is not a wise decision.

Can't thank everyone enough for the wonderful suggestions! I ended up painting the LR BM guilford green and the DR a slightly darker shade, BM georgian green. I love the idea of the grey/blues so when I'm ready for a change will try those suggestions.

Beautiful choices! And look how good your dining table looks with the natural wood trim!

So pretty! I love the greens and your lovely dining table against the original trim. :)

I had a house with similiar wood tones. I had used "writers parchment" by ralph lauren. I received a TON of compliments.

http://www.craftsman-style.info/finishing/065-gumwood.htm

An interesting article here for you which tells a lot about gumwood. It was used for finish work to be either stained or painted. Not a fan of dark wood normally, your room is beautiful, reminding me of houses in my Boston area.
How about taking Janet Perkins idea, finding a wallpaper to compliment woodwork, paper the ceiling and pull a color from the wallpaper for your walls.

Success! Love the green with your gorgeous wood.

Thankful there are other people out there who enjoy historical detailing and aren't trying to make it something that its not or never will be.

Think you made the right decision.

Looks great if this makes you happy that's all that matters ! Have a blessed day and enjoy life in your new home .

So glad to see you kept the natural woodwork! It is irreplaceable once painted! Btw your wall colors look great!

With the current fashion for painted trim, there are fewer and fewer options for buyers who really want the authentic historic details. I happen to live in a 1931 brick Georgian and we did strip the crown molding in the foyer, central hall and rear hall. It was a pain and not cheap either. Now that is done, it is virtually original and we intend to keep it that way.

aside from the historical value of the unpainted woodwork, painted woodwork is not maintenance free either. It gets marred and chipped and shows dirt easily. Good choices you made!

Growoing up I would often hear my Father say "they ruined that house", by painting over the original character or classic details of the building. His comments gave me an appreciation for pre-war architecture. However I'm having a challege with the built-in furniture and decorating with the existing mahogany colored gum-wood trim. My Fireplace has a built-in bench. It looks like an old wooden church pew. I often think about it as being a waste of space being that the fireplace is inopperable, a fire hazzard,. I always have to take it into consideration when adding furniture to my home. It sticiks out like a sore thumb or a white elephant. I want to remain true, but what should do?

Ben moored November rain,it's a neutral grey green.

A nice light green would work well.

2012 post.

beautiful wood! I'd love to do walpaper antiqued whites with high gloss pattern. I know wallpaper is a pain but it would be beautiful.

old post

I live in a small home built in 1923. Most of my home has the original stained gumwood trim. I am finding it a challenge to decorate. Our kitchen was recently updated with white cabinets, bright yellow walls, a light blue ceiling (I wish I'd stuck with white) and white/grey/tan speckled granite. I started to paint the living room green, but I don't love it. My living room is off white. While the layout is not open concept, the rooms should flow, since they are open to each other. I've been treating each room as a separate entity, but the trend seems to be to go with one color. I love blues, but I don't think it looks great with the dark-ish, somewhat yellow trim. I'm thinking along several lines of of which is to do lr and dr in tan. DR has cobalt blue and blue and white China and porcelain I've collected and a floral Waverly print for future curtains. LR has 3 giant lighter color wood library bookshelves and brown furniture. I want to tie in with the blues and greens in the DR fabric. Is a blue accent wall an option, or us it too choppy? I thought blue walls all over would be overwhelming, as I haven't found a lighter shade that works for both rooms. HELP PLEASE! I cannot afford to paint and repaint.

Some more pics of home details