@valebourne: there is a BIG difference between the substantial trim in a 1920s house and the "builder's special" stuff they put in today. No comparison. Also, white trim has ALWAYS been a popular choice for woodwork over time - it only changes with the style of the house. I think that either is a legitimate choice. It's a personal preference. I have both in my 1890 Victorian. The front "formal" rooms are heavy oak trim and the back rooms (kitchen and den) are white. If I didn't feel a preservationist-responsibility to keep the house historic, I'd paint it all lol!

to paint or not to paint - that ? sure has generated a lot of responses! Our house had a similar situation. I originally wanted to just paint everything white! I cooled my heels for a while, painted some rooms, remodeled the kitchen, and put in maple floors. I ended up freshening up most of the wood with a wood rejuvenator product and painted only the cheap wood baseboards throughout the house. Now the baseboards just blend with the walls, don't clash with the maple flooring, and the other wood is consistent throughout the house. I don't like that mix and match thing. And yes, painted wood does take a little more care to keep it looking nice.

Mzlove, what did you use on the wood to rejuvenate??

I actually think the name of the product is called Rejuvenate or Rejuvenator for Wood. It did a really nice job on our cabinets and trim. I think there are a variety of similar products like this - I got this at home depot or lowes. Very easy application - no skill needed - and I did multiple coats. Each coat improved the appearance of the wood. I would recommend it.

Paint the walls in nice, warm color and wood will look beautiful.

I live in the Midwest in a 1939 home. All of my trim is painted white and i wouldn't have it any other way! I adore white wood trim and do not care for the natural oak trim color. If it were a dark rich brown however, I would possibly keep it. Best of luck, you have been given so much great advice!

Before you paint the trim white, or stain it dark....look at your furniture and wall colors and rug colors. Could they use a revamp instead? Your Living room for example is very neutral. If you go with white trim, it could either make your furniture pop or dull it out. A darker trip would have no bearing on your furniture, since your LR furniture does not yet show any wood trim. Do you have a coffee table, an end table? if so , what are those colors. The reason people paint the doors and trim white is because it is universal and works with any other wood colors. My advice: Focus on your wall color and furniture first ( even though you did not ask for that part ), then decide how the trim will fit it in.

Don't paint it. Good design does not have to be cookie cutter. I love the look of the wood trim even though I routinely go for white. You have gorgeous wood features, work with that. One thought, give all the wood some consistency with the same stain. Unifying the wood will reduce visual chaos.

I would definitely stain it darker light everyone else is mentioning. We painted our trim black in our house and it made it completely different!! I love for things to be different I dont like everything in my house to be the same as everyone elses.... but if you are thinking about it id definitely stain the wood darker.... thatll change it enough to definitely be noticeable

Something really important to consider (a point that has already been mentioned) is that wood trim does not always "take" paint well. If you decide to paint, you might want to do a practice piece to see just what you're getting into. I mentioned in an earlier post that we have oak trim that we've learned to decorate with and I've been told by others in my neighborhood, with similar trim, that it is very difficult to paint. Just something to keep in mind as you proceed! :-)

Okay my inbox has been filling up with comments for this thread, and not a single one is from the original poster. Where is she??? For anyone that's curious about stats, up to now there are about 75 votes for keeping as is, 60 to paint, 10 to do both (paint some, leave some) and the rest just general comments to "do what you want", or "I did so-and-so in my house", or suggested something else and didn't answer the original question. Looks like the big majority say to leave the doors alone though, even those that say paint the trim.

We've probably terrified her with this debate!

There's been a lot of really good ideas here. Would love to hear from the original poster once she's decided what she wants to do.

I would not paint or stain. I would make it disappear. How? do you ask. See the crude pictures I attached. You need bigger artwork on your walls so the trim around the door does not stick out so much. Consider a color on the walls to tame the color of the wood. If there is red in the wood go the opposite of the color wheel, the green family. Doesn't have to be bright green, just in the green family. In the bedroom you will notice I darken up the curtains so that they add more weight to that part of the room to balance with the door. Also added large artwork or a mirror. In the office, more large artwork, could even be a functional board for keeping notes or pinning up ideas. I also darken the walls to cozy up the space. Hope this helps.

I had all wood trim in my house, painted it all white, including the doors and the process completely modernized my house. However, you have a beautiful staircase and lovely wooden doors, so perhaps see how they look with the white trim before altering.

Keep baseboards and doors. Remove wood around dining room entrance.

Back to my black interior door with white molding scheme. Look up black interior doors on houzz. You will see this idea over and over. Beautiful!!! Every wall color pops with this beautiful back drop.!!!

Leave it! It's lovely!

Wood trim is warm. I have white trim in the kitchen and dark trim throughout the rest of the house and my sister-in-law has the same and it's lovely. The paint collection at Restoration Hardware go really well with this trim: http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/category/products.jsp?cm_sp=global_top_nav_store-_-dynamic_menu_item-_-NA&categoryId=cat1017001

The problem I see is not whether you should paint or leave the wood, it's the size of the trim in the rooms. I feel that it is undersized. A back banding would help.

As a woodworker and finish carpenter my recommendation is to rip out dainty baseboard and replace with nominal 6" base, add a simple two stage crown to be 4" in height and paint all, yes doors too, but the handrail the color of choice. If you have the money, replace casing of doors and windows to 3.5" wide Adams casing. This trim adds depth and interest.

The existing wood is just cheap pine which, when stained never looks very good. In the end your home value will go up.

As a woodworker and finish carpenter my recommendation is to rip out dainty baseboard and replace with nominal 6" base, add a simple two stage crown to be 4" in height and paint all, yes doors too, but the handrail the color of choice. If you have the money, replace casing of doors and windows to 3.5" wide Adams casing. This trim adds depth and interest.

The existing wood is just cheap pine which, when stained never looks very good. In the end your home value will go up.

If you are reading this then you've been on this thread WAY too long.

Most comments above are from designers. As a woodworker and finish carpenter my recommendation is to rip out dainty baseboard and replace with nominal 6" base, add a simple two stage crown to be 4" in height and paint all, yes doors too, the color of choice. If you have the money, replace casing of doors and windows to 3.5" wide Adams casing. This trim adds depth and interest.

Stairwell is made of all oak. This material when painted looks like oak that's been painted. It may look good in a photograph, but not in person. If I had my druthers I would replace oak spindles with custom turned poplar spindles and paint those. I might rework the handrail to die into a newel post too.

The existing wood is just cheap Ponderossa pine which, when stained never looks very good (it's a coniferous thing).

If you were to change color of stain I would hire an excellent painter or a faux finisher. It takes a lot of skill and practice to pull that off and have it look right.

Thank you everyone for your comments, I really appreciate all your feedback! I'm leaning towards painting the trim and doors white. I'm going to get quotes from professional painters, I'll also get quotes for replacing the baseboards to a larger size.

If you paint the trim white, your entire house will then be unrelievedly colorless.... a fact not improved on by the beige-y furniture, rugs, and tile. I agree with others that the wood trim is not the source of the lack of vibrance - you can fix it by repainting the walls, and either leave the wood trim as is and play it up by painting the walls with colors to make it pop, or paint the trim white and then paint the walls a different color (or colors) to make the most of the white trim - but white trim against white/off white walls isn't going to add much. Get some suggestions from a color consultant who has software that can show you how your rooms would look with color added in various ways (walls, trim, furniture, accent pieces) before you get estimates from painters - you could make the trim and wood floors, and that stairway look RICH with the right colors elsewhere.

yes, if I repaint the trim white, I'm going to change the wall colors too for sure to something darker.

Picture #1 I think you should keep wood trim. But I would get another rug to match the design in your living room, and it might also liven it up. Picture #2 Keep the wood trim, and get a another cozy light colored rug for the stairway, OR no rug at all. Picture #3 I think you should paint the trim white. Picture #4 Keep what you have...

I love both white and stained wood trim. I agree with someone's post about white trim being hard to keep pristine with kids and what not, so I am actually leaning toward brightening up the entire space with white walls to allow the stained wood to pop. I really like the areas where your paint is white against the wood trim, so warm and inviting. I think what you need on your walls are bigger pieces of art.

Keep the wood trim, it's beautifully done!

I'm not a designer, but I learned this here on Houzz, and have found it to be very true in my own house. Hardwood floors look more beautiful when the baseboards are contrasting. And also, I have learned to love the beauty of "mixing it up", with various wood treatments carefully done through out the house.

Definitely paint the trim and your stair risers and handrail in a good semi-gloss white. It will improve your home greatly.

I would Paint your trim white. Leave your stairs and railing and paint the banisters white. I would then introduce some colors to your walls to really make the white trim pop!

I did not read all of the posts--please check with a professional painter before you try to cover up previously stained wood with paint. If it is not prepped correctly, the paint will not be very durable. We lived in a 50's ranch with medium stained floors and trim throughout the house. We decided to leave it and it was so easy to change the colors in the room because there was never any trim to paint. I learned to love it quickly.

Wondering what you decided, paint or leave wood trim? In same predicament and having hard time making decision.

White Trim! Semi Gloss is the only way to go. Wood trims are great only if there is lots of additional wood products of a similar shade and grain. Otherwise it loses its perceived value and prestige.

This is a dilema we've had for years living in our house, to paint the woodwork or leave it as is, stained. The wood trim is all stained, and doors are an off white. We recently had new windows installed and chose white figuring they would match with the white doors and stained door frames. Initially, I didn't like the combination, felt they both should be the same, so we considered painting the trim until our neighbors told us it would be a shame to do that seeing stained wood is usually of a better quality than the painted. Seeing home renovations on TV too, and how they often remove layers of paint on various wood items to reveal the "natural" beauty of the wood, I'm glad we have left the stained woodwork. I've discovered that a fresh coat of paint on the walls freshens the room fine. My question now though is what color to use for crown molding? Stained or perhaps white like the ceilings???? HELP!

In my home, I have all white trim and wood stained doors. The contrast is beautiful.

I am facing the same questions. Thanks for the suggestions and information.

Hire a really good interior designer for a few hundred dollars (it's worth it-- much cheaper than constantly making design mistakes). Have them provide a couple of choices THAT YOU WILL LIKE for each room (so that it's not solely the designer's own personal style that's being recommended). Trends come and go for a reason--so that businesses can keep us spending our money on new things constantly. Updating a bit is good, but don't be a slave to trends. Stained casings have not gone out of style. If you like white, that is fine also. I'm tired of hearing how stained casings outline a room too much. I'm sorry, but hello, all those white casings stick out like a sore thumb. Same thing on the home's exterior--trend has gone to white trim everywhere--whoa!!

Curious what you did. Your house looks similar to mine and I would love to see pictures.

Keep the stained wood work and start with the walls Contact a well referenced interior designer to help with the hard decisions

You will need to make a contrast in colors, if you want you house to look great and updated, you will have to pain your walls e.I. nice yellow with white trims, but if you have real wood trims make it withstand your real wood value by painting then darkish wood like chocolate combine with nice yellowish.

just a thought.

I hope you didn't paint the stair case, I know white is in, but I think natural wood increases your house value. when we built our house we would have paid 8 grand more to get the oak trim/door package. It looks nice and I know it's not particularly part of the trend, just as natural colored cabinetry. I'd leave it a lone, your trim is small and not very in your face, I agree draw your eye away from it. But I am a huge fan of crown molding. I would add it I think it will add a nice touch to the rooms.

Paint the walls a nice warm color to bring out the wood. Then add in some crown molding to tie it all in.

Wood doors and wood windows are much more expensive than fiberglass and vinyl. If you are lucky enough to have wood, leave them stained and show them off. Cheap fiberglass doors are painted white, as are cheap mdf baseboards. The trend to paint everything white is probably because no-one can afford the more expensive beautiful wood doors and windows.

Question: Do you know what color stain is used on your trim? I moved into a house a year ago and am replacing a few pieces of trim, but it is almost impossible to find the right color to stain the new pieces. I was thinking of painting the whole house white, but that is way more work than I want to do. The trim in your pictures looks very similar to mine (I know pictures can throw off the color a bit, but anything is better than nothing). I'm out of ideas. Thanks!

I just painted all my wood trim white and it looks 100% better. Kept the doors and windowpanes wood. I think white would look good in yours too.

Beautiful, custom woodwork is very expensive install. Painting everything white came from the construction industry using cheap material and less labor...cutting, staining and finishing real quality wood takes time and a specialist. Slopping on some white paint is fast and cheap! For me, keep the wood. If you must, re-stain or re-finish so you have the matched look for that room.

My problem are the windows. No idea how much of trim to paint.
I am planning to paint kitchen cabinets and putting down wood flooring. Would appreciate any advice-- paint crown and base but leave windows and doors? Help

Don't paint any of the wood. Here is a classic Houzz article about what white and other colored wall paints harmonize best with wood trim.

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/11-terrific-paint-color-matches-for-wood-details-stsetivw-vs~9025200[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/11-terrific-paint-color-matches-for-wood-details-stsetivw-vs~9025200)

Why don't you try painting the walls a warmer white first in the main rooms and hall?

Get art work with beautiful subjects and color. Try some of the colors suggested in the article if they harmonize with your existing furniture. If you start to add new furniture or accessories to your house, start to move in a warmer direction that will bring out the warm wood tones of your floor and trim. Your living room rug perfectly harmonizes with the floor and trim, but the oversized beige sofas and beige rugs in the other rooms don't bring out the best in the wood. Here is some art that would warm up the living room and tie your furnishings together. Get something big. Hang your family photos in a grouping elsewhere.