Hi there, I am a flooring professional and just came across your post... let's see if I can be of any help to you. HandyMac was spot on about the baseboards. If you like and want to keep the wood-look, a light sanding and finishing is necessary to update them.

This means either removing them [which isn't recommended for a number of reasons: 1. if you don't score the tops where they meet the painted wall, you risk pulling and cracking the paint, which means also repainting and possibly repairing; 2. unless you've done it before, removing base molding without breaking it requires finesse, to say the least] then they would have to be lightly sanded, or abraded so they would accept the new finish [you're going to have to do the profile by hand, which isn't difficult, but just time consuming] apply the finish, and re-install, OR try to sand and finish them while they're in place on the walls.

You can remove the existing and buy new, and install..

You can always prime and paint them in place with a little painters tape on the floors. That would save you the hassle of removing them at all!

As for the Cedar trim, I really don't think there is a stain on it at all. It, most likely, just has a finish on it. Cedar is a species of wood with straight open grains, and when unfinished, using a sponge to clean it wouldn't be recommended. If you want to refinish the cedar trim on the kitchen island, I'd recommend lightly sanding, don't worry about a stain, for that, you'd have to evenly sand 100%. If you want to change the color, look into mono-coats. That's a tinted polyurethane. It gives you a seal on the wood, with a color. Or you can simply sand and put a new coat of finish on. The easiest of the options is to prime and paint the trim. The other end of the spectrum (the good thing about trim) is that it's aesthetic... If you don't like it at all, you can always remove it and put something else there!

There are lots of styles of trim! Antique, Colonial, there are so many possibilities... and it looks like the kitchen island trim is just there on the corners, so it would be fairly easy to remove and replace with new... here are some examples...

As for cleaning: theres really only one product we recommend to ALL of our flooring clients.... That's ammonia-free windex. Just make sure the wood you're cleaning has a finish on it. Which is why I recommended refinishing your trim pieces, or painting them. Exposed, unfinished wood never likes any kind of moisture. Sealing it with a polyurethane really ensures the life of the wood. Ammonia-free windex will clean your floors, trim, and everything else without damaging the finish. A dry-swiffer (or something like it) for your wood floors, and a mist of ammonia-free windex will work beautifully. That's the same for your wood trim on your kitchen island... you can use paper towels, a micro-fiber cloth, or even the dry swiffer sheet with the windex, and clean them/wipe down by hand. When you own a home with wood floors and trim, ammonia free windex is a much-needed staple.

I hope this helped. I know a new home can be overwhelming if there are aspects that you want to update but don't know where to start. Just decide the look you want, and go from there!

Good Luck!

The Couture Floor Company

Floor Care And Maintenance

Well, it really all depends on what look you're going for. If this is a new house to you, I say go for what you want! If you want to keep the wood-look, I'd recommend either trying to refinish the trim with it in place, or buying new. If you want to paint it, I'd definitely say paint ALL of it. Keeping the flow of the home consistent. I think the trim would look really nice in white. It might brighten everything up. But if you're set on the wood-look, the refinishing is probably the best way to go. There's nothing structurally wrong with whats there, the finish is just worn. That's what is so great about wood! Tthere are so many possibilities. It all depends on how in depth you want to go to achieve the look you want, but anything is possible.

The character of the Cypress is really beautiful! I would definitely refinish what you have without adding stain to it. The natural wood appears to be a theme throughout the home, and that's great! Use it! Reclaimed and distressed-looks are really big trends for 2017! Believe it or not, solid wood trim is more expensive, more valuable, and sought-after than the manufactured white primed trim you see a lot more of these days. Cypress is a beautiful wood; I would keep it natural and emphasize it's unique character with refinishing. Definitely use the ammonia-free windex (or a similar product) for cleaning though. All the finish-issue's you're seeing look to be normal wear. With a light sanding and re-finishing, they'll be as good as new.