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morgan_gilmore

Black trim yay or nay

I am building a home modern farmhouse where I have attached the flooring cabinets and countertop. We are going to do open shelves with black metal pipes and black hard ware. I am considering black trim any thoughts?!

Comments (26)

  • PRO
    9 years ago
    Also black interior windows
  • 9 years ago

    Although the inspiration photo looks fantastic, it may not appeal to everyone, especially if you plan to sell any time soon. The kitchen cabinets seem more traditional/mediterranean than modern farmhouse. In my mind, the black trim may be too much with the detailed cabinetry. Love the idea of black pipes/open shelving though. Good luck, it is going to be beautiful.

  • 9 years ago

    I love black trim!!!

  • 9 years ago

    I prefer white as it can chop up a room. Notice even in your inspiration picture some of the woodwork is white.


  • PRO
    9 years ago

    I ThInk the black trim will make the house very dramatic if that is the look you are going for. However the farm house look is not dramatic. You might want to rethink this choice due to you will probably get tired of it and it will be a great deal of work to change it. Good luck and post pictures when you are finished, I would love to see them.

  • 9 years ago

    We bought a loft in an old Industrial building where they had painted all the trim black. It made the space feel dark, even with 14' ceilings. We had it repainted white. It's much brighter. We would never go back to black. The idea is better than the reality.

    Your cabinets don't read modern farmhouse to me either. Perhaps a local designer brought in for a few hours could help review your selections and avoid some costly mistakes.


  • PRO
    9 years ago

    I agree with lwfromny what great advice!! I do love black trim in some settings, but farmhouse, no. Fits more in chic, loft, Art Deco styling. Doesn't work with farmhouse. I think a simpler cabinet style would suit better as well and then of course, a lighter or Jet Mist granite countertop. That countertop is not farmhouse at all. So, guess I'm saying, back to the drawing boards. Do you have a designer helping you? When you have to make dozens of decisions for a kitchen, it takes a experienced hand to help so you stay on track in design, pricing, and a combination that works for both. Tricky business. I didn't check your profile to see if you have photos in your idea books but if you haven't that might be a good way to hone in on style better. Are you limited by a builder choice situation? Help us understand a bit better and we can give you better input.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    OK, I just checked and you don't have any ideabooks. It would be very wise if you did some searches here on Houzz for "modern farmhouse kitchens" and pull up examples you like, to get a much firmer handle on what you actually want as an end result. Being in your business, you should have access to some designers that can help you and it would be well worth the investment to get that help. Kitchens especially are the most expensive room in the house and require dozens of decisions for elements so they "work together". Once you have saved photos of rooms and looks you like it will help explain to other people who are helping you with selections as well. In a quick search myself I couldn't find a single kitchen in the "farmhouse/modern" search I did with the combination of cabinet, countertop and flooring. Here are a couple I did find.

    Center Cut White Oak Flooring · More Info

  • PRO
    9 years ago


    Kitchens · More Info

  • PRO
    9 years ago


    Modern Kitchen · More Info
    So, I think you need to clarify what you want to do or you will have a pretty big problem on your hands. Hope you will take a bit of time and make sure you know what you are going for. I am going to do a search of "traditional" kitchens and show you what your sample cabinets etc will end up looking like. Not saying its bad, but not what you are describing.
    1041 EL · More Info
    Notice the medium brown flooring, the darker countertops and the glazed creamy cabinets. If this is look you want, also note the white trim around the window. Maybe it is just semantics, not sure, but using those samples, definitely do white or even cream trim.

  • 9 years ago
    Would always look dusty..?
  • 9 years ago
    I'm a designer, black trim can look amazing with cream walls, soft taupe, but definitely not red walls. It is popular right now but not a great choice for resale. For modern farmhouse use a "white" cabinet door with a flat panel instead of the raised panel in your picture.
  • 9 years ago
    I agree with the suggestion of black windows, also I would select polished nickel hardware. Carerra marble on the island with soapstone on the perimeter tops would complete your look.
  • PRO
    9 years ago
    The door is not the pattern we are using just a heads up everyone! It's actually a shaker style. This was just for color pallet purposes
  • 9 years ago

    What about gray trim eithbwhite walls?

  • PRO
    9 years ago
    The cabinet door is for color purpose only. As I've said we are doing a shaker style cabinet
  • 9 years ago

    Is this your own house or are you building it on spec?

  • PRO
    9 years ago
    My own house
  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nate berkus did a modern farmhouse with black.

    Its totally doable.

    I feel like the trend of grays and neutrals got really big starting in 2008 because of the financial crisis. Everybody was so freaking out about having to sell their homes and appealed to the widest range of buyers, that every thing became super super neutral. But who knows what the future will bring. I think people should just make spaces the way that makes them happy.

    This is his own kitchen btw

  • 9 years ago
    Ah - thank you for the clarification in the cabinets. Shaker will be great!

    I don't know if you are interested in some additional inspiration photos, but I've attached a link below to a blog with photos of what I think is one of the most beautiful farmhouse kitchens I've ever seen. It mixes farmhouse style with more modern touches in the chairs, range, faucet, and lighting.

    With regard to the comment on whether black trim gets dusty the answer is YES. I have a staircase that has black in it (hard to explain where the black part is so I'm attaching a picture). The black area has to be wiped down at least once a week. I can't imagine having my whole house have black for baseboards - it would be a nightmare. That's why I think it's a good idea to limit black accents to more vertical surfaces such as window millions and maybe doors.

    http://fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/kitchen-details.html?m=1
  • PRO
    9 years ago
    This is my forever home as well. Not intended to sell unless I die
  • 9 years ago
    No glaze on cabinets - to me that is country, not modern farmhouse. And the backsplash tiles look a bit too rustic to be modern farmhouse. I would use soapstone for your counter instead of that granite
  • 9 years ago
    Here's another link to a blog with white modern farmhouse kitchen: cityfarmhouse.com/2016/02/15-amazing-white-modern-farmhouse-kitchens.html
  • 9 years ago
    Concrete Services I think as I look at the comments that one of the reasons this thread has maybe not been as focused as you might like is that everyone has their own idea of what modern farmhouse means. What matters is YOUR concept of it. Do you have some photos you could post that capture the look you're wanting to achieve?
  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It all depends on how much trim you have that you intend to paint black and what the other colors are. I would not paint black trim with the orange walls shown in your first post. But selected areas black or very dark gray windows and doors against white, steel and wood could look really good as some of the posts above, and some more here, illustrate. Note that in all of these examples a lot of the trim is left white.