I don't see any difference in the house you show. The exterior is finished with a wood ceiling and wood trim and the interior of the house is painted wood.

If you prefer wood trim, then get wood trim. It's not your sister or your parent's house. It's YOUR house. Get what you love.

If you want stained, make sure you understand the woods being used.

Are you thinking stained doors as well?

Painted should be less expensive.

CP - when I click through all the pics in this project, about 10 pics or so in, it is dark wood trim around windows and a fireplace in several rooms - looks like a lower level. They are all labeled "Wayzata Dream Home" so I am pretty sure it is the same house, but looks totally different.

PPF - thinking that even if we go with white trim, we may still do stained doors.....I have looked at a lot of pics on Pinterest and Houzz and like that look a lot.

Our builder says they hand paint the white trim and it takes more work than just a stain and finish.

"Timeless" is what I am looking for. For some reason, I think of white trim as being more trendy, but I actually prefer the brightness and paint options of white. Thanks for responding

I don't think it's incorrect though, to do something like stained on the entire lower level and painted on the upper, or have a stand alone room thats all stained.

Agree with Pal. As long as each room is its own entity.

It also will depend on the wood used whether to stain or paint. What wood is the builder planning on using if you stain it?

I also disagree that painted white is more timeless. Tell that to all the 100+ year old houses with stained trim. Both can be timeless. (I personally wanted stained wood, but the price was much more expensive.)

The builder who says white is cheaper is probably using mdf for the white trim and real wood for the stained trim. The builder that says white is more expensive is probably using real wood for both and when you use the same material, painted is more labor intensive so it is more expensive.

Yeah, I asked our Amish builder if they use MDF I had read on here about it being less expensive and he said, "welllllllllllll, *maybe* we could use something like that..." They build mostly higher-end homes, so probably not a norm for them. I just hate the idea of painting nice wood. OTOH, I have lived with wide (orangish) stained oak trim and crown molding in our 1920's farmhouse for almost 20 years, and while I like it, the paint options are sooooo limited that white seems so different and limitless that it is tempting to go with that. I need to decide soon, and am so torn!!!!

The builder who says white is cheaper is probably using mdf for the white trim and real wood for the stained trim

Sorry but no. Our builder uses poplar.

I used a combination of poplar and MDF in my last place, because I reproduced a lot millwork (in poplar) and needed some really wide baseboards, which were stepped in thickness and had a cap on the top. I had no problem using MDF because there were no exposed edges.

My point was that not all trim is equal so it is impossible to have a blanket statement of painted or stained trim is cheaper unless you know the material being used. In our case, if using the same wood for painted or stained, painted was more expensive.

To me, it boils down to the aesthetic you are going for. I like fresh, open, light interiors, and I don't care for the way stained trim "outlines" a room, especially if light colored walls are used. Of course, a wood paneled study is glorious and would use stained trim, even in a house with painted trim in all the other rooms. As far as material goes...if your builder is using quality stain grade wood, it will most certainly be more expensive. I mean, the wood is significantly more expensive than paint grade poplar, and it still has to be stained, just like the poplar has to be painted. Isn't all trim hand painted? How could you effectively spray trim?

Building on nini's post above, here is a gorgeous pine paneled room, and look at the room beyond it, with the painted trim. My 1937 Cape had varied paint trim colors AND some rooms with stained trim when I bought it, and over time, I painted all the trim a custom off-white.

I like it better when it is consistent throughout the house. I think if you were going to do a combination you would have to make sure other things were the same to continue flow.

We have stained (clear) trim on exterior doors and windows on the first floor. White trim on interior doors and upstairs windows and doors. All the window interior finishes are stained (clear). Looks good to me ;-)

Good luck!

One thing to think about if you are thinking about having it different on different levels is where the switch takes place. At the top of the stairs? Bottom? That transition might be awkward.