You need to post in the Home Decorating forum. You'll get advice about this over there. I think you would be happier if the trim in all the rooms "matched". I see baseboard in your laundry room that's white. And I see the white chair rail--personally, I'd just remove that.

What I would do is paint it all out white. But I like, and always have, beefy white trim. But there will be lots of folks who disagree with me. Your floors like nice and in good condition! I think you can do a lot to spiff up an already very nice house.

happened to see this and looked because I have stained trim too..I am NOT interested in painting my trim but WILL be painting the walls..if you had richer deeper walls you might like the trim..just a thought..in your own pics the trim is more attractive by the stairs and in the entry with darker colors that the adjacent spaces with lighter colors (in my opinion)..

Painting it all is not an option because my husband really doesn't want that. I didn't even notice the laundry room floor was white. I do like chair rails, but again I didn't notice it was white.

What colors would you recommend? We tend to paint our house in light colors but you said darker is better. How about darker on the bottom and lighter on top?

This is the living room. (directly across from dining room)' This has carpet. The wood really stands out against the carpeting. (and yes, we will get new window treatments!)

This color is under the chair rail in living room, hallway, foyer, eat in kitchen and then all on the walls in the family room. In the way in kitchen it has this texture.

I'd like it better if the doors were also oak--I like Nichol's trim with the matching doors. Easier said than done, of course! Paint the doors?

I agree with the above posters though--wall paint and the Home dec forum.

as Mrs S and Fori mentioned you should try the Home dec forum for good suggestions..my bedroom has light carpet and walls and I also HATE the way the dark trim stands out between the walls and floor..but I like our trim and am trying to improve my decor but keep the trim..I think whatever colors you love as long as it is not too light would look nicer than white or pale cream..

This was my first post in Houzz and I didn't even know about that forum. Thank you!

you posted good pics..you'll get opinions and can then decide what you like..

Re your question of what "better" is - better IMHO would be beefier, more substantial, thicker woodwork. Is that an older house where they took out the original trim and replaced it with thinner, cheaper from big box store? If so, look into what would have been typical in the era your house was built and recreate it - may have to get it milled or if you know how to handle a router, just diy.

Personally I’m another vote for painting the trim white (what is it with men and ‘wood’). Many of your doors are already white/ not Wood, as is your chair rail. A fresh coat of paint will make everything unified. Keep the staircase stained if you want.

When living in a colonial, the first floor trim was stained, and the upstairs was painted. The white painted trim always appeared dirty within a short time of cleaning it and I had to wash it every three months. The downstairs I was able to clean just once a year. I would never choose painted trim because I am a clean freak and if it looks dirty- I need to clean it.

I would definitely not paint the trim. Your problem is the wall colors. There are colors darker and richer than dove white.

Can I find an app or site that allows me to virtually test painting trim?

@Mrs. S I have the same problem currently!! (Hubs says no to painting/ nixing the trim, I’m in desperate need for an updated look.) Did you have any luck with deciding on paint colors? Thanks!

I find that with this kind of trim a grayish-green looks really nice. (If you don't want an off-white color). Here are some examples.

Or a brighter green!

I think blue can look very nice as well. IMHO, I think making sure it's a grayish-blue gives a softer, more sophisticated look. I was just thinking, as I looked through photo examples, that my favorites are those where there wasn't much black. Colors muted; soft, lighter backgrounds on prints. Finish on hardware and lighting brownish rather than black.

Again, I'm not a designer, just noticing things. I like how the plainer cream-colored rug softens up the room in this first picture below.

I just want to add, for those of you who feel “blocked“ on achieving a clean fresh look with painted trim because your husbands refuse. Create the list of things that will need to be done in order to make the rooms livable for you since he refuses to paint. Whether that be adding more wood, sanding and restaining the existing trim AND repainting the walls. In other word, make sure he knows the cost and larger amount of work involved in KEEPING the wood stained the way he wants. ♥️