You may have noticed the trend of painting walls and trim the same color is back…or it never really left. It’s called “color washing.”
There are lots of reasons for it! Whether you choose a soft white, neutral, or jewel tone, you can get a great effect by having your walls, crown moldings, baseboards, window trim, doors and even the ceiling all the same color.
This is an updated post and here are the situations where painting the same color makes sense.
1. Painting the Walls, Trim, and Doors the Same Color Adds Drama!
What a way to make an entrance! There is a lot going on in this narrow hallway with all the doors and heavy trim, but blue paint ties it all together with impact.
I debated whether to paint the ceiling of our dining room for a year before actually pulling the trigger on the white ceiling.
And I really like the way the color envelopes you.
2. Softens Angles In Open Areas
Painting everything else white showcases the pretty banister, stair treads, and floor.
This room with white walls opens to others like the living room and kitchen so painting the walls and trim the same color feels less choppy and softens the angled ceiling.
You can read more about this dining room update here.
3. Makes Carpentry Seamless
Painting the bookcases and all the other trim in the same semi-gloss finish creates a soft backdrop for all the colorful books.
Here the desk is even painted the same color which blends it together for a calming work environment.
4. Makes A Space Feel Larger
The all-white background recedes in our small beach cottage living room giving it a larger feel. The walls are painted Benjamin Moore White Dove.
5. Create A Cozy Space
With the darker walls and ceiling…this room is like a cozy hug. In our dining room with an unusually high chair rail, we chose to paint the walls, ceiling and trim paint all the same color (Sherwin Williams Acacia Haze).
This avoids feeling like you were “sitting in a hole” at the table and accents like the centerpiece really pop.
6. Highlight Your Art And Accessories
Having the walls and ceiling the same color allowed colorful accessories to shine in our former dining room.
Painting Tips
If you are painting your walls and trimming the same color, here are some of the things I recommend:
- When choosing the paint finish, paint the wood trim in satin (or high or semi-gloss for more “shiny drama”) and the walls in eggshell or flat. Or paint all the surfaces in satin.
- Always test your paint colors as even tried and true paints can look different in different rooms depending on the light and colors coming in through the windows, etc.
- If you want a lighter ceiling but still have it blend with darker walls, use the wall color lightened by 50%.
- We recommend Samplesize to try out colors and move them around the room throughout the day. Try living with the color, at least overnight. They are reusable, stick-on samples of the actual paint you are considering.
You may also like NO FAIL PAINT SHADES and How To Get The Right Paint Color For Your Space. Our daughter also color washed her son’s nursery here.
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Thank you for this Mary Ann. I love the color of your dining room, so beautiful. I am keeping a list of paint colors for the future as one day I hope to tackle our kitchen!
Such an interesting trend that definitely works in certain spaces. I wonder what we will think a few years from now? I love your dining room!
Hello,
Love the article. I am painting a smaller room, I’ve decided to paint the baseboards and wall the same color but was wondering why I wouldn’t paint both in semi-gloss. You article stated to paint the wall in flat and the baseboard in semi gloss, what is the reasoning?
Just a personal preference but you could definitely do that and it will look great.
IT gives more dimension and interest to the wall. Highly recommend varying the sheens to assure some interest and depth. I’ve never really seen semi-gloss walls. the tiny paint is generally reserved for trim and you can go semi or high gloss depending on the level of contrast you like.
It might depend on the smoothness of your walls and whether higher sheen will highlight possible defects/bumps.
I love this idea! Painting the walls and trim the same color really creates a seamless and cohesive look throughout the space. It feels so fresh and inviting. Thanks for sharing these tips!
You are welcome!
I loved this post! Painting walls and trim the same color really does create such a seamless look. It’s amazing how it can make a space feel larger and more cohesive. I can’t wait to try this in my own home!
I absolutely love the idea of painting walls and trim the same color! It creates such a cohesive and elegant look. Plus, it really simplifies the decorating process. Thanks for sharing these great reasons!
I absolutely love this idea! Painting walls and trim the same color creates such a cohesive and elegant look. It really helps to make a space feel larger and more inviting. Thanks for sharing these great reasons—I’m inspired to try this in my own home!
We have a new construction house that I’d like to paint wall and trims, even the ceiling one color. We have a large vault and windows on both sides of the great room, so plenty of light. I’m trying to decide on a white with SW that leans more towards gray than yellow but still has a bit of warmth in it. I also love Agreeable Gray and wondered if anyone has use this paint color for walls and trim and how that looked? Fantastic article, thanks!
I’ve used Agreeable Gray before…feels white to me which is a good thing,
Try bm pale oak its a beautiful light greige that leans gray wo being boring sad gray!
This was a great article. Built my home 18 years ago. White dove kitchen, trim, doors and moldings. I have a two story living room with upper window electric linen shades. Window frames trimmed in white dove. Would it look odd if I painted the window surrounds the same as the wall color? Wall color is BM natural linen similar to color of shades. Thanks for any input. Much appreciated.
That would look great!
Hi Mary Ann! I enjoyed this post about painting walls and trim the same color. I am painting my walls in Accessible Beige by Sherwin William in satin finish. Do you think I could get away with painting my baseboards and window trim (I don’t have crown) with the same paint and my doors with a darker contrasting color? My reasoning is I have several dogs and a husband that leaves dirty hand prints on my doors so it is hard to keep a light color clean. Thanks for your advice!
That sounds beautiful, Connie.
Hi,
Considering painting my walls all one color. Our house is custom built with a lot of trim/molding. We also have white-ish plantation shutters throughout the inside. My wall color is going to be Benjamin Moore Swiss coffee, should I keep the plantation shutters as is or paint them to match the Swiss Coffee!? I would greatly appreciate your help!! TIA 🙂
If it were my house, I wouldn’t paint the plantation shutters as it would be too costly and the paint may make them not operate as well. BM Swiss Coffee is still a white so the contrast won’t be that great.
Thinking about painting the walls, baseboards and window trim all the same color – eggshell for wall and semi-gloss for other parts. Would leaving the actual windows as white look weird and should I definitely paint them? We’re doing Raleigh Green in the “office” room.
Do you mean the mullions or the window frame? Paint as much of it as you can. In our case, the mullions are in between glass in the dining room, so we couldn’t paint them…but it’s not that noticable.
How about a doing walls and ceiling and trim agreeable gray. Is that too much
Maybe not if it’s the cozy look that you want. What room is it? Do you get much sunlight? Do you want it to be moody or cheerful?
Great article. I loved all the samples you shared. My favorite is the blue, would you happen to know the name of that color? Thanks in advance & again Thank you for sharing
I love that color, too. Sorry, I don’t know. You could try following the link to their site.
I guess gray became a trend because of stainless appliances and/or to combine with wood trim/floors to get a contemporary look? Or a reaction to TOO MUCH BEIGE in the early 2000’s??
Lovely rooms! We went monochromatic w/ trim and walls in our new house: we did a deep but narrow trim for our doors: it emphasizes the curved profile and recessed areas of the trim nicely, and the monochromatic look allows the paneled dark walnut doors to pop. (Not a coastal look! A combo of Tudor and Mediterranean – ;-}
I thought that you might chat more about your dining room and new table?
I am intrigued by this concept, but how do we transition from one room to another. What color do you recommend we use on the area/jamb between rooms?
On the jam, use the color from the main room that you are leaving.
Would you have the same door be two different colors then? One color on one side and a different color on the other side?
Exactly!
Absolutely love the one color throughout the room. All your inspiration example are amazing. Pinning madly. When we did this in our guest rooms, and library, surprisingly it made the low ceilinged spaces look bigger and more spacious. It’s such a great technique and look. Love love love! xo
Mary Ann, You helped me pick a paint color for our living room several months ago, White Dove, and suggested we paint the trim and the walls the same color. I love the look! It looks very fresh and pretty. Thank you for the recommendation!
That’s GREAT, Paula. Thanks for commenting.
Any chance you would post a picture of the White Dove with walls/baseboard the same color? I am such a visual person and considering the same color!
Mary Ann, everything thing old is new again…even in decorating. It is so funny on social media how everything is “NEW” when in fact more often than not, it has been done before over and over and over.
That said, love this post! I personally love painting everything the same color I personally like the seamless look and let the accessories and furniture speak form themselves.
Our current living room is indigo batik on the walls and the molding, I could not convince my husband to have the ceiling done too. But I am not giving up.
As for the rect of the house, it is all White Dove, and we love it. The molding, trim and wall are all the same and it makes a world of difference from the old paint colors. The house is lighter and brighter and yet warm and cosy.
That is so true, Elizabeth!!! Remember when traditional rugs were out and now they are really back!!! Everything comes back 🙂
We are about to paint a house and planning on doing this! What finish did you use for everything??
There are recommendations in the post, Shannon.
LOVE your site! Great designs. I painted my full western exposure new sun porch drywall SW EIDER WHITE there is a full brick back wall that I wanted to look different- so painted that SNOWBOUND SW. do not like this at all- too much contrast- also had painted trim SNOWBOUND-do not like it at all either. Now LOVE the idea of trim same color as walls- which are flat(these are rentals) and trim a different sheen- just cannot figure out what color to paint the brick! Eider white same sheen as trim? Eider white Semi gloss? the brick is nice and want stunning look. want those trims to soften up -when I saw the SNOWBOUND trim against the EIDER WHITE- it was awful to see it break up my pretty new sunroom! Please advise for brick color/ sheen
Can you send me a photo?
sure- how to send that? Thanks
Hello- I sent you the photos to your email address 2 days ago from [email protected]– I could not figure out how to upload them here- can you respond. Love your site.
Marla
What sheen for the ceiling if walls, trim, and ceiling are all the same color? Still flat like ceiling paint, or eggshell like walls, or satin like trim? Thanks!
I like the idea of everything in eggshell and trim in satin.
I am renovating a tiny bathroom, 4’x 4’ and the amount of trim is overwhelming in the room. There is 1 full window frame, the door frame and two unique windows up high that let the sunlight pass through to the interior room behind it. Because it is a bathroom with moisture issues, I am using a semi-gloss on the walls, do you think that I should use gloss on the frames or just stick with semi-gloss on everything?
I would definitely use semi-gloss on everything. So much easier and it will look less busy. Good luck!
Around the molding will be snowbound.
You touched on paint finish. We are going for a bright uniform look to make the space feel larger, but am stuck on paint sheen. Our crown modeling and baseboards are a bright white semi-gloss (SW Emerald paint) while the walls are snowbound in Sati, but we want to add wall moulding. Would you paint the moulding same color/sheen as the walls or same as the crown/base? Thanks!!
what color are you painting around the mouldings?
The walls will be snowbound
Great post! I love the clean look of walls and trim in the same color. My windows have white muntins sandwiched between two panes of glass, which I am not able to access. Do you believe this would distract from the tonal look? How would you handle this? Thank you!
I am not sure…sometimes it’s best to keep the window trim and muntins the same color but you could paint everything else the same color. Want to email a photo to me?
While you have a few good examples here, I think there are equally compelling reasons not to paint the trim the same color as the walls. The millwork in our house is one of its prime features so I don’t want to make all that beauty disappear; instead, we’ve used a color slightly lighter than the walls to highlight it.
Oh yes..there are still lots of good reasons to highlight good looking trim!
What a collection of pretty rooms!
I’m really looking forward to the day when gray is replaced by any other ‘in’ color. So tired of it. And, I find it depressing. Can’t imagine living with it 24/7.
I know. Lots of people are painting their gray rooms. There are lots of pretty blues, greens and whites with a touch of gray that look f=great though.
Still loving my grays (both light and dark) with pops of color throughout the rooms. I am more of a monochromatic person. Maybe that explains it.