You may have noticed the trend of painting walls and trim the same color is back…or it never really left. There are lots of reasons for it! Whether you choose a soft white or a jewel tone, you can get a great effect by having your walls, crown moldings, baseboards, window trim, and doors all the same color.
Here are situations where 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.
2. Softens Angles In Open Areas
Painting everything else white showcases the pretty banister, stair treads, and floor.
This room 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 color 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.
5. Create A Cozy Space
With the darker walls and ceiling…this room is like a cozy hug.
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 trim 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
- 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%.
- You can use Samplesize to try out color ans move them around the room throughout the day. Try living with the color, at least overnight.
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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.
What a collection of pretty rooms!
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!
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?
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
Around the molding will be snowbound.
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!
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.