From Brown to Bright: A Story of Painted Trim

 

My friend Erin and her husband bought their home several years ago, and have been making improvements to it ever since.  The house was built in the 80’s and was full of dark trim throughout.  Their family room has one window, which along with the woodwork, brick and low ceilings, made for a dark space. 

I usually try to stay out of friends’ decorating dilemmas (especially when it involves one wife who wants to paint all of the trim throughout the house and one husband who doesn’t see the point. . . .).  Since I’m friends with both of them, I just quietly cheered her on from the sidelines :)

 

Here’s what their family room looked like at Christmas:

 

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And, here’s what it looks like now (she has a good husband—he came around):

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They kept all of the same furniture, just painting the walls and trim, and changing out a few accessories.

 

 

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Another simple change she made was to her family wall gallery.  She changed out the mismatched frames for all black frames with white mats, which also helped to lighten things up.

 

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(We found the old dresser at a thrift store a while back.  She painted it black, and her husband made places for the media boxes by removing the drawers and adding shelves out of MDF.)

 

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She used “Stone Gray” by Olympic Paint on the walls . . .

 

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Hope this post helps any of you who are on the fence about taking the plunge and painting the trim.  Even her husband likes it :)

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PS-  Today is the last day to enter the pillowcase giveaway from Bedside Manor!

75 comments:

  1. Is your friend local? I am in Charlotte and like the look of the family pix just above the TV. If she's local, too, I'd love to have the name of the photographer...

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  2. Ooooohhh......the power of paint. What a huge difference! So glad her hubby saw the light.

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  3. That looks so great! Paint really does make such a HUGE difference in a room! Ooh, I am so tempted to paint all my ugly oak trim, I hate it! We will see, I have three floors of trim and doors, bathroom cabinets and a kitchen. Where is the magic paint fairy?

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  4. That is definitely a paint transformation! The gray is a lovely shade and the white trim really updates the space! A little money goes a long way in this family room. I also love how you calmed some of the bright accessories. Great job!!

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  5. What a wonderful transformation! I love the look of white trim, especially after having stained trim in our past two homes. Just brighter and fresher! (My husband is a convert as well). ;-)

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  6. Painting the trim is the way to go! We recently did the same thing in our family room and we love our new space.
    Nice job on the photos it's such a classic and neat look.

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  7. wow!!! What a huge difference! Loving the gallery wall!!

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  8. Paint can do wonders! Looks great!

    www.ashleyfalkenburginteriors.blogspot.com

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  9. Wow, painting the trim made such a big impact! The room has a completely different feel and it seems like light is flooding into the room now. Love the new room - it's beautiful!!

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  10. Oh wow, here before pic looks alot like my living room before (but hers looks better). I have the same wood trim. I would not mind it so much if it were a darker stain. I too have a husband who insisted we do not paint it white.

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  11. Beautiful!! Amazing what a little paint can do!

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  12. What a difference!! It looks great!

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  13. Woo hoo!! Looks fabulous-- amazing how the furniture and accessories take on a new life against a fresh coat of paint. Thanks for sharing, Emily!

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  14. We actually just painted our dark paneling last week and it's amazing to see the transformation. It took me four years to get my husband to come around, but it was worth the wait! I just posted "after" pics yesterday :) http://mardenfamily.blogspot.com

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  15. Crazy how much brighter and lighter the room looks. The sofa doesn't look like it is taking over the room , unlike before.

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  16. Just the change of the mantle and bookcases made a HUGE difference! Love it. I even pinned the picture of the hanging mirrors. Such a cute idea!

    Tell yourself and your friend you are both fabulous!

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  17. What is it with dark trim? I have recommended this change to a couple of clients because it takes a room from early American to fresh and clean. This is the perfect example.

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  18. Wow what a difference! It looks amazing! Kori xoxo

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  19. It's like two entirely different spaces. White trim is just so classic and fresh.

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  20. it's crazy what paint can do..i love it!

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  21. Love the transformation! The room looks so much lighter and brighter. It also feels fresher and updated, too!

    Adore the new living room, it's very beautiful. Great job!

    Jessie
    www.mixandchic.com

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  22. It looks fantastic! I LOVE the striped chairs!

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  23. The power of paint! amazing!!

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  24. I kept scrolling back and forth between the before and after, because they really didn't change that much! Just paint, the curtains, and a few little accessories.

    I'm so blown away right now.

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  25. what a difference! paint goes a long way!

    ashley

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  26. Amazing transformation!! Totally worth it.

    Would love to get your thoughts on painting a brick fireplace white. Our bedroom has a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace and mantle that I'm just dying to lighten up but I'm scared to take the leap.

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  27. Up until a year ago our family room was wood panel. It's tongue and groove so we didn't want to rip it out but the room was like a cave. I finally broke the hubby an painted it. I'm so glad your friends husband gave in, it doesn't even look like the same room!

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  28. I love the look of white trim. That does look million times better then the old dark look.

    Erica
    beautyfortheeye.blogspot.com

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  29. WOW! This may be the best representation I have ever seen of the miracles that a little (well, a lot) of paint can bring!
    So simple, so beautiful!

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  30. WOW! This may be the best representation I have ever seen of the miracles that a little (well, a lot) of paint can bring!
    So simple, so beautiful!

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  31. Whoa...makes a big difference. Love her striped chairs mixed with her leather couches.

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  32. Amazing! The new room looks so much lighter.

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  33. Emily this is one of the best examples of how to make what once seemed dated furniture look fresh and new again. It was not the furniture at all that was dating the room, but the colors and the dark woods. WOW!!!Is my reaction!! It looks as if your cheering really helped!! xo Kathysue

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  34. Looks great! It's amazing what a little bit of paint will do to a room!

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  35. Love the pictures on the wall and those striped chairs! The color makes the room look so open! Great choice!

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  36. Sooo much nicer.. Everything was too brown before..

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  37. Wow! ... the power of paint! I was going to say "a little paint" but that would be downplaying the tedious job of trim painting. I can feel the cramps in my hand already.

    Also, those upholstered arm chairs on either side of the tv are just great! Love em!

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  38. Wow!!! I LOVE the change! It looks so fresh and fun!!

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  39. Such a great transformation! It looks so much fresher now. Thank goodness her husband caved :)

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  40. Oh Emily...these husbands who think they "know"....good thing he came around. WHAT an improvement...so much lighter now. painting the trim was key to the updating of the room.

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  41. Emily,

    Great post! Painting trim is time consuming but well worth it in my opinion. I makes such a difference! Love the the liitle mirrors on ribbon hanging from the hooks! I'm going to use that somewhere. :)

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  42. I love white trim! We actually replaced all the dark 70's trim that was in our house with white and it made a HUGE difference. She did a great job with the whole room!

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  43. looks amazing!!! so fresh and new!

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  44. What a difference! That looks great!

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  45. What a huge improvement! I'm in a similar situation (my family room is all wood paneling) so thanks for the encouragement!

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  46. So many people are quite reserved about painting over wood but what a refreshing change it makes to this room, just amazing. Nice work. ;-)

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  47. I am in the middle of painting all the 80s oak in our home. It is truly a task and this post just gave me the courage to keep pressing forward. Thank you!!!!!

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  48. Fighting the same fight in my home. I know it is time consumming but is it as simple as taping and painting with white paint? Just wondering if you could give some process tips or point me to a good resource. Maybe if I have a good plan, I can turn him.

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  49. I love the change! I wonder if she'll end up painting the fireplace too, although the natural brick seems to go really well with their furniture. My hubby would probably have been like hers- he thinks everything is fine "as is"! :)

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  50. LOVE IT. I'm also in an 80's house with ALL dark brown trim and just itching to paint it all. Luckily, my hub is on board but we have so many projects - we need to re-do EVREYTHING!

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  51. It looks as if the paneling at the bottom was distressed. I have an entire room with distressed paneling. I think it would look really strange painted. Am I wrong?
    Thanks!!
    Haven

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  52. Funny how dated the Before looks now! What is it with guys and painting trim? It just goes to show that they should stick to the things they know best and leave the decor to us!

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  53. an amazing transformation. paint is the cheapest way to get instant gratification of change. amazing : )

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  54. WOW! what a transformation! It looks SO good :) Great job!

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  55. Oh my goodness! It is amazing what the right paint colors can do for a room! It looks like a completely new space!

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  56. This is EXACTLY what we did when we moved into our house. It's amazing what white trim can do to make a house look brighter, younger and more modern!!

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  57. I have to say....paint the brick fireplace!!! Our family room had the same brick fireplace surround, and it now looks amazing with painted brick. Soooo much lighter and brighter.

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  58. Wow! The room look so much bigger, almost twice the size. Glad she could talk him into changing it.

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  59. What a huge difference! Looks really great! Has she considered painting her brick fireplace too?

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  60. Thanks for all of your nice comments about Erin's living room. I know she enjoyed reading them.


    @Haven I don't think it would bother me to paint over distressed paneling.

    @MerrittTimes She hired a professional painter to do the trimwork, although I think it's achieveable on your own (just probably really tedious). I've never done it myself, so I don't have any tricks or tips to share :( I'll post if I come across a good tutorial.


    Also, just my two cents on the brick fireplace. . . I never thought she should paint it. I love the look of painted brick but in this room, it didn't make sense to me. She has alot of warm tones going on with the leather furniture, and I love the natural texture the brick provides. I think it's a fine line between just enough and too much white.

    Thanks again for all of your comments :)

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  61. a fantastic low budget change!!!! a breath of fresh air.

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  62. WOW! It is amazing what a little paint can do. Everything looks so classy and clean. I LOVE it! I would to feature this on my blog, let me know if you're okay with that! Thanks, Emily!

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  63. Love the new, fresh paint. Makes such a difference!

    xo,
    cristin

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  64. What a difference! The new look is so fresh. The wonders of paint. It looks like a brand new room.

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  65. Wow, what great advice you gave to her! Isn't it amazing how paint can transform a room from forgettable to fantastic?

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  66. Wow, that really makes a difference! Looks wonderful.

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  67. This really does look great! We had a similar issue in our old house and the paint pade all the difference. But we painted the brick around the fireplace too... really opened up the room.

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  68. Love the white trim, but Emily do you have any tips you want to share in getting them painted with nice crisp edges. Hard as we try the edges alwys look messy. Tried blue then green tape to get crisp edges....any pro tips?

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  69. Much improved! The new wall and trim paint took the room from dated to current. I'm a particular fan of the wall color because it looks just like mine. :)

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  70. My husband and I are interested in painting the trim of our new house but weren't sure about it! Did she paint the trim around the windows white? What kind of paint did they use?

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Your comments make my day! If you have a question, I'll try to answer in the comment section by the end of the day. Or, you can email me at emily@emilyaclark.com.

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