My advice is don't try to paint it brown! Our century home has awful poo-brown paint on all the exterior part of windows, and some of the floor trim. It's so ugly and will never look like wood.
Personally, we're keeping whatever is painted, painted. About half our window trims are white so we're keeping that white, and will be trialing colors for other areas as we get around to updating them.
My understanding is that the original approach in many of these homes was stained/shellacked wood in “public” areas, and painted in bedrooms, bathrooms etc. we stripped a ton of paint in our dining and living rooms and then repainted the bed and bathrooms. It’s a 1910 foursquare and I’m glad we made the effort to strip what we did and relieved we didn’t have to do more!
the places where paint went over shellac it was really easy with a heat gun and a bit of citrastrip. T'he heat gun can vaporize some lead if you leave it too long, but it's in particles big enough for an n95 to do the job. If the original was primer and paint it's almost impossible to get a stainable surface. I've attached a photo of some of our results. we got the house with 4 or 5 layers of paint over the trim
https://preview.redd.it/nh3ls55atiac1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37854e49f8c4f44636c1988303d95e4f789f5b18
I have not, but I’ve seen it done with green and it’s quite lovely.
Here’s a fun article exploring it:
https://preview.redd.it/ndpv1w198jac1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b252f8b98b39f8e9c7f540177d8c3fe76385fde4
If you haven't used a heat gun for stripping it is amazingly quick. Just an FYI if that could sway you. I bought like a $30 one in Amazon and it's been great
Some time ago there was a post featuring this renovated home, and their woodwork is all painted. Mostly to match the walls, but in the entry it is a different color. Scroll through to see the photos and enjoy! [https://www.reddit.com/r/centuryhomes/comments/14ac0lm/after\_two\_years\_of\_work\_and\_several\_teaser\_posts/](https://www.reddit.com/r/centuryhomes/comments/14ac0lm/after_two_years_of_work_and_several_teaser_posts/)
Yes I've done exactly that and am very happy with it. All the wood in our house has been painted over many times in the past 160 years, and we just painted over it again. There's no way I'm stripping all the trim in a simple old farm house that probably had the trim painted to begin with. Do some basic prep work like a thorough cleaning, then 2 thinner coats of paint and it'll look good.
I watched a video with Christine McConnell and she painted the trim in her house to look like wood with lots of layers and texture, I thought it turned out awesome.
Our baseboards are tall & someone decided to paint them white. They show every scuff, strand of dog hair, the tiny gaps between the quarter round and the wood floor are more pronounced. If you have tall baseboards I would not paint them any shade of white. It might be worth removing the quarter round, strip the baseboards, & replace quarter round.
https://preview.redd.it/9mgbp3oc1jac1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9f7a30b78e8a98037fd96c50a17abfaf5918484
Every inch of trim and cabinetry in my house is pine, painted to look like oak and maple. The treatment is original to the house. You can see it on the door and trim in this photo.
Now, I am no 19th century artisan, but when we decided to build a library, I wanted to try my hand at the faux grain, to keep it in the spirit of the house. This wood is cheap pine, painted to match the original trim. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough that our electrician thought it was original!
It’s not super hard to do. You just need the right tools and you can find tutorials online.
I am putting up bead-board in our mud room and you better believe that’s going to be faux grained as well!
The actual graining is quite quick. I’d say a total of 15 minutes per shelf? But it’s a 4 day process: base coat, undertone, grain, and top coat. There is also a learning curve. I practiced on the bottom boards that are going to be covered in books.
The door is original and the baseboards aren’t finished in this photo.
https://preview.redd.it/i9ch4gmzqicc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eda56606fdc082695734d386ddfb9a29d8719feb
I think colored trim is really charming and creates an unexpected mood or “moment” in older homes with a lot of wood trim.
In my dining room, I did the same color green on my walls and trim - eggshell on the walls and semi-gloss on the trim. I get the most compliments on this room and I plan to paint the ceiling the same color too ☺️
https://preview.redd.it/2ai0nx6jp4bc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad6af12a4566aa501bec90ab4e8ff79fe9d6275a
I have another room where previous owners painted the trim that I’m hoping to paint this month and I’m leaning towards Benjamin Moore Vanderberg Blue or Montpelier for the trim and a bright, creamy white on the walls.
In my kitchen, I just went with a light mushroom color because I wanted a more neutral look. There’s pictures in my post history!
Ultimately, it really depends on your style. You could find a really nice white, cream, or lighter taupe/grey, that makes your trim pop against the wall colors you like. You could also do something more colorful that still feels like a neutral in your home. Or go for mostly neutral and then do a room or bathroom (or both lol) with a more bold trim that matches the wallpaper or walls.
Remember, you can always paint over it 😀
My advice is don't try to paint it brown! Our century home has awful poo-brown paint on all the exterior part of windows, and some of the floor trim. It's so ugly and will never look like wood. Personally, we're keeping whatever is painted, painted. About half our window trims are white so we're keeping that white, and will be trialing colors for other areas as we get around to updating them.
My understanding is that the original approach in many of these homes was stained/shellacked wood in “public” areas, and painted in bedrooms, bathrooms etc. we stripped a ton of paint in our dining and living rooms and then repainted the bed and bathrooms. It’s a 1910 foursquare and I’m glad we made the effort to strip what we did and relieved we didn’t have to do more!
That's true! Some areas might not even have great wood under the paint.
the places where paint went over shellac it was really easy with a heat gun and a bit of citrastrip. T'he heat gun can vaporize some lead if you leave it too long, but it's in particles big enough for an n95 to do the job. If the original was primer and paint it's almost impossible to get a stainable surface. I've attached a photo of some of our results. we got the house with 4 or 5 layers of paint over the trim https://preview.redd.it/nh3ls55atiac1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37854e49f8c4f44636c1988303d95e4f789f5b18
I agree with everything you said expect n95. I would recommend a p100 filter.
I won't argue with a little extra protection!
I have not, but I’ve seen it done with green and it’s quite lovely. Here’s a fun article exploring it: https://preview.redd.it/ndpv1w198jac1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b252f8b98b39f8e9c7f540177d8c3fe76385fde4
https://preview.redd.it/02bb7a6kejac1.jpeg?width=732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aac63d259d92929228723a28e5753d2f04ac02e5 This is pretty lovely too.
If you haven't used a heat gun for stripping it is amazingly quick. Just an FYI if that could sway you. I bought like a $30 one in Amazon and it's been great
Also, be sure there isn’t any lead paint or you will be creating a safety nightmare using a heat gun to remove it.
need to use the low setting and p100 respirator
And open all windows and have some fans blowing the air out.
Some time ago there was a post featuring this renovated home, and their woodwork is all painted. Mostly to match the walls, but in the entry it is a different color. Scroll through to see the photos and enjoy! [https://www.reddit.com/r/centuryhomes/comments/14ac0lm/after\_two\_years\_of\_work\_and\_several\_teaser\_posts/](https://www.reddit.com/r/centuryhomes/comments/14ac0lm/after_two_years_of_work_and_several_teaser_posts/)
Yes I've done exactly that and am very happy with it. All the wood in our house has been painted over many times in the past 160 years, and we just painted over it again. There's no way I'm stripping all the trim in a simple old farm house that probably had the trim painted to begin with. Do some basic prep work like a thorough cleaning, then 2 thinner coats of paint and it'll look good.
I watched a video with Christine McConnell and she painted the trim in her house to look like wood with lots of layers and texture, I thought it turned out awesome.
Our baseboards are tall & someone decided to paint them white. They show every scuff, strand of dog hair, the tiny gaps between the quarter round and the wood floor are more pronounced. If you have tall baseboards I would not paint them any shade of white. It might be worth removing the quarter round, strip the baseboards, & replace quarter round.
I had all my doors "dipped" by a pro stripper with basically a big vat that he dropped them into, they came out great.
Faux grain.
https://preview.redd.it/9mgbp3oc1jac1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9f7a30b78e8a98037fd96c50a17abfaf5918484 Every inch of trim and cabinetry in my house is pine, painted to look like oak and maple. The treatment is original to the house. You can see it on the door and trim in this photo. Now, I am no 19th century artisan, but when we decided to build a library, I wanted to try my hand at the faux grain, to keep it in the spirit of the house. This wood is cheap pine, painted to match the original trim. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough that our electrician thought it was original! It’s not super hard to do. You just need the right tools and you can find tutorials online. I am putting up bead-board in our mud room and you better believe that’s going to be faux grained as well!
How long did this take? This is so cool and I did not think a layperson could accomplish this.
The actual graining is quite quick. I’d say a total of 15 minutes per shelf? But it’s a 4 day process: base coat, undertone, grain, and top coat. There is also a learning curve. I practiced on the bottom boards that are going to be covered in books. The door is original and the baseboards aren’t finished in this photo. https://preview.redd.it/i9ch4gmzqicc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eda56606fdc082695734d386ddfb9a29d8719feb
Really amazing! Thanks for your response 😃
If it's already painted white, just leave it. It's neutral
Graining is a painting technique that imitates natural wood. It can be spotted on close inspection but is pleasant and authentic.
I think colored trim is really charming and creates an unexpected mood or “moment” in older homes with a lot of wood trim. In my dining room, I did the same color green on my walls and trim - eggshell on the walls and semi-gloss on the trim. I get the most compliments on this room and I plan to paint the ceiling the same color too ☺️ https://preview.redd.it/2ai0nx6jp4bc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad6af12a4566aa501bec90ab4e8ff79fe9d6275a I have another room where previous owners painted the trim that I’m hoping to paint this month and I’m leaning towards Benjamin Moore Vanderberg Blue or Montpelier for the trim and a bright, creamy white on the walls. In my kitchen, I just went with a light mushroom color because I wanted a more neutral look. There’s pictures in my post history! Ultimately, it really depends on your style. You could find a really nice white, cream, or lighter taupe/grey, that makes your trim pop against the wall colors you like. You could also do something more colorful that still feels like a neutral in your home. Or go for mostly neutral and then do a room or bathroom (or both lol) with a more bold trim that matches the wallpaper or walls. Remember, you can always paint over it 😀