dark wood trim

We're in the process of looking for a new home, and we're starting to narrow down the options.  Majority of the homes we are looking at are cute little old homes filled with character.  I've always wanted to redo and modernize an old home, so because of this, we're looking to buy a fixer upper.  However, as we look at all of these homes, I'm presented with a major design dilemma.

If you follow this blog, you've probably come to learn a lot about my design style.  Although it varies depending on the project, normally I'm drawn towards contemporary design with soft colors.  I'm also a huge advocate of black and white, as they are neutral and everything seems to pop against them.  In our current house, we have maple trim everywhere, which is in really good condition, so I couldn't bring myself to paint it white although I much prefer white trim in homes.  I always told myself that the next house we'd buy, I'd be able to paint the trim because it would be some ugly oak trim from the late 80's early 90's, or we'd be buying an old home whose trim was in terrible condition so I wouldn't feel bad painting it.  

Well, that may not be the case.

It just so happens that a lot of the homes we are looking at are these beautiful craftsman style homes with dark trim that is in great condition.  But here's the thing: although they are full of character and all that good stuff, the rooms are DARK.  All I want to do is go in there with a fresh coat of white paint and brighten everything up.  But then there's that little voice in the back of my mind saying "don't you dare paint that gorgeous wood."  And then I think of all the homeowners I've heard complaining about the previous owners who painted the wood in their home...and I just don't think I can do it.  But I also don't want to live in a cave. 

So, I did what anyone would do in my situation, and turned to google.  I started searching for images of rooms with dark trim that I actually liked, and unfortunately, they were few and far between.  However, I did manage to find some, and in the middle of my search, I thought it'd make for a good blog post.  So without further ado, here are some rooms that have dark trim that manage to not look like caves and I actually really like...enjoy:

Contemporary Kitchen by Fort Lauderdale Architects & Designers tuthill architecture

Asian Bedroom by Silver Spring Architects & Designers Gardner Mohr Architects LLC

Traditional Kitchen by Chicago Kitchen & Bath Designers Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab

Traditional Living Room by Linda McDougald Design 

Traditional Porch by Linda McDougald Design