The trim throughout your house is typically made of wood, so it is sometimes left unpainted. Instead, the trim is only stained and protected by wood finish, left in its natural state. Some wall colors will have different advantages when paired with wood trim. The trim can run along the foot of your walls, around your doors and windows, and across the ceiling. We have carefully put together a list of wall colors that will go with wood trim.
If you have wood trim in your house, the ideal color for your walls should coordinate with its color or style. Some colors will agree and contrast, while others allow the natural wood appearance to come through:
- Brown
- White
- Grey
- Green or Blue
- Natural Wood
Leaving the trim inside the house as natural wood is a unique look, making it challenging to select the right color for your walls. Keep reading to learn which colors look nice with wood trim, how to match the trim to other areas, and if stained trim is outdated.
What Color Walls Go With Wood Trim
Brown
Trim with a natural wood appearance will typically have undertones of brown. This includes different varieties of wood species. Brown is already a common tool for interior designs that aim to imitate the look and feel of nature. If the wood trim is left unpainted, then you are likely styling in that direction already.
If not, combining brown walls with wood trim will also soften the impact of the natural style by adding a clear yet smooth transition. This can make it easier to style other areas of the room with additional colors on the accents and furniture sets.
White
White is the most popularly used appearance for most walls. This is because white is a pure neutral with a high temperature. Its reflective nature can make any room seem larger than its actual size. It also gives white the ability to brighten a room and work with absolutely any other color.
Still, it is important to consider that using white on the walls will emphasize the wood trim. This creates highlighted borders from your baseboards, casing, and crown molding. That means these edges will be instantly noticeable in the room from floor to ceiling, from any point of view.
Does grey go with wood?
It is common for grey to be paired with wooden trim, fixtures, and décor. That is because many types of wood can have grey surfaces or undertones. These wood types are popularly used to style several kinds of rustic interior designs.
Grey walls can also serve as a strong point of contrast with wood trim. Even though grey is a pure neutral and will pair with any color, it also has a cold temperature. That characteristic will allow grey to cause contrast with the natural warmth of most wood.
Grey is traditionally used to create minimalist room styles, and it is often considered to be boring or mechanical. But grey walls can also be calming and help to highlight the brighter wood species.
Green or Blue
Because green and blue will consistently be linked to nature imagery, they are a good fit for wood trim walls. Green has a built-in warmth that will agree with brighter species of wood. Although you can use green with darker shades, it will usually maintain its warmth.
You can also use the color blue on your walls to contrast with the temperature of brighter wood. Blue is relaxing and can also retain its coolness with brighter shades. This is an easier way to add color without something as bold as green. Blue is more flexible and can be found in more interior designs.
Natural Wood
In addition to the wood trim, it is possible to use wood for your walls. This can sometimes feel overwhelming, and the combination is only used for certain interior designs.
For example, it is common to use knotty pine for walls because it is a cheap and attractive wood species. Knotty pine highlights the wood knots across its surface and can be used to create the feel of a homemade cabin.
You do not have to match the same wood stain or species as the trim. It is best to avoid doing so in order to prevent redundancy. Instead, it is ideal to coordinate colors so that they remain within two or three shades of each other.
Staining the wood walls can introduce more unusual colors in a smooth way that does not feel out of place. Cherry wood, red oak, or mahogany wood stains can include many different shades of red.
It is also possible to close or distance the gap between the wood walls and trim by using different gloss levels for the wood finish. The gloss determines how much the wood is going to shine. That can offer other avenues of style.
What colors go well with dark wood trim?
Dark wood trim does not have to be treated any differently from lighter trim. If the goal is to create contrast, it is best to use brighter colors on your walls. If you would prefer to let the trim feel less noticeable, then pair it with darker walls.
Since dark walls are not always desirable, dark shades of blue and green are useful. Wood species that are typically darker, such as walnut, can also be used for the walls. You can also use light grey walls to match the coolness of dark trim.
You can read the post, What Color Flooring Goes With Dark Trim?, to learn how flooring works with darker trim.
Should all the trim in a house match?
There are multiple types of trim in a house. The baseboards protect the feet of your walls, the casing will outline your doors and windows, and the crown moldings decorate the area where your walls and ceiling meet.
Since each of these are easily distinguishable in every room, it is generally best that they all match. This is because the style and décor may not be consistent inside the house. For instance, bathrooms and kitchens are often brighter and include water-resistant flooring.
The different types of trim are an important way to unify the house. You can read the post, Can You Mix Wood And White Trim?, for more details and to learn about some exceptions.
Should baseboards match the floor or trim?
Baseboard moldings are technically considered a type of trim. Therefore, it is best that baseboards match the rest of the trim in the house instead of the flooring.
Also, consider that it is easier to avoid causing damage to your baseboards if they are a different color than the floor. The baseboards should be noticeable since they are already so low to the ground. Although the baseboards are designed to protect the walls, they can still be easily damaged and may need to be fixed or refinished.
Does your hardwood floor need to match your trim?
It is not necessary for a floor of any material to match the trim as long as the two remain appropriately coordinated. This is true even if the floor and trim are both made of wood. If the two are given identical wood stains, then all of the trim will appear to be an extension of the floor.
But that can sometimes look uneven. If the two blend together, it can also become more likely to overlook the baseboards and cause damage to them. Crown moldings that match the floor could look too overwhelming.
You can use different wood stains to separate the floor and trim by at least two shades. The trim can be lighter or darker than the floor. But it is generally best for the floor to be the darkest surface in any room because it can ground the space with an emphasized foundation.
Is stained wood trim outdated?
It is unlikely that stained wood trim will become outdated at any time. Although this appearance is commonly found in older homes, some rustic and vintage interior designs will purposefully invite that imagery. Also, wood stains are very flexible. This makes it easy to avoid or follow trends by re-staining the trim with more popular or unique stains.
Summary
Because the house's trim is visible from floor to ceiling, it is important to coordinate the color and style with your walls. Different colors will have various effects on the temperature of the room. They may also be used to rearrange what features are highlighted. Some wall colors will agree or contrast. While the decision is subjective, understanding these relationships should help you begin styling the walls and trim together.