Reader Question: Painting Trim

"In my sun room currently the trim is a beige color and the walls are a light ivory. What do you think about trim being darker than the walls. Because my trim is so wide and such a neat feature I am torn. I would like to paint the walls a light color. Would painting it lighter make it stand out more or would the walls take over? So do you think I should paint the trim a lighter ivory-off white color or leave it darker?"

Beautiful trim is an amazing thing to have in a room. You can get away with very little art, barely any window treatment, and basic furniture and still have a gorgeous room. One way to get the trim to stand out is to paint it white and put a bolder, contrasting color on the wall. But this is overdone, and in a small room you often want a lighter wall. Trim can be beautiful when painted a color, but to make it really stand out you will need to know a couple of tricks.

First, choose a color that is a sharp contrast to your wall color.

Second, keep your walls very neutral (don't try to put dark blue on the trim and light blue on the wall, it will just look tacky).

Third, choose a glossier finish than the wall. If you are using eggshell on your walls, choose semi-gloss for the trim.

Hope that helps!