Decorating & Renovating
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Picking out interior trim & doors
We are currently building right now and I'm having some issues picking out my trim & doors for the interior of my home. I already have the bathroom cabinets and kitchen cabinets and countertops picked out. In the bathroom we will be having espresso colored cabinets with black granite countertops, the floors will be a light colored tile. In the kitchen we are going to have cherry cabinets with stainless steel appliances, black countertops, and light brown tile floors. The problem I am having is this, should I contrast the inside more-using a lighter oak trim and for the doors...or should I use a darker trim for the doors & trim? I'm by no means an interior designer, so I am having a really hard time trying to figure all of this out. TIA.
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Re: Picking out interior trim &amp; doors
Wives Unscripted
Yes every person here is going to say they prefer white trim. BUT you're in rural WI where stained trim is king and preferred by the vast majority of buyers. So for resale purposes you should keep that in mind. It's a MN/WI thing possibly because of the logging industry past. People around here love their wood and see painted white trim as a downgrade. Are you building in a new development where it's primarily young couples or are you in the country? Is there a diverse mix of age groups in your area? I would say unless you live in an area with a very young age group and all new houses you should stick with stained trim. Ask around and see what your neighbors have. That said warm orange colored oak is out...very out. A medium-dark to darker walnut type stain is the most pleasing oak stain color for a wide range of people I'd say. Some people do not like the wide grain oak can get and a darker finish helps hide that. A color like that would also work with the color scheme you are describing. White trim with all dark finishes will look off. What type and color of floors are you using throughout the house?
Can I ask how much natural light and artificial light these spaces will get? Dark counters with dark cabinetry will make the space feel very small unless you have a lot of both. The lighting designers here at work usually suggest x1.5 the amount of lighting for a space with mostly dark finishes. All dark finishes are all kind of "out" sorry to say. All white kitchens for example are very in but personally I think a mix of finish colors is the way to go to keep from looking dated. Dark cabinetry in a decent size bathroom won't make the space feel too small but dark uppers and lowers in the kitchen can really make the space feel dark and cave like. Try mixing it up with a light tan granite or quartz countertop. That provides a nice contrast between the cabinets and countertop as well making each piece be noticed instead of visually blending into one. Then follow that with a light or white backsplash. Otherwise consider going with a light cabinet and a dark countertop. When we get around to redoing the kitchen we're going with maple cabinetry with shaker style doors in a natural finish. It's light and bright (our kitchen gets very natural light) but is still stained wood which is easier to keep clean compared to white cabinetry and the preferred material choice in our area.
HTH
Fox~ We are building a home in the country in Wisconsin. For the floors, we will be having tile floors on the whole downstairs, the great room will be carpeted though. I have 18 foot windows in the great room, which opens up to the kitchen & dining room...I also have a sunroom that is connected to the great room-so we have plenty of windows for natural light. I plan on having a light or white backsplash. My H doesn't like wood floors...so that is out for us
I am still confused on what to do for the trim though. Should I contrast and go with a light oak or would that look bad with the dark cabinets? I attached a jpeg of our houseplan...so you will kind of have an idea about what I am talk about!! Thanks for the help so far!
We looked into that already, and he just doesn't like the "look" of wood at all for floorings. So we are doing all tile with carpet in the great room, bedrooms, stairs & master closet....we might just do a runner for the stairs though!
Bummer. Mine was the opposite, but I was able to convince him based upon the house having more "flow" with one consistent option. Good Luck!
Thank you
All of the info and floorplan is very helpful in giving you suggestions. The nice big bathrooms and very open kitchen with vaulted ceiling LR nearby should give you lots of space. Just make sure you put in plenty of lighting in the LR/DR/kitchen because vaulted spaces really absorb a lot of light. Our kitchen in contrast is basically a galley style only an L shape and even though it's big can look small because of the dark oak cabinets we have.
Well since you're building in the country I'm guessing this is a home you plan to be in for a long time if not have it be your "forever" home right? In that case if you like white trim go for it. Resale value is not an issue put in what you like. But since you came on asking about stained trim I'm guessing that is what you and your DH prefer. Light oak can create a nice contrast yes. It also is less noticeable around the windows (depending on what you plan to use for window treatments that may or may not be feature you see). By not having hardwood floors your options are very open and you don't have to worry about the wood on wood look. I would sit down with your DH and think of a basic color scheme for each room. Do you gravitate toward light colored wall with dark furniture/accessories or darker walls for example. Do you plan to have a chair rail or wainscoting in any room? Then think about how different trim colors would look in each space. Dark walls usually look best with dark stained trim or painted white trim...not really sure why just something I've noticed. With light colored walls your options are open.
Also look at what style your house is going to be. Contemporary or traditional? There are no hard fast rules either way but lighting colored trim is normally associated with contemporary style and dark-medium for traditional. Are you going with a basic 6 panel door or a different style? What style is the trim going be the standard ranch style (that is what it's called it doesn't have to be in a ranch house) that is 2.5-3" wide and tapers at the top?
A very light colored stain over oak can be very pretty looking. Just try to keep your stain choices as neutral as possible...not too yellow or too red so it works with a range of color schemes. For example gray walls can look bad with stained trim if your stain is too red/orange colored. There is always the possibility of having painted white trim with a door painted on one side in one room as well if you are set on a certain look.
One other side note. Make sure you insulate the crap out of that garage. In WI the cold temperatures and snow will be coming in and your bed and bath will be drafty. Also you're going to have drains over your garage...how is that going to work? Do you have a double/extra deep ceiling in there? I'd go with close cell spray foam along with the highest R-value garage door you can find. Our DR is over our two car garage and the R-17 doors from Clopay have made a big difference in drafts. New belt driven garage door openers are x10 quieter as well. Your builder will argue that a cold garage is OK but when it's under conditioned space it's just as important to keep warm and insulated as any other part of your house...it would be like not insulating your attic. LOL sorry for the side topic I design HVAC systems for a living and am very into energy efficiency.
Also look at what style your house is going to be. Contemporary or traditional?
~ we are going to be contemporary/modern
Are you going with a basic 6 panel door or a different style? What style is the trim going be the standard ranch style (that is what it's called it doesn't have to be in a ranch house) that is 2.5-3" wide and tapers at the top?
~I'm not even sure what to do for the style of the door! LOL! All of this is so overwhelming for me! So, I thought I would ask about opinions!!
Also, I was going to say, the outside of our house will have a light gray/brown steel siding, gray steel shingles, light brown stacked stone, and white trim...so I need ideas for our front door too! We know the style...just not the color! haha
We are doing lots of insulated spray foam throughout the house, we know it gets super cold out here
We are actually building right across the road from where we are living right now (we rent from DH's parents-it's his grandpa's old farmhouse). We plan on living in this house forever and we are definitely building our dream home! It's just so hard for me to picture it in my head and try to guess on what colors would look good and where...the door styles, trims, & wall colors are all above me! ha!
also, if you have any pictures that would help me out, that would be awesome!!
http://pinterest.com/pin/255368241341099520/
this is how I would like my stairs to look...besides the wood flooring. I'm thinking the white trim would look best. I'm pretty sure DH wants to stick with white walls for the kitchen, dining room, and great room.
Can I ask what in particular you like about that photo? Because that style is craftsman all the way...which is traditional not modern. Mixing white risers and spindles with wood newel posts and trim is easy to do and a nice accent. You can still have wood trim everywhere else and have it flow nicely.
Modern would be like slab doors (no panels what so ever) or one big recessed panel. Most people associate slab with a low builder grade material though.
I would really focus on finding inspiration pictures and narrow down what you both like and dislike. You might find your style isn't contemporary at all.
What is the style of the front door? Do you have an example of the steel siding and roof you're thinking about? Sounds kind of like a barn to me...LOL...sorry. Very low maintenance and long lasting though which is awesome! The stone will really help it look more inviting and more like a home. Have you considered a gray stone instead or a non-gray siding? Tan and gray combos are difficult to get right if they don't have the right undertones. Grays are normally cool colored and tans are warm colored. Maybe consider a light sage green siding with tan stone (warm) or a blue gray siding with gray stone (cool). I have lots of exterior ideas on my pinterest board but they are mostly craftsman style with green siding and tan stone because that is what we're considering remodeling our house to be. Craftsman is very popular right now across the country but especially in our area since Frank Lloyd Wright grew up and lived nearby.
Modern style houses would normally have a pop of color on the front door. Like a robin's egg blue with gray siding for example.
Can I be nosy and ask what you're thinking of for utilities? Do you have city natural gas and water or are you going to have an independent well, septic, and fuel system?
I just realized you had your pinterest board links in your siggy. Yes basically every pin you have in the "for the home" board is a modern craftsman style. Not contemporary. I mean that in the most helpful way of course.
For example:
Tapered craftsman square columns with a stone wrap. Horizontal trim accents that separate two style of trim. This stone has a lot of gray in it but also has a darker tan mixed in among other colors...I thought you meant a solid light tan stone like limestone when I made my previous comment.
Again craftsman columns. Deep overhangs with cornices. More horizontal accent trim...I can't remember the technical name for this but I digress.
Haha! See!! I told you that I pretty much suck at picking things out for my home
Here's how the outside of ours will look:
The rock is not drawn in...the entire entryway will be made of stacked stone.
I think you should choose lighter oak trim for doors. it gives a pretty look to your home as you says thet in your home everything is open.
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Shutters
Thank You
OK so the exterior style looks like a mix. Straight columns with a stone wrap, multi-peaked roofline, horizontal siding, and prairie style window grilles. I would say it's kind of rustic modern...rustic because of the many natural elements used like stone and stained wood but with a more streamlines modern feel (ie not a log cabin). Does that sound about right?
As far as the front door goes have you considered a stained wood look? There are many fiberglass doors that have a very nice looking wood finish. That way you get the energy efficiency of the insulated door and no rotting or extra maintenance with the look of wood. I think that would look really nice with the stone entry and you can even tie in the look with the garage doors. The double and single door take up a massive amount of real estate on the front of your house. You'll want them to make a statement and tie in with the rest of the house. Cheap white or gray painted doors will bring down the look of the home. If you had a side entry garage like both of your inspiration pictures that wouldn't be as big of a deal. We replaced our garage doors a few years ago with these Clopay doors. A nice wood look on fiberglass with an R-17 insulation and even insulated glass windows.
Here's some more details and pictures of them. At the time they were new on the market but Clopay's less expensive line now carries this look but without the insulation value and insulated windows I believe. They sell them at Menard's under the Ideal name. But honestly our doors weren't that expensive and the upgrade in insulation has drastically improved the temperature of our dining room above the garage. They are the first thing you see from the street (our front door is on a different side of the house) and we got a lot of compliments on them. I can't wait until we get around to residing the house with tan stone and light green siding to complete the look!
Our front door will have a similar look of dark stained wood and stained glass upper windows in a craftsman style. We're looking at ThermaTru doors. Good quality, lots of options, and a better price than similar Pella doors or the like.