When designing a custom home, you’ll come across a lot of old-school design rules. Some of these “rules” are still important, while others just reflect outdated design ideas and can be ignored. One of those rules is that all trim in a home must be the same color. Having one colored trim in a home can create cohesion, and it makes the selection of other design elements easier, but it is not an absolute rule.
Mixing trim colors can be challenging though. There is an art to doing it right. Here are a few tips from our custom home builders on how to successfully mix trim colors!
Differentiate Between Public and Private Spaces
A good custom home should flow throughout the house. That means that all of the rooms should feel as if they belong together. However, not every room in a home needs to have a cohesive vibe. Private areas of the home such as bedrooms and bathroom can be a bit different from public areas, such as the kitchen, living room, and dining room. It’s pretty common these days to have one trim color throughout the public areas of a home, but a different one is a bathroom or bedroom.
Limit Color Options
The most common trim colors used these days are white or stained wood. Some homes can handle more out there colors such as grey, off-white, or even black. Whatever color or colors you decide to go for, make sure you limit yourself. A home with six different colored trim is too much. Two different trim colors are usually best.
Use it for Focus
One reason why using two different trim colors became popular is that it allows people to highlight feature elements. Let’s say you have an awesome front door that you want to stand out from an entryway closet. Painting the door and trim a separate color allows it to stand out. It’s common these days to have exterior doors, such as a patio or front door, and the surrounding trim be a separate color than the rest so that it becomes a featured element!
Keep Elements the Same
The easiest way to mix trim colors is to keep certain elements the same. It’s easy to mix wood and white trim if you keep all of the floor and door trim white, but go for wood doors and window trim. Mixing trim doesn’t work when you use white floor trim in one room with wood window trim and then in the next room use wood floor trim and white windows. There needs to be some consistency.
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