Trim Color Tips: Get Your White Trim Right

With the many decisions one must make during construction or renovation, the small ones can be the toughest. Take selecting a trim color; it's a relatively small detail, but I've seen many homeowners stress about making the decision or wait until the very last minute, with a paint contractor breathing down their neck for a selection. Not fun.

If you are fortunate enough to have high-quality wood trim that's in good shape, and you like the look of it unpainted, consider yourself lucky. For those of you who need to or want to paint your trim white, here are a few options that might spark an idea for your project.

If you like contrast. Use color to set off beautiful door and window casings. With the walls painted a deep, dark hue and with a crisp white for the trim, the gorgeous details in the space here really pop.


For a minimalist look. If you are stuck with builder-grade wood trim or prefer a more minimalist look, paint the trim the same color as the surrounding wall. Use a semigloss sheen on the wood so it's more durable and easier to clean.


With natural wood. If you have nice wood elements, keep them natural, but set them off with white painted wood trim. If the baseboard trim and door casings here were natural wood, none of the elements would really stand out, especially against the wood floor and the decorative joists above the door. Add white painted trim to the mix, though, and all of the high-quality wood detailing stands out.


With cool colors. A foolproof way to select a trim color is to take a cue from the color palette in the room. If you are painting your walls a cool color (greens, blues, purples or grays), then find a white that reads as cooler. The easiest way to do this is to put swatches of various white paints next to one another and see how they play off one another. Some colors will appear more warm or beige-like; others will read as a very light gray with hints of green, blue or purple.


Cool white trim colors. Each of these paint colors reads as plain white or a slight off-white individually. But when they're placed next to one another, you can really see the hints of other colors they contain.

Depending on the color calibration of your monitor, what you see here color-wise is not necessarily what you are going to get. Always refer to the actual paint swatches when selecting colors and sample any colors you like to make sure they work in your space.

From left to right:
1. Site White SW7070, Sherwin-Williams
2. Full Moon 780E-2, Behr
3. Mineral Ash 7006-19, Valspar
4. Horizon OC-53, Benjamin Moore


With warm colors. If your palette is on the warmer side (shades of red, brown, orange or yellow), select a white that has a hint of warmth. This would be a white with orange or yellow mixed in.


Warm white trim colors. See the note about your monitor's color calibration above.

From left to right:
1. Creamy SW7012, Sherwin-Williams
2. Popped Corn W-B-200, Behr
3. Snow Cap 7003-8, Valspar
4. Acadia White OC-38, Benjamin Moore


Mix things up with neutrals. Those who like to branch out and are confident in their own color picks can mix up their cool and warm colors. This beautiful dining room features a neutral wall color with a cool ceiling color and a warm white trim color. The effect is soothing because the colors are all very muted and soft.

Tell us: What's your go-to white trim paint?

More: Interior Trim: 8 Must-Know Elements

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