How bad is it to paint hardwood trim in an old Victorian style home?

Question

My husband and I just purchased a home which needs some brightening up. The house feels sort of "frumpy." It has natural hardwood floors, wood trim and the french doors are also the same wood. The kitchen has been updated to a more modern look already. I fear losing some sort of character or even value if we paint the trim but it is so dark. There isn't tons of natural light durring the day and I want to make the house more cheery. The walls will all be neutral colors blending from room to room so nothing too drastic. Mostly taupe / tans and off white. I would like to paint the trim a bright white or some shade of white. Do I dare?

Answer 1

I live in a 1903 victorian in downtown Savannah, GA, most of the victorians around here have all been painted to the updated white modern look. Wood trim and doors on a victorinan may be original , however once you paint them you will be much more happy. It totally opens up the space, and looks cleaner as well. Use a good primer, Kilz works best for covering up the wood, especially if it has stainblocker, if you don't prime it with stainblocker, the stain will bleed through the paint. It takes several coats of paint to completely cover the old wood, but i think it will really update, and open up your rooms, making them feels lighter and brighter, and not so frumpy. stick with it, don;t get frustrated, and you will be happy with the results. While the wood look may be original and sound good to most people, its hard living in a victorian with all that wood trim without it feeling a bit frumpy.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Victorian Wood Trim

Answer 4

"I" personally wouldn't paint it, especially if you plan on selling it at some point in the future, but if you plan on living there quite some time, go ahead and do what you think would look best. You also might just try painting the trim in one room first, to see how you like it. Good Luck!

Answer 5

personally i love the natural look of wood because of the grains and paint would cover all that up and just think in another thirty years wood is gonna be hard to come by. so i would think of maybe putting a brighter stain on there and see what that would look like before paint

Answer 6

Alot of the old victorian homes have white or off white trim, anyway. Go for it, it will look great and you won't lose the historial integrity of the house.

Answer 7

buy a wood wash, which you can make it lighter, but will still show grain of wood with a limed effect. You can also buy wood lighteners. But, if you are painting, its better to paint it, than remove it, that would be really bad thing to do.

Answer 8

if you do paint it you should use the best quality paint or it will not stick if the wood has been varnished. and yes it Will look much better after you paint the trim

Answer 9

Sure you can. Be sure to either strip or prime the trim first.

I know there's the feeling that you should keep the house in its original "character," but if you're not happy in it, there's no reason not to change.