Option 5!

As a designer… 7+/- years ago I would have been on the white train immediately. Today, initially reading through your post I was like go black, go black! Then, as I sifted through your photos I came to agree with you, your trim is definitely too thick to take on the black trim everywhere. I think the best option is to go white on the windows/trim and black at the beams (The white seemed weird to me, maybe you don’t have enough wood work up on the ceiling to make it work). Drama in the right place without overshadowing the gorgeous light you want to flood the room. Now, all that said, I personally would go with (or at least look into) the OCD option of black just at the inside window frames and white at the thicker wood trim- I’d like to point out the second to last inspiration photo, the one with the black fireplace, (and I think the second inspiration image, it’s really hard to tell but it looks like there is a slight shadow of moulding!) has white trim surrounding the black window frame (hope this makes sense). What I’m trying to say is the skinny… Read more »

Option #10 is my favorite. A modern take while preserving the historic elements. That gray is going to make all the colors in the room really pop and the white trim around the windows makes the whole room feel brighter.

I would go with #5 or #8. But it seems really clear from reading your post that you don’t really want the black. It’s important to pick what you want to live with day to day more than what you think designers or your readers will like, especially if this is your home-home and not just for your portfolio. I saw this picture yesterday and it made me think of this space, looking back now I see it’s dark windows and light ceiling and I think that’s really appealing! Actually my favorite of your options was option #3 and this is similar. https://www.instagram.com/p/BLKYpOZD9Oa/?taken-by=remodelaholic

The beams are one of the most interesting visual elements in the whole house. To paint them white or grey and render them virtually invisible would be a crime. I vote option 8 all the way – dramatic and RISKY for your personal style – which, as a designer, is the best and most fun kind of challenge. Go big or go home! 🙂

So exciting! I voted for option 5, but I also love option 3! Good luck!

I like #5 but also #8 IF you have mostly white furniture. That kitchen up top with black windows is otherwise all white. We didn’t get to choose any colors because our place is historically protected. The window frames and shutters (which, unusually, are on the inside) were required to be pale gray (RAL 7035 to be precise). I did get to do black window frames on the interior in a bathroom because it doesn’t have shutters. The bathroom is all white except for a very thin black stripe around the room and tiny black cabuchons amid the white tile. I LOVE it. But again, it’s mostly white with a little black. A white window there would have been banal.
You won’t regret #5, especially if your furniture is colorful.

I wish option 4 made the cut but, you know, it’s your house and not mine. 🙂 LOL good luck!!!

At first I was leaning toward Option 8, but I think lots of black windows will be a lot of look. Option 1 is the most balanced. The beams were a ceiling detail that was meant to be seen, so painting them out with white feels like a missed opportunity. Option 1 gives you a way to show of historical, interesting details in your house while also not having every window and thick molding pop out at you.

I like 5 and 8 the best. Mixing the trim and beam colors just doesn’t work for me. 5 is subtle and relatively unremarkable, blank canvas-ish. 8 is dramatic and like, wow. I can see either working well depending on what you want. Since you’re a designer, I vote for wow. 8.

Oh God I’m torn too! The black is SO sexy but I have a deep, deep love for white trim. It’s classic and bright and would help the space feel more versatile I think. Definitely anti gray. The image of the white windows with black hardware (matte??) was so good, maybe having those small bits of black, like curtain hardware, window hardware, etc. will give enough drama and chic-ness.
Just my two cents! 🙂 I’ve been loving following this new home journey with ya!

Not one of your top 4, but I like Option 3 the best.

#10. Shows off the architectural detail, but looks modern and bright.

Option 1. I think once the furniture grounds the room, the black beams will look awesome. It would also be the easiest to repaint (beams black to white) if you ended up hating it. So excited to see how it turns out!

Option 3 or 4, actually, leaning toward 3.

I like #5. I think you are light and airy and your house needs to reflect that. I like the idea of black windows but your windows are thicker and you’re right that it feels heavier. I think light and bright and bring in drama with furnishings and design. That is your talent and I think it will be shown off better against a clean backdrop like a clean canvas.

That’s a TOUGH decision. I really like how the dark wood beams and white windows look in this post, fourth picture down. I know you said the beams can’t be stained but they can be faked with a good decorative painter: Segreto Finishes is one of the best!
http://segretofinishes.com/segreto/2016/09/05/french-moroccan-home-old-world-charm.html

Emily, I thought for sure I would choose the all black option because it’s so classic but then I fell hard for option 1 which I think is a classic too – just a gentler one. Sooo many options! It’s refreshing to see a designer struggling with paint where. I’m rooting for you!

I chose Option #1, just because all white lacks emphasis on the architecture in my eyes. (It’s not my house of course, so, there’s that.) I totally agree that the black on all trim could be overbearing. I feel like all white is not as beautiful as the black drawing the eye up… and I wish I could see the rooms light because I’m not a huge fan of any kind of gray. My whole house is gray and it works, but we live in a new build, zero architecture and low lighting. Lots of wood tones have been used to brighten it up!

option 6

I prefer option 5. If there was an option for wood beams and white trim everywhere else, I would like that best. I think the black is too much/too dark. Many of the black windows and doors you like for inspiration are really steel-framed not the thick wood trim you have. I think the white looks simple and beautiful and with the light wall paint it is very calming which is what I prefer in my home.

I prefer option 5 of the 4 you chose but my FAVE is option 3. I hate the black beams but love the black window sashes with white trim.

Also, question, I’m no designer but can’t you do the trim around the windows separately from the window sashes? So white trim but black sashes to cut down on the amount of black? I thought the two tone thing was a thing.

Only voted for the all white because it’s the only one with white beams. For some reason, I feel that black beams look too harsh in the room. The windows are the real problem!

The only one that I really loved was #3 which didn’t make your final four. Option 5 is my fave of the four that you selected. Nice and bright.

One word- DUST! All I could think was how much dust will show on all of that black. So my vote is white!

#5. You can add black with your furniture and accessories. A long time ago my mother advised using my walls and floors as a background “and decorate with your accessories.” BTW…. I’m painting all trim white in dining room/kitchen. Walls will be Sherwin Williams ” Sedate Gray.

I love all the PS mockups – but personally find the black ceiling trim ridiculous. The black doors with everything else white seemed by far the best to me. Could generate a bit of additional subtle interest by choosing a gloss white for the baseboards and ceiling bits and eggshell for the walls . . . but given the 4 you narrowed it down to I’d have to pick the all white. The black above everything just feels so distracting and cramped.

#1 and add black hardware for doors and windows. The hardware would help balance the room so it’s not just top-heavy in black.

Ah! This is such a tough choice.

I loved the all black, but I do agree that it was very visually heavy and dramatic. I can certainly see how you may not want to go for that vibe in your tranquil daily living area. The white felt fresh and bright (though maybe a little bit boring?), but I think it will still be a classic and gorgeous canvas for whatever you design within it!

I was another one who really liked option 3 as well! It feels more visually balanced to me than the white trim / black beam of option 1, but perhaps that is because the room is empty. I can definitely see how the darker beam could draw your eye up in option 1, so that you experience the entire room beyond what is just at eye level.

My advice is to just go with your gut! You know you the best – your plans for the room and the overall look and feel to come.

What a shame the wood isn’t good enough to stain! That warm wood tone is gorgeous in the photo your contractor sent!
If you could swing it, I would definitely figure out a way to get unpainted wood beams up there!

It’s hard to make a decision without seeing the furnishings, but based on the renderings, the all-white is the clear winner to me. The black seems so stark and not english cottagey at all. BUT…the photograph of the current state is honestly prettier to me than all of the renderings. (Maybe renderings never look as good as real pics??) I know the wood is not in good condition, but if that’s a project you can do later, I think that’s another reason to go with the white, which will look awesome with natural wood tones.

We went with white trim throughout our 1928 tudor. Tudors, especially those with smaller windows get dark and gloomy fast and we’re very happy with our decision to keep it light.

Having said that I’m all for #1 for the detail contrast.

The room is sort of an interesting mix of Romantic and Spanish and those additional garnish/trim pieces on the joints and base of the beams look a touch out of place. They add bulk but I’m not sure that they really enhance the design. I’d suggest trying both with and without those garnishes no matter the paint choice.

I voted for #5, but 2, 5, 7 and 10 all look nice to me. I think the ones with the beams, windows and trim are all the same look more cohesive and l like the brighter/lighter colors for that room. I think at night dark trim will just be so heavy and gloomy.

I vote option 1. And if you could add black hardware to the windows I think it would look amazing!

Lindsay agrees with Lindsey! Option 3 was my favorite (black but in a smaller dose and the beams didn’t seem bright white) with 7 being a close second. Most of the trim in my 100 y/o house is natural wood (chestnut) but my kitchen and bath are painted a similar gray-Benjamin Moore Willow Creek, love it! I picked option 12 from the final 4 but the black beams seem jarring to me…….

Not one of your final shortlist, but option 6 was actually my favourite. Ignore the beams – paint them the exact same colour as your walls and ceiling (whichever shade you go for) and treat the windows separately. Personally I love black on the window frames and paler beams, but it wouldn’t matter. Main point is that beams and window don’t need to match!

If I worked in your office, I would vote for white #5.

I also could compromise and vote for white beams and black doors + windows.

Of those 4, I like option #5. My favorite was Option #3. Black on the ceiling/beams feels heavy to me and makes the room feel smaller.

personally i love option #3

Absolutely #5! I do like the idea of trying some black hardware, easy to change out if you don’t like it.

I’d go with Option 1. But would paint only the baseboards, outside window and door casing/trim white. Then paint the doors and window mullions black. That way it it reads thinner like the inspiration photos and helps to balance the black beams.

Option 3 is my fav. I’m not in love with the shape of the ceiling beams in the living room, they remind me of giant insect legs overhead. They also give such a high rhythm to the ceiling, I feel like i’m being pulled somewhere else when all I’d want is to sit, relax and look at the beautiful garden instead of focussing on the ceiling… They make the eyes loo up instead of out. I love the idea of clean bright white ceilings, beams and walls with the chic contrast of black windows.

Good luck on this one. whatever you decide, it will be fabulous!

I was with you in hoping this could end with re-finishing and staining the beams. In the absence of that, though, I don’t *love* the beams (the spacing? the amount they arch down on the walls?) and think they suit a lower-contrast situation much better than a higher contrast situation. I’d be apt to do something with the walls and beams the exact same tone, with a different tone on the window/door trim and baseboards (either white on walls and beams, and grey on trim; or grey on walls and beams, and white on trim). My favourite inspiration photo was the one with the black hardware. I think that’s a better look for this house, as you’ve said, on account of the thicker door frames. I also think you’ll love it longer. That said, I was kind of expecting (hoping?) you’d go in a more beige direction with your walls this time. I kind of got it in my head that this house was going to be “taupe.” (I just painted our house BM Smokey Taupe, and then after that, saw that SW’s 2017 colour of the year is Poised Taupe.) Did you try the renderings with some warmer colours?… Read more »

I prefer the all white, and at most would do black beams. Definitely no grey on the trim/beams!!!

I definitely vote for white. I agree with you that while the black windows/moulding look fantastic in the right house, your historic house has much thicker and much MORE moulding which means a LOT of black. I live in a 20’s craftsman and we have a lot of windows and moulding too. We painted our walls white (BM Chantilly Lace) and windows and mouldings are all a very light gray (Ralph Lauren Montauk Driftwood). Also we did the windows in a higher gloss then the walls which I think helps give them more attention without being distracting.

I would just ask yourself what you want people to notice when they walk into your room? Will it be a beautiful piece of art, an inviting seating arrangement, or two huge bays of windows. That would answer the question for me!

Voted but my favorite is option 3 black on windows/doors, white trim.

Emily This is quite the decorating pickle you’ve gotten yourself into! A house with a different style then you currently live in, drool worthy trim details, a complicated layout scenario, and falling down the Pinterest rabbit hole. Lol! I went back and read your post on the layout for this room and yesterday’s post on feeling/inspiration and I keep coming back to the core concept that this is about your children in a shared family space…and the house feeling “new/old house: classic, casual, comfortable, inviting, and yes, always happy with a more older-world feel than I’ve had before with some classic midcentury pieces in the mix” The black is compelling but more drama then family space may want/need. The black is aspirational but not happy/casual/comfortable. Basically the black is a IG girl with eyebrows on fleek, contoring and highlighting, and face slaying. Whereas option 10 and 5 are a natural Instagram beauty with great skin and beautiful eyes who happened to catch the light with her face. Neither is better then the other but what speaks to Emily? I’m not even going to work on metaphors for those other colors. And mixing black in on beams but not Windows makes… Read more »

I like the black on the windows and doors but not on the beams. Its looking like spider legs on your ceiling. I do like black doors and windows but the beams are to much.

All black! (But I would paint the shelving whatever wall color you select so it blends in more.) I say embrace the Tudor elements and give into the house’s spirit a little bit. The gray feels way too cold for me with that architectural style. Do you know Reath Design’s work? I have recently gone down the rabbit hole. I am in a 100 year old foursquare, with two kids under six. The use of color with kid-friendly design that somehow feels super fresh and modern while also working in more traditional spaces is hitting all my buttons right now. I think the lead was previously at Commune and the sensibility feels more LA than Jessica Helgerson’s work (which I also adore). You’ll do beautiful work, but it’s a big decision for sure!