Hi Annie, I love your blog!
We have just purchased a 1929 Tudor style house in Seattle…The mahogany trim is original and beautiful however almost brown/black and the walls are peachy. We are going to paint the trim up (with much sadness) to some variation of white (I saw your post of three favorite trim colors) and the walls a neutral to warm light yellow in hopes of catching any stray Seattle light.
The basement has built in cabinets which are black with wood trim. Do you have suggestions as to colors that might make it an interesting statement while keeping in the general tone of the rest of the house?….
Thanks so much! I’m so happy to have discovered your blog. I’ve learned so much in the hours I’ve spent reading it just now.
Respectfully yours, Audrey
A: Dear Audrey: What an adorable house! In the basement, it would be fun to use a few different colors on the walls behind the shelves, leaving the trim natural wood.
Let’s take a Mondrian approach to this, shall we? Different palette, same principle. In the fireplace picture, let’s imagine painting :
– the fireplace surround color #1
– the lower shelves to the left of the FP color #2
– the upper shelves and the TV box color #3
So in the drawing below:
– #1 = dark orange
– #2 = aqua blue
– #3 – kiwi green
On the opposite wall, paint the upper shelves color #3 (green), and the backsplash color #2 (blue).
Stick with muted mid-tones, – not too dark – that have a bit of yellow in them. This will help echo natural elements outside, which this east-coaster thinks of when she thinks of Seattle. Best of luck, Audrey!
Mondrian painting is “Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow,” 1930, from Wikipedia.