One particular choice in this Dining Room transformation sparked considerable discussion, and I admit I feel a bit nervous about bringing it up given some strong viewpoints.
Please set aside any negative reactions; I completely grasp your perspective.
What I cherish most about this space is its inherent sense of age.
The dark wood trim was present when the home was built in 1927. Initially, I adored it, and my husband was reluctant to alter it for a long time before eventually agreeing to consider change. I extensively researched ideas featuring dark wood trim, but ultimately, I couldn't find a way to make it look right.
It always gave me the impression of a garment paired with an ill-fitting belt. {Seriously, why am I comparing everything to my wardrobe lately??}
Another major reason we opted to paint this trim involved a specific situation.
This situation arose shortly after we moved in; a friend visited, and while showing her around the dining room, we were discussing the trim and my husband's wish to keep it as is.
She responded, 'Oh, but, Rita,'
'it looks awful!!'
We shared a laugh because, truthfully, it did look that way!
It wasn't neat or perfect; instead, it was covered in cracks, chips, stains, and grime.
While I haven't done extensive refinishing, I know I strongly dislike its current state. Restoring it to a beautiful stained wood finish would require a significant amount of labor.
Alternatively,
we had the option to paint it, giving it a fresh and clean appearance.
We chose to paint it. I first masked the panes and applied Kilz oil based cover paint to everything. This step is crucial! (Remember that a room requires the appropriate undercoat!)
We removed all the hardware and painted the operable parts while they were open. {Fortunately, the weather was favorable!}
After priming the interior panes, I primed all the dark exterior trim.
{Prior to priming.}
{Following priming.}
When the wood is primed with oil base primer, it accepts latex paint beautifully. Using a water based primer risks the dark wood stain bleeding through the latex paint regardless of the number of coats applied. (A lesson learned the difficult way!)
Also, a suggestion for painting with oil based paint: purchase inexpensive brushes you can discard afterward. I prefer to avoid the messy cleanup associated with that strong odor.
