Dark Green Painted Wood Moulding

Posted on | October 2, 2009 | 17 Comments

green painted library simon watson 500x395 Dark Green Painted Wood Moulding

We are slowly removing the paint from detailed moulding in our living room. After we have the paint removed we need to removed the ceiling because of major water damage. It’s a long story but let’s keep it short.

We’ve gone back and forth on what to paint the room. Cream moulding with green walls or green moulding with cream walls? Painting the wood green is very traditional and probably the original color used. I think it’s cool but afraid it might be too dark? I came across this library shot by Simon Watson on Bliss. The green looks amazing. I love that the window frames and the moulding at the very top were painted cream. Hmm what to do? See photos of the living room we are working on before it was stripped and now.

green library simon watson1 Dark Green Painted Wood Moulding

Category: interiors, paint colors

Comments

17 Responses to “Dark Green Painted Wood Moulding”

havilah
October 2nd, 2009 @ 4:08 pm

it depends on how much natural light you get into the room. if it’s not a lot, then i might recommend the cream walls. but painting with color is always fun too. just make sure the ceiling gets a light color!
Mom
October 2nd, 2009 @ 6:00 pm

green wainscoating and cream walls would look amazing!! Have I mentioned that before? HMM…
Yach
October 2nd, 2009 @ 6:17 pm

I love the pictures you posted above…that library looks gorgeous.
Nora Ericson
October 2nd, 2009 @ 6:20 pm

My 1920 house has that exact shade of green trim, and cream walls. I had no idea it was traditional. The built-in buffet and a tiny trim line along the ceiling are done in a similar, but lighter and bluer, color. I think it looks quite nice and doesn’t darker the house too much:) My upstairs has low ceilings, though, and I was interested to see someone on Design Sponge try a light blue bead board ceiling treatment to lighten and heighten a room – though I don’t know what “period” that would be authentic to, if any. Awesome house and blog, Katy! http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/07/sneak-peek-samantha-reitmayer-from-swoon-style.html
erika
October 2nd, 2009 @ 9:50 pm

so cozy!!! lovely!
AmyA
October 3rd, 2009 @ 1:42 pm

Is it wrong that I sort of like the look of the wood stripped? I like the way all the random paint colors have soaked into the wood. Maybe it just looks awesome in the photos and not in person? Anyway, I think it looks pretty cool without paint. ;)
Rebecca
October 3rd, 2009 @ 5:25 pm

I love the green painted built-in shelves. That would look incredible in your home! Good luck… it looks like a lot of hard work.
mopar
October 4th, 2009 @ 10:14 am

I have an idea: If you paint the woodwork green and the walls cream, you could also paint the trim around the windows cream. I don’t know, might tie it together.

In general, woodwork that is darker than walls looks old fashioned and heavy, which might be exactly what you want.

I’m sure whatever you choose will be beautiful. You have great taste.
We’ve gone back and forth on what to paint the room « House Color « Bidwiggle.com
October 4th, 2009 @ 1:43 pm

[...] Dark Green Painted Wood Moulding : [...]
Sara
October 4th, 2009 @ 5:11 pm

I left a message on the page with the stripped photos.. should have left it here!
vintage simple
October 5th, 2009 @ 8:33 am

You’ve done such an incredible job of stripping that paint..! I kind of like it that way, too, but I hear that you want to paint it….so: I would go a green with some blue in it, and definitely on the lighter side. Those pictures you posted are lovely, but notice that the ceilings in that house are really tall, and so are the windows…and the windows are flanked by bookshelves, which makes light bounce around a lot. I think you’re spot-on as far as painting the trim the darker color and the walls cream. That is in keeping with the house’s age… But do keep in mind that your ceilings are pretty low… So what you end up doing will depend on what mood you’re after, I guess…
-maria
Jennifer
October 5th, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

I love the green. The house I grew up in had green moulding in some of the rooms. It really made the details stand out.
Barb Rock
October 6th, 2009 @ 8:41 am

I love your blog, Katy! Your ideas and enthusiasm are inspiring. I recently painted a bath with Benjamin Moore’s Salisbury Green and White Dove for the trim. Benjamin Moore is definitely pricey paint, but it is the richest I have ever worked with. I think my green would be a great match for your crewel fabric. Please go to their website and check it out! Good luck!
Katy Elliott
October 6th, 2009 @ 12:01 pm

Thanks everyone for the great tips and advice. Once I get the ceiling removed I’ll see how much light and space I actually have.

The green is pretty seducing!
Jenny B
October 8th, 2009 @ 10:50 pm

…I reckon your room has a lot more in common with the interior of the Huguenot house you visited where the low ceilings create a very marked interior/exterior distinction, a ‘chiaroscuro’ relationship that describes perfectly the meditative source of light, the windows. In this sense, the light is shafted into sculptural form and inhabits the room as a living thing, meditative and illuminating. I like dark rooms with an absence of white (or cream) precisely in order to concentrate on the light from outside. Mirrors, in such a room, become exquisite jewel-like paintings.
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Blogs : LU Graphics
October 9th, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

[...] Elliot’s blog always makes me think. For days. I was watching TV the other day, and this blog post came to mind. I was analyzing a living room on some show’s TV set, wondering if this painting [...]
Jane Flanagan
October 25th, 2009 @ 5:55 pm

Love this.