Should Your Baseboard And Trim Colors Match Your Walls? Nate Berkus Weighs In

Color has returned to interior residential design after years of beiges and grays. Paint is an easy and affordable way to bring more color into your space. When planning to paint the walls of your home, you may wonder whether the baseboard and trim colors should match or contrast. Interior designer and author Nate Berkus weighed in on the issue on his Instagram profile. He prefers to use either a contrasting color or a crisp white for baseboards and trim. Using contrasting colors is a great way to highlight architectural features, add depth, and increase visual interest in a room. The contrast doesn't have to be dramatic, either.

When choosing the perfect color for your trim, consider a hue that falls within your wall paint's color family. Whether your walls are painted white or a bright color, a deeper hue provides noticeable contrast for dramatic effect. Consider deep blue, jewel-toned green, or warm plum. If you lean toward a neutral palette, rich brown, black, greige, or putty paint can provide subtle variation. In other words, to create contrast between your walls and baseboards, look for stunning trim color ideas that aren't a tired white. The color of your trim can also be repeated in other elements of your interior design to create a cohesive look. This works especially well in open-concept homes.

Another suggestion offered by Nate Berkus is to use a three-color scheme: one color for the walls, another for the baseboard, trim, and ceiling, and a third for the window or door frames. For example, you could paint the walls a soft, neutral color, make the baseboards crisp white, and use a deeper version of the wall color on your door or window frames. On a 2023 episode of the "Rachael Ray Show," Berkus and his husband, interior designer Jeremiah Brent, were asked about choosing colors for a home's interior. Berkus suggested using an accent color on doors, baseboards, and molding, which Brent noted can easily be changed out seasonally. Alternatively, you could consider this variation on the three-color scheme: use one color for your cabinets, another for the walls, and a contrasting color for doors and trim.

No matter which shades you settle on for your baseboards and trim, you need to prepare them properly for painting. Taping them off with painter's tape is a big job, but a worthwhile one. If you are keeping the existing fixtures and not replacing them, taping protects your wall and possibly your carpet or flooring from splashes and slips of the paintbrush. Another painting tip that will save you time when upgrading baseboards or adding new trim is to paint these features before you install them. Painting the trim first is faster, easier, and less physically demanding than crawling around to paint floor-level baseboards. Don't forget to use a primer on raw wood.