Stained woodwork
often presents design challenges in a room. One of the objectives in designing a room is to make the décor of the room flow so that the eye moves continuously and isn't stopped. This is often difficult to accomplish because many things can cause a visual disruption and stained woodwork is one of them. It is easy to solve this challenge once you know recognize the issue. Trim work, crown moldings, chair rails, archways, pediments, columns, dentil molding, panels, wainscoting, fluting, niches, baseboards, fireplace surrounds, built in bookcases and cabinets are all expensive features that should be maximized to enhance their value. The best way to make your stained woodwork show well is to reduce the degree of contrast between the woodwork, walls, floors and ceilings.
Instructions
1. Empty the room that is receiving the makeover. Once cleared of furniture and clutter, the bones of the room will be more easily visible. It is important to also remove window coverings when possible so that the architectural detail of the room is visible.
2. Select a paint color palette from a historical collection of home styles that typically feature stained woodwork. These palettes are available from most quality paint companies for free. Good design choices are Arts and Craft Style, Prairie Style, Classic Colonial and Victorian. Each of these design eras favored stained woodwork. By selecting a historical palette, some of the color work has been done for the homeowner. The paint colors in these palettes will look good with stained trim.
3. Compare a sample piece of stained trim to the palette. Stains comes in blondes, browns and reds (as the undertone color). Select a paint color that reduces the contrast between the paint and the trim color. Example: Hold the trim next to a white paint chip; the contrast will be high and the trim stain color will jump out. Now hold the trim next to a deep tan color; the transformation in level of contrast will be obvious. The objective is for stained trim to be visually balanced with the paint color so that the combination is pleasing to the eye.
4. Select several different paint samples and take them home in quarts. Paint large squares on the walls of the room. Paint each color on each wall because the way the color looks will change with differences in light. Visit the paint squares 3 to 4 times at different times of the day to see how the color looks. The selected wall color or colors should also work with the floor color in the same way. Once the selection is made, have a ceiling paint mixed that is two tones lighter.
5. Moderate the color of stained floors by bringing in a large area rug that has the wall color in the design.
6. Select lighter upholstered furniture in the same range of colors. Choose fabrics that are the same tonal weight as the walls even if you select a lighter color. (The degree of color saturation should be the same.) Avoid mixing a lot of wood types and differently stained pieces in one room.
7. Finish your room design with pops of color, lots of decorative lamps to add additional light and a few, larger, textural art pieces.
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