Let’s talk trim… what kind of trim do you like?
There are so many different types out there it’s hard to choose. Decorative, plain, rustic, minimal and gingerbread, the list goes on and on. Me, I adore farmhouse trim, simple, bulky, white and large. πΒ Even though it’s hard to pick one type of trim to love and call your own, I know what I don’t like… fancy and ornate trim is not my cup of tea. While it’s beautiful and I love to see it, it’s not for my own home or my style. I also don’t like overly rustic or dark trim, for me it’s just gloomy and too heavy.
When we moved in, ALL of the trim, all of the doors, every last one of them was overly rustic and dark… well dark is being kind. π It looked like someone was a super heavy smoker in here and never cleaned or cracked a window in forever, thank goodness that was not the case as the smell would have come with that ugliness.Β Even though all of the doors (did I mention ALL of them) were so ugly and dingy there was one area that really had us wondering, what were they thinking???? Okay, to be fair this was done at least 13 years ago, maybe they wanted a rustic cabin feel? Maybe they wanted the look of a log cabin without the expense? I don’t know but it’s very odd. It couldn’t even be fixed with a coat of paint, there was NO way these logs were staying. I must apologize if you are reading this and love the look of logs, it’s just not our style and they had to go, ASAP!
This photo is from the house tour, I thought that this would be the best way for you to see the true before, what we moved into… our project list is a long one and for those of you that know us shouldn’t be surprised.
One of the first projects though, bye bye logs!
This photo was taken just before my SIL and I were leaving to go out thrifting, I’m sure you can understand the priority, thrifting vs taking photos… but, Mr. Mans did manage to take some pictures.
These are the photos he took, they make me smile, silly boys! The builders put these logs in even before the drywall, they were bolted and screwed and all fastened in from behind the 2×4’s, it took a bit of cutting (and muscle) to get them out of the house.
These came out last Thanksgiving,Β we lived with a raw opening, open to the studs for a whole year. That’s fine, I would rather see the studs then these massive logs. I was fine with living that way, until this Thanksgiving that is. π We decided to jump in and put up what we eventually want to carry throughout the whole house.
During the mess…
The after!
So much better, don’t you think? Now on to the bajillion other projects on our to-do list. I won’t bore you with the details… but stay tuned!
Another look, side by side, what style of trim do you prefer, the rustic log cabin look, or the farmhouse trim? π
PS I’ll be writing a tutorial (eventually) on how we designed and built the trim, we do have the WHOLE house to do after all. Ugh!
28 Comments
I love the log look but I love the fresh white look as well π
Hi Terri, the log look for sure has it’s place, in a beautiful log cabin. This home was really suffering from ADD and had many styles running through it, we’re trying to continue one cohesive style through out. π
I love what you did with the fresh white look – the after says it all! #Awesome!!!
Thanks Sheila! I prefer the after too, I sure hope I didn’t offend any log lovers out there. π
Love the new look Laurie! I love the rustic log cabin look, but these looked out of place – like you said. If the entire wall had been a log wall – different story.
Hey Donna, thanks! Yes, if this home was a log cabin style (although I love all design, log cabin style doesn’t belong to me) all the way through the house, of course the logs would continue that style and make perfect sense. This just wasn’t the case here, it was random. Random at least to my way of thinking. π xoxo
I love all kinds of trim work, but those logs…ugh! No way, Jose. Love the new look!
Hi Sarah, I love all kinds of trim too. π Those logs were so out of place, they didn’t continue any design element at all, just BAM in your face logs. Weird.
I remember seeing the Before and gushing over how beautiful the After is. Love It!
Thanks Sue!!! And thanks for sharing the before! xoxo
That was some crazy looking trim! Your new woodwork looks great, especially painted in white keeping everything looking fresh. We’re in the process of changing out our orange-toned oak trim. Big job, but so worth it!
Hi Shauna! Our whole stair case is orange oak, I feel your pain! Thanks, we really love how this trim has opened the space, so bright and clean looking now. Good luck with your powder room! π
WOW! I’m crazy about the after, it’s amazing! I’m just ‘oh my goodness’ over all the logs everywhere!
Now I want to dig around your feed for a good shot of that counter area with the rustic shelf. Consider it official, I need more! π
Hey Donna! Welcome and thanks so much! Those logs literately were everywhere, very odd, I was ‘oh my goodness’ too, then it quickly turned to, get them outta here. π
No worries you will be seeing much more of that rustic shelf… she’s going to be making a Christmas debut. That beauty came out of a barn for demo, built in the 1800’s… my knees get weak every time I look at it. π
I LOVE the⦠after!
I had you going for a second didn’t I Laurie!
Bravo, The fresh, crisp, simple farmhouse style is perfection!
Beautiful job as always π
Thank-you so much!!!! π It’s a huge difference to the oppressive logs that were there, the new trim makes the whole space seem open and fresh. I love it, now to tackle the rest of the house. lol Thanks for stopping in friend! xoxoxo
Farmhouse trim for sure! It looks so much more cleaner and timeless, those logs were a little too bulky for my taste! You’ve done a great job designing and installing your new trim Laurie (and gang) – that looks great!
Thanks Heather! LOL, Mr. Mans will be happy to hear he’s a part of the gang! π We are much happier with the after, although that now sparks that need to get everything done at once. One step at a time!
Sort of torn – I love the old “mountain” look of logs.
But I must admit my whole house has the farmhouse trim too!
I know what you mean, Holly. If this whole space was designed with that “mountain” aesthetic I would agree they needed to stay, what they did was put touches of it in areas and the mountain look or cabin feel didn’t flow through the home, the archway looked very heavy and was a huge focal point that didn’t make sense. Funny, regardless of how I designed the space, bam that’s where your eye, where everyone’s eyes would go. lol π
Love the new trim–what an improvement! And the color of the walls is lovely.
Thanks Anna! We love how it’s changed the room.
Love your trim – great makeover! Someone went to a lot of trouble to put those logs in – it’s amazing how different people’s tastes are. I remember seeing 1 house when we were looking to buy – some handy person had stuck pennies all over the place and resin coated them. Everywhere! And went to a lot of effort to do it, too. Lucky you only had logs to deal with π
LOL, pennies, wow! I’m grateful for the logs, grateful that they are gone now and it’s not something we had to pick at, those pennies would be a major never ending task. YIKES!
Laurie I so agree with you! Upgrading the trim makes a HUGE difference to a space…we’ve done it in both our houses too, and I love how you did yours. It’s magazine worthy! Love.
xo
Oh wow, thanks so much sweet lady! xoxo
Oooh I love it. So gorgeous! So long logs!
LOL, yeppers! So long logs! π