How To Paint Trim

 I've received tons of emails in the past several months asking about the best way to paint wooden trim, so today I'm going to share what I've learned over the past 2 years.

Painting your old wooden trim is one of the best ways to update your home.

Here is a great question I got just this week from one of my readers, Tracy:

 Our house was built in 1979 and has the exact same orange-ish wood trim everywhere! I really want to paint it white like yours, but I'm actually scared. Do you have any tips or know of any good tutorials for painting the trim and doors?Any advice?

Well, Tracy, I hope this helps!

I've found that painting outdated wooden trim white is one of the BEST ways to update a house. Some people feel differently (and that's okay!), but I've been able to test this theory on nearly every room in our house, and EVERY time it seems to work like magic! 

Here are some great examples of my own experiences with painting wooden trim.

Our foyer before:

Foyer after (see full before/after post here):

Our Living Room before:

Living Room after (see full before/after here):

Guest Bathroom before:

Guest Bathroom after (See full before/after here):

Office BEFORE:

Office after (see full before/after here):

Dining Room before:

Dining Room after:

Upstairs Landing before:

Upstairs landing (see full before/after here):

Master Bedroom before:

Master Bedroom after (see full before/after here):
I've included a few separate shots since the layout in the 'afters'.

So, hopefully after all of that you can see the impact painting old wooden trim can have on a room.

In my opinion, it makes a HUGE difference in how old your house looks.

 There are some gorgeous wood trim exceptions out there, but I usually prefer white trim.

That's just how I roll.

Now, let's move on to HOW you achieve this look. 

 PREP WORK:

Option #1. Sand your trim.

If you want your painted trim to look perfect and last for a  really long time, you should remove your trim (if it's near the floor) and sand it using an electric sander. I use the Black & Decker Sander with Filtered Dust Collection. It cost me $30 and gets the job done just fine. 

Sanding your trim takes a lot of effort, but does make a difference in the adhesion of your paint. 

Option #2: Prime Your Trim.
If you just don't want to sand your trim, priming your wood is a great alternative. In my own house, I sanded the trim in roughly 1/2 of the house (high traffic areas) and then used primer on the rest of the house. 

My favorite primer to use is Zinnser. I've had great results with it, and it really helps prevent dark wood stain from peeking through white paint. A MUST if you have dark old wood like me. The adhesion is also great. It will give you adhesion fairly comparable to sanding in most instances. 

If you've chosen to go with option #2, you likely won't be removing your trim from the wall. Instead, you'll need to protect your walls and carpet. I do this with painter's tape. I've tried all the different tapes. Frog Tape, Scotch Blue, plain ol' masking tape.. If I'm being really honest, I usually just use plain old masking tape. It costs two bucks a roll and usually does the trick. But, I'm cheap like that. I will admit though that the more expensive tapes work better and require a little less effort. I've tried FrogTape  and found it to work really well.

TIME TO PAINT: What you need to know

After you've completed your prep work, it's time to paint. Here are the basic supplies I use for EVERY job when it comes time to paint!

I use Behr Premium Plus Semi-Gloss Enamel in Ultra Pure White. Other paints will work too, but I definitely suggest a 'paint and primer in one' to save you from extra work.

Those are the 3 main things I use for trim work. I use the Wooster Shortcut Paintbrush to reach the difficult areas and to cut in. The Wooster is the navy blue paintbrush pictured above. I've used it on my whole house, and it is my #1 fave brush. I think I have 5. It won't last forever, but it's cheap and it makes painting so much easier. Then, as soon as possible after using my Wooster, I use a mini foam roller to go over the area to smooth out brushstrokes. I get those from Home Depot for under $2.

Using the mini roller after the paint brush gives you a smooth, professional look and gets rid of any brushmarks.

Here are other tips you'll need to know.
 PAINT THE TRIM FIRST....before you paint the walls. This allows you to not have to worry about 'staying in the lines'.

 via A Bunny's World Tips for Painting Trim

The above picture shows her using her utility knife to remove the tape once it is dry. Notice how she also paints the trim color up on the wall. 

Note: the only time I remove the tape AFTER the paint is dry is when I'm painting trim near carpet. If you use tape on the wall, remove it BEFORE the paint has dried. That's important, or you will end up razoring up a lot of tape.

If you are not painting your walls (and only painting trim), tape above the trim as well to protect the wall.

How to Paint Doors:

Now, for the other part of Tracy's question: The doors.

Painting the doors is super simple....IF you have the right tools.

I don't remove any hardware (knobs, etc.)...it's a hassle. Instead, I just tape over them and use my angled brush to cut in. If you want a PERFECT paint job, remove the hardware.

Next, and this is key...I use my BIG roller and BIG paint tray to roll 2-3 coats on the doors. (I use the same paint as the trim.)

My favorite roller for doors (and walls too!) is the Roller Lite Plus XL1/4 inch.

Seriously. It lasts through 3-5 paint jobs, cleans easily, and is also affordable and lightweight.

Plus, it's pink.

So, that's about it. My tried and true method of painting wood trim and doors.

It seems so simple to me now, but in all honesty, it took me 2 years of painting to really get the hang of it! I'm still a work in progress, just like our house!

Don't forget to pin this post so you'll have this info when you need it!

Pssssst.  Want more?Check out these favorite posts:

Check out how to paint your cabinets in 10 easy steps here:

or check out my fave DIY ideas here.

or check out my best thrift store shopping tips here.

or check out our house tour here!

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