How to Decorate White Walls With Color Trim

Enliven white walls with trim colors.

White is a blank canvas. Any color will work with it. If you wish to decorate and enhance your white walls with colors for your trim, your options span the palette. You may want to work off of colors already in the room with contrasts, like complementary colors, or harmonize with similar colors to the couch or window treatments.

Instructions

1. Go conservative with light, neutrals. Sand, off-whites or similar light colors will keep a fresh feel, introduce a hint of color and match any hues in the room already. Neutrals, made from a combination of all the colors, are great for simple, no-fail color schemes. The warm tint of a woody neutral will also enhance a natural wood floor or woodwork.

2. Use pastels for more color, while keeping the scheme on the light side. Pastels are made from any color; add a lot of white to a deep blue or a burnt orange and you have a pastel. Pastel greens coordinate with darker greens like sage or grasshopper. Likewise, a rose color is a perfect companion for reds of any variety.

3. Try metallic trim for a bracing look. Metallic paints, available at home improvement outlets, apply easily with simple cleanup. A copper, pewter, silver or gold trim will add immediate elegance and panache. Stir the paint well before application. You may need more than one coating for great coverage, but the results can be eye-popping.

4. Use the palette of Piet Mondrian for a modern look. Mondrian painted canvases using only rectilinear forms on white ground. The forms were painted exclusively in blue, red and yellow (primary colors), outlined in black. Make a graphic statement with a similar scheme of primary color trim on white walls.

References

• Apartment Therapy: 14 Tips for Selecting Interior Paint Colors
• Color Matters: Color Theory
• Museum of Modern Art: Piet Mondrian