The Historic District

I prefer a contrasting color for the trim so that it stands out rather than everything being the same. If you are going to paint the walls white your choice of the beige might be nice. I would also use semi gloss or satin paint for trim surfaces. My 2 cents worth!

What are the rectangles on the ceiling in your last photo?

I agree with Don on the lustre of the trim paint.

Great pictures! 19th century four panel interior doors are usually in plentiful supply at reasonable prices in architectural salvage yards, many have them dip stripped before sale. The hardware adds up, but keeping a weather eye on ebay for a deal can pay you back there.

If it were me I woudl not paint those stairs, I'd carefully get rid of the white splodges on the risers and then just repaint the sides. The steps and risers have a wonderful old worn patina - its kind of an original feature of the place.

Thanks for the opinions and compliments!

The rectangles are where a lot of electrical had to get fixed...one of my unexpected problems. I think something like 4 fixtures in different rooms were wired to be always on and then controlled by remote controls. We had to add new wiring in the ceiling to put the fixtures on their own switches, and that area is not easily accessed through the attic. Since taking those pictures, all those holes have been patched.

Finding new light fixtures has been very fun! I went to a salvage place yesterday, and I found 4 fixtures for $20 dollars! They had hundreds of original doors, so I think I won't have trouble there. I could even get old doors for the closets where there was only curtains before.



I'll look to see if I can keep any of the original stair paint...they are quite beat up, especially by contractors and the totally excessive amount of nails and such to secure the carpet.

Do 8" baseboards and 6" door and window trim seem too big to you? I am going to just go super plain with it, but they have to be thick (3/4-1") to cover up gaps. I will have to use a shoe molding too, and that might not even be thick enough everywhere.

I just found a couple pictures of historic homes with similar trim color combinations. I think the beige (BM Pale Oak) should look pretty good!





The second picture is how I'm envisioning the window and door trim to look but a little bigger.

6" might even be a bit on the wide side but I bet there are regional differences. Around here the old-day standard was 5" except in mansions. Today they've arrived at something like 2" or even less.