15 Best Wall and Trim Color Combinations

Many people find choosing a trim color to match their wall paint to be a challenging task. When choosing wall and trim colors, you can go in many directions that can make a big impact and may better suit your home’s style and space.

We are here to help make it easy for you and guide you into narrowing down your choices, ensuring that you will feel confident and absolutely love these color choices. We will be sharing with you our favorite wall and trim color combinations rather than simply painting them white.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways: (Use these options)

Off-Whites with White Molding

Neutral Hues with White Molding

Blue Wall with White Molding

Neutral and Bold Color Combinations

How To Choose Wall And Trim Color Combinations

Although white is the safest choice to use for trims, darker colors can help draw attention to other interesting architectural details and add drama to your home. One example would be applying a “contrasting trim,” for example, painting the walls with a light neutral color such as off-white and painting the moldings gray or greige. This way, you can highlight your door and window frames.

When choosing a contrasting hue for your trim, opt for a shade that is equal in intensity to the color of your walls and use some accents to tie everything together. It is important that no matter what hue you choose for your trims, you use semi-gloss paint because it will make your moldings stand out.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you have the freedom to not have your window trim the same color as your baseboard. How about if you have natural wood millwork? Don’t worry; we have got you covered! Natural wood trims offer a sense of welcoming warmth. Pairing richly stained wood millwork with light-colored walls can give prominence to the woodwork.

Varnishing the wood trim usually doesn’t significantly change the natural hue of the wood, while staining can highlight the wood’s grain patterns and bring out a natural texture to the room. There is something special about keeping a color combination nice and natural.

Neutral colors for the walls, when paired with rich stained wood, create a warm interior feel as well as a rustic appeal. Different combinations can create different effects and can provide a focal point within the space.

For instance, if you want to highlight other interesting features in the room, painting your walls and trims the same color would be the best way to go since it gives a clean backdrop to your furniture and artwork.

Cabinets and wood paneling on walls, when painted with the same matching hue as the molding, will blend easily, making the cabinets look built-in and updating the look of the wood paneling so it doesn’t feel old-fashioned.

For a classic look, you can go for white walls with white trims. Painting the walls with the same color as the trims allows coherence, harmony, and a continuous flow of colors throughout your interior.

Painting trims the same color as the walls is becoming a popular color combination trend that lets you achieve a fresh look at the same time. This color combination is best applied when you want your ornate trim to fall back into the background, creating a more modern and cleaner look.

Whereas, if you want to transform and create a more visual appearance for the whole room, we suggest you paint the trims in a different color than the walls. Apply some contrast like greige paint colors paired with white trims.

This neutral contrast can lean either for a warm or cool color combination. Light walls and black molding offer a chic look and a high-contrast statement that allows you to highlight the architectural details of the window frames, intricate moldings, and baseboards.

For a more subtle effect, try selecting two shades of the same color, such as light gray walls paired with a deep charcoal trim color or pale blue walls with navy blue. This color combination also works well with wood paneling since you can paint the paneling and molding a different shade of the same hue as the walls.

You can also apply the monochromatic approach to create a softer palette by using light gray on the wall and dark gray trim for a stylish and more modern look. Another excellent color combination that creates a welcoming vibe is the use of two warm neutral colors that are timeless, like cream and brown hues, to add more dimension to a room.

Try applying olive green to your walls for a more unique wall and molding combination since it reflects nature and earthly tones. Pair it with a soft greige that has a bit of a reddish-brown undertone for a calming and natural feel to the space.

Another warm-tone color combination that is different and trendy is to match up mustard trim with tan. These options are perfect when you want to level up your neutrals and add a vibrant feel to the design.

If you’re a decorating daredevil jumping at the chance to paint walls a different color, unify your scheme with moldings and casings in the same hue (for example, crisp white or deep charcoal). – Home Decorating For Dummies, Patricia Hart McMillan, ‎Katharine Kaye McMillan

It is also fun to try choosing complementary colors that may be unconventional yet create an outstanding statement in your home. Try using a soft, light pink color for your wall and pair it with gray-green trim.

For a children’s room, where bright colors are preferred, instead of applying these bright hues to the wall, switch it up by using a bright shade for the molding for a bold accent alongside white walls. Based on the pointers above, here are some of our best picks and recommendations for wall and trim color combinations.

Off-White Walls

Pairing off-white walls with white trim provides a subtle contrast and soft transition that is appealing for many home styles.

1. Benjamin Moore Classic Gray & Behr Ultra Pure White Trims

2. Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa Walls & Sherwin-Williams Extra White Trims

3. Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace Walls & Sherwin-Williams Pure White Trims

4. Benjamin Moore Simply White Walls & Sherwin-Williams Pure White Trims

Neutral Wall Color

Using a neutral color combined with white trim offers the ability to have a variety of decor options and a calming ambiance. Neutrals enhance natural light and can work well to highlight architectural details and offer a timeless elegance.

1. Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray Walls & Sherwin Williams Alabaster Trims

2. PPG Stonehenge Greige & PPG Commercial White Trims

3. Benjamin Moore Collingwood Walls & Behr Ultra Pure White Trims

Blue Wall Color

Combining a blue shade with white molding is popular with many interior designers, such as myself, because it offers a striking contrast and clean, visually appealing design.

1. Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy HC-154 & Decorator’s White OC-149 Trims

2. PPG Blue Fjord & PPG Delicate White Trims

Neutral and Bold Color Combinations

For those who desire a more vibrant theme, the contrast of bold and neutral hues can help balance the energy of a space and provide interest and depth to a room’s design.