Why You Shouldn't Forget About Your Ceilings and Trim
When you decide it’s time to refresh your interiors, the first feature on your mind will most likely be your walls. This is only logical since the walls in a given space provide the largest canvas for paint colors, designs, and fixtures, after all. Indeed, the way you update your walls will have a major impact on the way your room looks, and serves as a great starting point for any interior design adjustment. That said, your walls aren’t the only surfaces to consider when embarking on an interior painting project. Even if you don’t pay much attention to your ceilings on a day-to-day basis, their appearance and integrity matter. Moreover, your baseboards, chair rails, crown molding, and other types of trim are just as much a part of your interior as your walls and ceilings. To ignore these features is to do your interior spaces a disservice.
Let’s explore the many reasons why you shouldn’t forget about your ceilings and trim when preparing to paint your interiors.
Don’t Ignore Pressing Problems Overhead
The primary reason to pay closer attention to your ceilings and trim is practical. Every interior painting project should begin with a careful inspection of all surfaces to take stock of signs of damage. Skipping this step can cause you to miss out on serious issues like cracks, moisture intrusion, mold, rot, and more. But even if you’re vigilant when it comes to evaluating your walls for damage, you won’t notice issues with your ceilings or trim if you don’t check these surfaces as well. Even if you don’t plan on painting your ceilings or trim this time around, take the time to check these features for signs of damage. If you discover deterioration, yellowing/discoloration, paint cracking between wall and ceiling, and so on, you’ll want to address the underlying problem before moving on -- otherwise, you might eventually have to contend with peeling paint, mold, mildew, and even cave-ins, which are all hazardous and expensive to fix. Once all necessary repairs have been made, it’s a good idea to repaint your ceilings and trim (and other surfaces) to provide a fresh layer of protection and restore these surface’s appearances.
Your Ceilings and Trim Can Serve as Strong Accents
Maintaining a safe, stable home isn’t the only reason to keep your ceilings and trim in mind during home interior painting. Appearances matter, too. As previously mentioned, refreshing or changing up the colors that adorn your walls can drastically alter your property’s inside atmosphere. However, don’t underestimate the degree to which seemingly minor adjustments can complete the look you’re going for. In particular, your ceilings and trim, though they only take up a fraction of your interior as a whole, can tie a room together when painted properly and strategically.
Your trim and ceilings create natural divisions in a given room. As such, they’re practically begging to be coated in a different color than your walls. Classic white trim and white ceilings work well in just about any interior because of the strong, bright accent created by this choice. This isn’t to say that white is the only option for your trim and ceilings, though. Many modern homes now feature accent ceilings that range from the full color spectrum. Likewise, black, brown, and even pastels are becoming increasingly popular color choices for interior trim. In the end, it doesn’t matter which color(s) you choose for these features, so long as they serve a purpose in enhancing your interior’s overall aesthetic. If you’re not sure of how to select interior paint colors for your ceilings, trim, walls, or other surfaces, Nash Painting can help.
Properly Painted Ceilings and Trim Define Your Space
Well-painted trim and ceilings offer additional visual benefits beyond creating color contrast. Whenever tackling a painting project, one of your main goals should be to create even lines between intersecting surfaces. With the aid of painter’s tape, the right kinds of brushes, and careful technique, you can achieve these straight, perfect lines when painting the edges of your walls, ceilings, and trim. Though it might not seem like this level of detail will be seen or appreciated at a distance, the more defined your edges are, the cleaner, sleeker, and more modern your interior will look as a whole. Indeed, paying close attention to your ceilings and trim this way can separate a sloppy room from a fresh one.
Trim Improvements Can Increase Your Home’s Value
If we’re discussing matters in practical terms again, it’s worth mentioning that the additional effort you put forth by focusing on your trim and ceilings is well worth it -- not just in an aesthetic or “feel good” way, but in terms of monetary value. While it’s hard to know exactly how much a quality interior painting project will increase your home’s appeal and resale value, experts say there is certainly a tangible benefit to these improvements. Of course, updating your walls while neglecting your trim and ceilings can also yield some kind of return on investment -- just not as big a return as you would receive by going the extra mile and tackling these additional features as well. Put simply, the more effort you put into home improvements, the more your home will be worth.
Which Comes First? Painting the Trim or the Walls?
So, there’s no doubt that your trim and ceilings deserve just as much attention as your walls and other surfaces. Even if you realize this, though, you might not know how to tackle your interior painting project with your ceilings and trim in mind. One of the age-old debates in professional painting circles is whether to paint trim and ceilings before walls or after. While there will likely never be a consensus on this matter, there are a couple rules of thumb worth noting. Generally speaking, inexperienced painters will have an easier time painting walls before trim and ceilings, partially due to the difference between ceiling paint and wall paint (and trim paint) and because starting with walls gives you some practice on a larger surface before painting a smaller, more precise one. Professional painters and those with more experience often prefer starting with ceilings and trim because it makes it easier to cut in the edges. There is merit to both procedures. Ultimately, using quality products and proper technique matter more than the order with which you paint your interior surfaces.
If you’re new to painting, it’s easy to overlook the details. At Nash Painting, we’re here to make sure you don’t miss anything important on your painting journey. Whether you need an estimate, advice, or the best painters in Nashville, Brentwood, and Franklin, TN to complete your next project, we’re just a call or click away. To learn more about us, our services, and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!