I am painting the stained wood trim and doors white. Can the door stay stained (dk walnut color) and the trim painted white or should they both be painted white? I have a front interior door that has always been white and the closet doors on either side have always been stained. Are there general rules to follow as far as a decorating stand point for painting trim? Where do I start and stop?
I think there should be some continuity when painting trim and doors. Either having all base and door frames painted and all doors being stained or vise versa. If the front entry door is the only one that is painted that would be fine.
It is not necessary to paint both the door and trim unless you find that you dislike a natural wood color with white trim. Lots of people paint trim and do not paint doors. Having a white entry door in the center of two wooden stained doors gives balance to the room and makes it more symmetrical. If you do feel that you would like the doors and trim to be of the same color; I suggest rolling or spraying the paint on the door instead of brushing it on. This will give you a smoother paint texture and there will be no brush strokes in the paint.
