apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Personally, I love the crisp white against the blue. I'd keep it and paint the window frame, though I understand you may not want to do that, given that it's original.

Can we get a closer look at the wallpaper?

Although the different elements (electric blue wall, window frame, floor) are beautiful in themselves, I have to say I don't think they go well TOGETHER. There is something incongruous about that old-fashioned floor with such a bright blue/crisp white. I feel like the wood detail would look so much better with a less mod/electric hue. So I personally don't think the trim or the radiator are the real problems here...

What accent colours were you thinking of for the moldings, door etc? I'd say keep it white- it will look as sharp as it ever will when left white.... and that is some gorgeour wallpaper from afar- I can only imagine how nice it must look from closeup!

so my vote is to keep it white.

I like the white. Midnight blue would be my 2nd choice. I'd paint the window frame white and leave the shutters natural (and keep the baseboards white)

I like the white as well and agree that the window frame would look nice painted white too. What kind of furniture (color, style) do you plan to put in there?

ps: The natural window frame is drawing too much attention to the white a/c unit. It's 'popping' against the window and hw floor.

my mind drew immediately to grey.

not as dark as charcoal but on the darker end of a silver/blue would be quite nice. it would complement the blue really well and draw away from the high contrast that the white gives to the floor and frame.

if something that drastic isn't in the cards, then i'd aim towards a cream or antique white. something just to tone down the bright crispness of the white.

I vote midnight blue or even black...that white is too much! And don't paint the ceiling, it will be too oppressive in there.

Me, I'd paint the floor white and leave everything else as-is. (The parquet looks like common stick-down squares, so it wouldn't be an atrocity to paint over it.)

I'd tone down the white just a little: palest grey, palest taupe, cream, etc. Then leave the ceiling whitest white. Or how about glazing the trim with a color sympathetic to the window frame color? But very lightly.

Black!

I'd go for cream, so there's contrast with the wall but not too much contrast with the color of the wood. I wouldn't want to add another color to the mix. What you do with the ceiling depends upon how you plan to furnish the room - if you're going to hang pure white globes from it, like the one in the photo, probably leave it white. If not, maybe make it a very light shade of the cream you use. If you do a dark color for the trim, I wouldn't do that for the ceiling.

I have huge, 100 year old carved window frames that I didn't strip precisely to avoid the problem you have. They look great painted pure, glossy white.

Sorry for the double post - but look at the brown and cream interior posted just below yours on AT today.

A dark brown-ish purple (eggplant) on the baseboards (or... strip the paint off them). The white against that particular blue is too much.

I second the brown-ish purple suggestion especially for the baseboards. You can see the combination in action if you scroll down and look at the California Bungalow post. It features a blue dresser against an eggplant wall and also shows that there are a lot of other of great possibilities for accent colors in the furniture and accessories (peony pink, bright yellow etc.) I might also consider a blue ceiling for the room, something a few shades lighter than the walls, but that would lessen the contrast. You can always bring white back in with the furniture. Good Luck!

I really like it just the way it is, tho I could see going with the palest grey/blue on the ceiling to set it off from the white mouldings.

Leave the moldings white! The reason the blue looks so beautiful is that it looks so clean and fresh against the white and wood. I think that changing the colour of the moldings will just dull the effect. (That being said, painting the ceiling a dulled-down and super-pale version of the blue would probably be quite nice.)

Dana if you really love the wood, then you would probably want to paint the moulding a deep grey or perhaps replace the molding altogether with a wooden molding to better tie in the wood of the window and of the floor. I would also suggest painting the ceiling a light blue so that it is not so stark against the walls.

I have light gray trim in my apartment, just painted my walls a deep blue-teal, and LOVE IT. Definitely recommend gray trim! Less nautical than the white, and adds more interest.

BUT..if you love the wood, I agree with AT_Red - another color might be too much - wood trim might look better.

I might try that dipped room look: paint baseboard similar color to wall, paint ceiling and crown molding lighter shade of wall color, and keep floor and window as is. Then you'll just have poppy shades of blue with warm wood.

How about the trim floor and ceiling in a warm Turquoise and leave the ceiling white but paint in a warmer white less bright, I like Ralph Lauren Ecret.

See BM St. Patricks Day- it would blend well with the wood and compliment the blue.
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/paint/paint_rainbow_list?slide=27

A mossy, but not too dark, green? Though I'd probably go with grey or a matching blue.

Definitely a light blue on the ceiling - I think it would make the ceiling feel higher and sky-like. I'd leave the trim white and the window unpainted.

Honestly, its the floor I'm not crazy about.

Trim color looks sharp to me. Consider wall/trim moulding shapes in the same color over that amazing colored wallpaper. Makes for very graphic statement. It is really going to flow if your furnishings match the statement the walls are making and the rug you use.

That white is far too white and harsh for the space and those tones in the floor. I would go with a soft dove gray or a buttercream on the trim and have a very soft yellow on the ceiling that would reflect the wood tone of the floor.

Please tell me they didn't hack through the wainscoting to install the A/C! I like the colors as is, but that blue will be tough to match. Maybe you could just paint the door, something outrageous like tangerine? We painted our entry door fire-engine red and it really pops in our pre-war apt.

A warm cream or off white would really show up those floors and that deep sea blue wallpaper. Benjamin Moore makes a color called Fresh Cream. Behr has a great color called Vanilla Froth, both of which I am a fan on.

I'd do it in a high gloss, applied with a horsehair brush, to open up the gorgeous profile of that molding.

What style do you want the room to be?

Grey. Positively. There are a thousand shades so choose carefully.

But If I were you I'd first move my furnishings into the room and just see how everything looks with your stuff. YOu might not need to paint, or it could be that grey would look awfu, who knows.

What colors are your rugs, furniture, art?

A incredibly light yellow. White or cream that's just been touched with yellow - just a hint, would remove the starkness of the white, but also help meld together the mod blue and vintage flooring and window frame. I say at least sample it.

I'm a little bit confused about the wallpaper - I guess I haven't seen any hand painted wallpaper that didn't have any design on it; Is there a way to get a closer look? Otherwise I'm suspicious that this is just wallpaper that someone painted over. If hand painted wallpaper in a solid color like this is common and I'm just clueless (super possible) let me know people. I think some of the deep shades that people have suggested above sound gorgeous (brownish purple in particular).

Keep the paint and wallpaper as it is. What you need is a fabulous rug to tie it all together and give a bit of relief and balance to the intensity of the blue. It's beautiful, but it's a lot. Get some pictures on the walls and a wonderful rug, and you'll like your white trim better.