204 INTERIOR FINISHING

WOOD TRIM

'"" In old-fashioned houses the wood trim was considered impor-
tant, but today it is subordinated, or even omitted in certain types
of houses such as the Mediterranean and some Modern. Formerly
woodwork and doors were stained dark, the idea being that they
were then pleasantly harmonious with the dark furniture, whereas
in reality they broke up the light walls in a very disturbing way.
Today the wood trim is usually treated as part of the walls and
painted as nearly like the wall as possible, A natural wood finish
is often preferred to paint because it requires less expenditure for
cleaning and refinishing.

Some Modern decorators deliberately make the wood trim ?.
color that contrasts with the walls, especially in a dull room. For
example, a green wood trim would look well with soft yellow-
green or pale yellow walls. In a room with wall paper the wood
trim may be painted to match the background or foreground of
the paper, preferably the one that is most like the floor covering.
Picture molding should be inconspicuous; therefore it should be
painted like the wall, not like the wood trim.

DOORS

Doors are commonly painted to match the walls, or finished so
that the natural grain of the wood shows. If doors are properly
spaced and arc not too numerous they may well be decorated in an
interesting manner. They may be painted a solid color to match
the rug or draperies, or painted with appropriate designs. The
panels of doors may be decorated with patterned wall paper in a
room with plain walls.

Doors can also be constructed in unusual ways. For example,
doors into closets can be madj of slats forming designs, with many
openings for ventilation,, Dutch doors with the upper halves open-
ing separately from the lower halves are often desirable. So-called
tropical interior doors for summer use are short, leaving a foot of
open space at top and bottom for ventilation. Lowered doors
with slanted slat panels also provide good ventilation. Doors that
fold vertically in the center are sometimes used where the wall
space against which the door opens is very narrow.